[urlhttp://www.lindependant.com/articles/2009-11-09/laporte-le-stade-francais-a-bien-un-projet-super-league-74483.php[/url

In French but basically Stade Francais want a team in SL for 2012!! I personally think they should be told to build in the Championship first.

I very much doubt it will happen tbh, far too many things need to be put in place and they simply dont have the time. We all know the RFL are suspect but this would be idiotic. 2015 however is a different story.

I think the case for a second French SL team is warranted, but I'd be looking at Toulouse and no where else.

The thing is our own domestic game on the english side of things isnt producing enough quality for International level. Why seem hell bent on helping the french when our own house isnt in order.

We're producing as much as we have in the past 30 years. Haven't we just beat the World Champions? Burgess off to the NRL, Ellis one of the best last year?

You make a point, however the two are linked and this is why. Aus and NZ have been knocking lumps out of each other for years, and can play on a more frequent basis because it's what, a 4 hour flight. Who have we got? A better French side gives us better competition to improve ourselves.

Fine, how long is enough before it's time to send them back?

Carlos ' the tache ' Zaluendo at Toulouse is not happy about this supposed bid , and I cannot blame him

how many french teams do we want in our leagues? surley paris wont get another go!

It would appear any club with a suitable backer would be allowed 'a go' in these times of franchising (sorry, licensing)

Once we are looking at 5 clubs anyway they should be forced to go it alone in France!

Stade France want a side... did thye not look at there attendance against Aus... name a bigger opposistion? So they'd have less fans in the league?

Paris worked SO well last time. And there will be plenty of idiots from super league clubs who will welcome them with open arms.

If they are serious, and with it being Stade Francais, the RFL will bite their hand off. If they guarantee to back an RL club for at least 3 years, they'll probably get the nod over Toulouse.

I think it was always likely that a French side would get the nod for a 2012 licence. The only question was, would a heartland club also go up with them?

It would actually be better for us if the Paris club get the nod over Toulouse, because the RFL have made the promise of a guaranteed SL licence for a Championship club for 2012. Stade Francais RL do not play in the Championship. They're not even a club yet. So introduce them, and there's two clubs going up to SL in 2012.



I would be far more worried if I was a Salford or Wakey fan, because two clubs would have to be relegated.

Here we go again,more inane questions from the I'm alright Jack brigade.Where would you rather spend a weekend,Paris or Widnes?As if places like Leeds,St.Helens and Wakefield are some sort of oasis' in the barren and parched North of England.

Carr Mill damn is belting on a nice day. HTH

Not to mention wildly ridiculous predictions on crowds and the nationality of the players of the squad followed by rome wasn't built in a day when a bunch of aussies are playing in front of 1000 people in SL.

Stade Francais really dont have enough time to get everything they need in order.

Toulouse are in place for the RFL to shunt into the big time before there not nearlly prepared for it,

where do you draw the line though with how many french clubs there are in Super League, there seems to be french clubs applying now but Scottish and Cumbrian and maybe even Spanish ( i beleive thats why they held a game at the Camp Nue to see how it would work).

Cant wait for this Franchise Malarky to die down and go back to good old Promotion and Relegation.

I agree it should always be promotion and relegation.Now barrow would be in superleague and celtic relegated and gone bust.

Problem is that the RFL have made a rod for their own back here.

Les Cats were introduced into SL with the purpose of strengthening the game in France because we were told it was in danger of vanishing.
There is no way that they can do that with just one team in SL because as soon as they are put back in they will crush all around them. They will ultimately need 2 - 3 maybe even 4 teams of a relative strength to make this work.

I seriuosly think the long term SL Europe plan is exactly that, a pan European league playing week in, week out like the NFL Europe flop. They'll want half a dozen english clubs including London (yer can guess the other 5!) plus a couple of French sides, one each for the Celts then take yer pick from Barcelona, Moscow, Belgrade, Venice and probably Beruit. The likes of us will be playing in some sort of National League (that rings a bell!) along with the other heartlands minnows and we can always travel a paltry 9 mile to watch Saints if we wanna see the elite league.

This is what they want, whether we let em get it is another matter. But just think how you'd feel if you were Chairman of one of the 5 English clubs, "ker-ching!!! " is what I believe your reaction would be. Just think how impressive a trip Venice would be to your business networking chums compared to a day out in Widnes. And I'm sure even the die hard fans would eventually get used to the idea of no Widnes, Fax, Leigh etc.

I've absolutely no hard evidence of any of this mind you