Yoghurt Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 quick question... how popular is Rugby League up north?  me and a buddy had a conversation about it when we were in Liverpool not long back, i'm from South Wales so it's all Rugby Union where i come from. There was a period when the Welsh RL side were doing pretty well when i was growing up and it seemed to be taking off, but i hear nothing these days. I know the majority of the League sides are based up north but is it basically the main form of Rugby up there? like, do kids play League in schools and stuff?  I find it weird how the two halfs of the country follow two different codes.  I'd say there's a core of about 150,000 - 200,000 people with an active interest in Rugby League, although it is a northern sport I wouldn't say it is a half and half split, really it's an M62 corridor game, starting in Hull, moving down it to the Leeds area [Hunslet, Leeds, Dewsbury, Featherstone, Batley, Wakefield, Castleford, Bradford] up to Huddersfield and Halifax, Oldham, Swinton and into Lancashire with Leigh, Wigan, Saint Helens and Warrington Widnes and into Cumbria with Barrow and Workington and Whitehaven.  There's some outlying clubs like Crusaders in Wrexham, Catalans, Gateshead and Harlequins in London but they're poorly supported at best.  But into Liverpool the game has no penetration, and further north of Manchester the game is none existent. Blackpool had a team that recently went under and was atrociously supported. It basically is the RU country except the corridor really, there's pockets, but far less penetration then even 20 years ago when there was a Fulham, South Wales, Nottingham sides. The most southern the game gets apart from the London side [and Catalans if you count France/Spain] is Sheffield and Doncaster but even they're dying a death.  Edit - I know I've missed out some clubs like the Scholars, they're not forgotten I just can't name them all off hand.  Edit 2 - It's definitely the dominant code in the schools in all of those places, I played RL for years until I broke my shoulder, I was a very average second row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubbafish Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 What a game tonight. Leeds ... nuff said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted April 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted April 2, 2011 quick question... how popular is Rugby League up north?  me and a buddy had a conversation about it when we were in Liverpool not long back, i'm from South Wales so it's all Rugby Union where i come from. There was a period when the Welsh RL side were doing pretty well when i was growing up and it seemed to be taking off, but i hear nothing these days. I know the majority of the League sides are based up north but is it basically the main form of Rugby up there? like, do kids play League in schools and stuff?  I find it weird how the two halfs of the country follow two different codes. There's some outlying clubs like Crusaders in Wrexham  SOMEONE MENTION THE CRU?  But in all seriousness, I lived in Hebden Bridge for a year and followed Keighley and it's serious in West Yorkshire, and all along the M62 corridor.  But talking about the great Welsh RL team warms my cockles. The players we had in 95 world cup is why our union team was shite. Jonathan Davies, a baby Iestyn Harris, Gibbs, Quinnell, Ellis, Richard Webster, Bateman, Dai Young. Union in Wales was fucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingOfMetal Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 So, Hull Daily Mail's big Hull FC news is the rumoured match-by-match deal for Martin Gleeson. We may as well have sweepstake on how long until he gets in trouble. I wish to hear from tiger_rick on this one. Â Speaking of the black and white, wonder if they can outdraw the 8,000 they managed last week to only leave the majority of the KC Stadium empty tonight against the Bulls. Â As for my boys on the East of the city? Well, lets be honest...this season is turning into a damage limitation exercise. Im sure once Mason's Tongan passport is sorted and we can re-register Dobson and get him and Newton back from injury, we'll make the play-offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Sorry to resurrect the topic but anybody have any thoughts on the Grand Final and the season as a whole? It had some highs and lows. It was especially disappointing to be proved right with the Crusaders but if the whole thing can be the acorn from which rugby league can grow in North Wales then it would be worth it I suppose. Â And Rob Burrow's still got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted October 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 9, 2011 It's pretty much fucked here now. Moss and Roberts fuck everything up for Wrexham yet again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingOfMetal Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I picked Leeds for the grand final, if theres ever a team that can pull it off when it matters, its the Rhinos. Â Hull KR managed to salvage some element of pride by making the Play-Offs in the end by essentially playing Cup Final rugby for the better part of two months and come away with some hard thought wins. Making the play-offs was ana achievment in itself, stealing 7th place from Hull FC was the icing on the cake locally (sorry tiger_rick). As for next season, its going to be hard. Lots of new names at the club and a new coach means its all change again. But Craig Sandercock (the new coach with the pornstar name) has a reputation for moulding young players, and there are some good youngsters coming up through the ranks of Hull KR's academy. Happy once the coaching situation was sorted as we seemed to be signing alot of players not knowing whever they would feature in the plans of whoever the coach ended up being. IN: Mickey Paea (Canterbury Bulldogs), Graeme Horne (Huddersfield), David Hodgson (Huddersfield), Misi Taulapapa (Sheffield Eagles), George Griffin (Queanbeyan) and Ryan O'Hara (Crusaders), Lincoln Withers (Crusaders), Chris Heil (Free Agent) OUT: Michael Vela (retired), Shaun Briscoe (Widnes Vikings), Clint Newton (Penrith Panthers), Peter Fox (Wakefield Wildcats), Ben Fisher (retired), Liam Colbon (Harlequins), Matt Cook (Harlequins), Ben Cockayne (released) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted October 10, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted October 10, 2011 The grand Final was immense. I had to watch it on Sunday morning but thought it was superb. Rob Burrow's try is one of the best I've seen for years. What a throwback. Â Thought the season was alright. Never as enjoyable if your team is shit for half of it. Nice to see Warrington and Huddersfield really establishing themselves at the top, though I did predict a Warrington bottle job in the play-off's. Hopefully they'll be strong next year because Hull are making some decent signings, the red and white shite are doing some business and Cas are an interesting side. With Widnes back in, the league could be fresher again next year. Â stealing 7th place from Hull FC was the icing on the cake locally (sorry tiger_rick). Â Icing? It meant we only had to go to Leeds to get hammered while you lot had to spend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 As far as League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingOfMetal Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 As far as League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted October 10, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted October 10, 2011 As far as League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 It's pretty much fucked here now. Moss and Roberts fuck everything up for Wrexham yet again. Â Can you see the university fucking the football club over? Are they looking to do a Bristol Rovers deal and part-redevelop the stadium for student halls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted October 10, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 10, 2011 That's already been done. Moss and Roberts have converted most of the land into Student Flats already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 It angers me these fuckers get away with it. It's like how non league football has been raped and pillaged in London by chancers. Â I was never an advocate of the Celtic Crusaders. I maintain to this day that a rugby league team in Bridgend was a colossal waste of time and to get the Super League license, Leighton Samuel essentially perpetrated a fraud. The RFL are completely to blame, pursuing this dumb idea for decades that because they like running rugby, rugby league was a perfect fit in South Wales. Â However, Wrexham had potential. Not goldmine potential but the potential to be a solid 7,000 crowd and an untapped player market but they couldn't get the monkey of that disastrous first year off their back. I'm hoping that with diverse local ownership, a supportive stadium owner and a young Welsh team, the new North Wales Crusaders can quickly get into the Championship and be amongst the best semi-pro teams in the land. To me, it makes more sense to go into a demographically similar place where they don't really like union and get them into league than it is to convert union fans with decades of prejudice in the way. Â I've long been of the opinion that the RFL holds the game back and the whole Crusaders debacle has proved it all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.