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Lack of household names in the UK. How can Rugby League change that?

DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
Good article in the Guardian about the lack of current Rugby league players being known to the general public.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/n...7/may/16/rugby-league-players-bbc-coverage-tv

There is no longer Grandstand on the BBC like in the 80s to give Rugby league a platform, what can the sport do to generate interest and make players known to the general public? Do players need to do more? Show more personality for example, even be controversial?

A famous player could do wonders for the sport, get more people interested, entice them to tune in. Rugby Union lacks a household name also but it does have the six nations on the BBC to rely on for coverage.

I grew up watching Sean Long but not one of my mates would know who he is. Something needs to be done to make players better known.
 

roughyedspud

Coach
Messages
12,181
There's probably just as many hours of RL on the BBC as there every as been..

Challenge cup and England games are on the BBC,streaming of the early rounds of the challenge cup won industry awards and it's opened the eyes of the RFL to streaming....and RL players are fairly regular guests on the BBC's a question of sport....and other "sports entertainment" shows like soccer am on sky sports and the Clair balding chatshow on bt sports..and bt has zero RL content...so our players are out there....
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
Not sure what Smith was expecting, there was no way to over turn the on field.
I will admit it looked very suspect though.

Edit wrong sport, wrong thread.
 

DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
The product on the field could be brilliant - with Castleford it was, as the BBC's Mark Chapman pointed out - but that won't generate extra publicity for the sport. Big names will.

Look at basketball. When Michael Jordan arrived on the scene the profile of the NBA shot up around much of the world - I say 'much' as the UK has never been interested in it. Just one player transformed a sport.

Baseball is dying in the US. There are no big name players there who currently play it - besides the Guardian article my brother who lives there tells me this also. Without a focal point there is nothing to drag in the masses.

RU had its first and only global star in Jonah Lomu. People tuned into the sport that they otherwise wouldn't have done just to see him play. Since then RU has become too defensive and too physical - gym monkeys everywhere - that individuals shining anymore is nigh on impossible.

Football has a conveyor belt of big names as the way the sport is set up it allows individuals to shine and stand out a mile. Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar etc. Their jerseys are everywhere, videos of their latest performance go viral. Neymar's new club - PSG - has seen its audience skyrocket around the world in just 6 months since he joined.


Rugby league needs to do something to the game that allows individuals to stand out more. By becoming stars they generate greater publicity for the sport. Our game has too many that just blend in. I mentioned controversy, that's a good thing. We need characters, loudmouths if need be, big personalities. The big names aren't just restricted to the players, big name coaches too could generate more interest. Have two coaches go at it more, build rivalries, make it must see games. Both rugby codes often pride themselves on being respectful: no-one is interested in respectful. It's sport. It's dog eat dog. People tune in for rivalries, for big stories, big names, when that is lacking the sport stays hidden.
 

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,955
Free TV visibility, putting on a show in London, and England playing and winning regular internationals.
Pretty simple stuff.
 
Messages
2,399
Only 10% of any population is into sport, i'm not bothered about the rest. I don't want to hear ppl who know almost nothing about sport going on about it. Most sports professionals should be paid centrally by government, all sports should be salary capped. Sport is about getting kids out running and socializing.

As I've said, sports should evolve, and obviously do, and their rules have to therefore change with the times. Have a guess what I want to write next...
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,420
There's only one way, getting SL and Internationals on to FTA TV. Getting NRL on to FTA as well. Sadly it is still the only medium where you can reach the masses

Then you have to get the "star" players in the media EVERY opportunity. Sam Burgess, James Graham etc should be on breakfast TV, womens programs, being seen at Wimbledon and all that BS if we want them to be household names.
 

DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
http://www.radioyorkshire.co.uk/rlonry/

15 January podcast

"I didn't know the season was starting soon" - 1:07:10 (Leeds Rhinos fan)

"Are there enough stars in our sport" - 1:18:50 (RL journalist Phil Caplan)


The first comment, had I not actively searched for RL content, mainly in RL forums, I wouldn't know either.

Second comment, no there aren't enough, and there certainly are no household names.

There's only one way, getting SL and Internationals on to FTA TV. Getting NRL on to FTA as well. Sadly it is still the only medium where you can reach the masses

Then you have to get the "star" players in the media EVERY opportunity. Sam Burgess, James Graham etc should be on breakfast TV, womens programs, being seen at Wimbledon and all that BS if we want them to be household names.
Sam Burgess and James Graham are in Australia though, and Burgess only became known outside RL circles in the UK because of his switch to Union. If you showed a picture of him to the average sports follower in the UK most still wouldn't know who he is.

RL has been on free to air - Challenge Cup final, plus England games were shown on BBC2 during the last RLWC. Still no household name. The sport in England doesn't create stars. There is a severe lack of stand out half backs unlike in Australia where there is a plethora. Another issue is the teams, coaches and players also get on too well together. There isn't the same rivalry like in Australia. Rugby in England - both codes - pride themselves on conducting themselves in a friendly way. Result, no heated rivalry, no headlines. No-one is interested in that. Sport thrives on controversy like any other field, but both rugby codes are shackled by this self defeating compulsion to behave friendly to one another. RU does it due to its fake values - 'quiet for the kicker' - snobby toffs, my guess is RL does it here as the sport has always felt under threat for its existence so everyone sticks together, a policy which will only speed up any further decline.

Australia creates playmakers that stand out, England does not, Australia has outspoken players, coaches and teams that despise each other, England does not. Australia generates headlines in part due to these two factors, England doesn't generate any in part due to the lack of these two factors. RL needs to change here and fast. It doesn't create enough stories, it lacks rivalry, personalities and stars.
 

deluded pom?

Coach
Messages
10,897
You wouldn’t get many right answers if you showed the average Pom in the street a picture of an England RU player either. For all the coverage international RU gets on terrestrial TV they don’t have many (I’m tempted to say any) household names either. Don’t even think about showing a picture of an Irish, Welsh or Scots player to that average Pom. As for players and coaches not disliking each other I’d sooner that than some of the classless stuff we see in Australia.
 
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DC80

Juniors
Messages
215
You wouldn’t get many right answers if you showed the average Pom in the street a picture of an England RU player either. For all the coverage international RU gets on terrestrial TV they don’t have many (I’m tempted to say any) household names either. Don’t even think about showing a picture of an Irish, Welsh or Scots player to that average Pom. As for players and coaches not disliking each other I’d sooner that than some of the classless stuff we see in Australia.
Agree with the RU comment. Touched on this above by mentioning Jonah Lomu is the only mainstream star the sport has ever had. He only became that because he played in a time when individuals could stand out, that wouldn't happen now as pretty much every player is now bulked up to the heavens and defences are ultra tight. It's a much more defensive game.

RU doesn't have to rely on any stand out names or controversy to attract interest though as it has an international competition in the Six Nations that does that. With RL we don't have that. RU at club level is similar to RL at club level in that there isn't much rivalry or personalities so it remains low profile among the public.

RL in England needs to have more personality like it does in Australia. Who is interested in nice blokes? Joey Barton is a bang average footballer but as a controversial big mouth has millions of followers online, and also appears regularly on Talksport, BBC radio etc. English RL lacks star players as the talent doesn't compare to the Aussies who dwarf us in playing numbers with over 10 times as many playing the sport there, so we can't manufacture top class half backs to catch the eye, but we can do more to create personalities - like a Joey Barton - create rivalries, and get more people interested.
 
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