The greatest game totally dominated by union internationally

[Perth Red]

its easily rectified.

Get an international RL body that rivals the IRB.

A pair of volunteers working from an office below ground level in London will hardly have an shred of influence on anyone.

Wurthermore, the RLIF should be the one making rule changes, not the NRL or Superleague.

The rlif should be funded with a 5% cut of any media deal for rl in any country. Imagine what it could do with $20-30million a year!

 

[Perth Red]

Beg to differ. <Murdoch's media empire, particularly Fox, has a very pro Rugby Union coverage. You will find the code of rugby union gaining great exposure on the Fox network. If you compare this exposure in Australia to the genuinely more popular code of rugby league then their is a distinct favouritism being dished out by the programmers employed on the Fox network. The amount of "free" publicity the less desirable code of union gets compared to one of Australia's most popular football codes is not commensurate with the relative appeal in overall ratings figures. This has been going on for many years! Quite simply, a much more undeserving code(union) is getting a generous loading of publicity in relation to a code in rugby league which is much more popular. That's the way I see it. So we disagree unless you can see this logic?

For all this publicity union tv audiences on fox are terrible. NRL doesn't get favourable media coverage because the people in charge of RL are bad at their jobs.

 

[madunit]

Beg to differ. <Murdoch's media empire, particularly Fox, has a very pro Rugby Union coverage. You will find the code of rugby union gaining great exposure on the Fox network. If you compare this exposure in Australia to the genuinely more popular code of rugby league then their is a distinct favouritism being dished out by the programmers employed on the Fox network. The amount of "free" publicity the less desirable code of union gets compared to one of Australia's most popular football codes is not commensurate with the relative appeal in overall ratings figures. This has been going on for many years! Quite simply, a much more undeserving code(union) is getting a generous loading of publicity in relation to a code in rugby league which is much more popular. That's the way I see it. So we disagree unless you can see this logic?

In the 90's this may have been the case.

Fox now has a dedicated 24x7 League channel. Union doesn't have that and most of the Union on Fox tends to be club Rugby in the UK or NZ.

I think the last 2 years has seen Foxtel make a readjustment with it's sporting content. AFL and NRL now have dedicated channels as they are clearly the top two football codes in Australia. Union is now squabbling with Australian Soccer for air time on Foxtel. Soccer even has as many chat shows as Union.

 

[Stallion]

In the 90's this may have been the case.

Fox now has a dedicated 24x7 League channel. Union doesn't have that and most of the Union on Fox tends to be club Rugby in the UK or NZ.

I think the last 2 years has seen Foxtel make a readjustment with it's sporting content. AFL and NRL now have dedicated channels as they are clearly the top two football codes in Australia. Union is now squabbling with Australian Soccer for air time on Foxtel. Soccer even has as many chat shows as Union.

The fact we are discussing union points to a certain 'favouratism' . When i was at school it was negligible. The coverage of union , all be it of content in other countries, is still rugby union content. Very boring content however still getting publicity for that content not commensurate with any ratings that code achieves. Unfortunately we see rugby league not covered on a Fox rugby league channel like it should be with things like a world cup on our doorstep!? Pretty sure if the same situation applied for union that a simulcast arrangement would have occured. Once again the ratings would be comparatively poor but such a tournament would have been pumped up by such a comprehensive coverage both on free to air tv and pay tv. I agree that the rugby league officials have not been up to scratch however this highly rating world cup shows just how good a product rugby league is. Channel 7 have been wonderful! And the ratings are being dually delivered.

 

[madunit]

The fact we are discussing union points to a certain 'favouratism' . When i was at school it was negligible. The coverage of union , all be it of content in other countries, is still rugby union content. Very boring content however still getting publicity for that content not commensurate with any ratings that code achieves. Unfortunately we see rugby league not covered on a Fox rugby league channel like it should be with things like a world cup on our doorstep!? Pretty sure if the same situation applied for union that a simulcast arrangement would have occured. Once again the ratings would be comparatively poor but such a tournament would have been pumped up by such a comprehensive coverage both on free to air tv and pay tv. I agree that the rugby league officials have not been up to scratch however this highly rating world cup shows just how good a product rugby league is. Channel 7 have been wonderful! And the ratings are being dually delivered.

If we're completely honest, the paranoia by League types about Union in this country, today, is crazy. League is so far ahead of Union in every aspect that it is no longer a contest. Soccer, another sport I don't care for, has surpassed Rugby Union in the areas of prominence and infiltration. Union has lost it's grip everywhere.

They used to have a stranglehold everywhere.

Now they are just clinging on to the low hanging branches.

The AFL is the only code that can compete with Rugby League. And the administration of RL is helping AFL grow in prominence and relevance.

 

[Pommy]

In the 90's this may have been the case.

Fox now has a dedicated 24x7 League channel. Union doesn't have that and most of the Union on Fox tends to be club Rugby in the UK or NZ.

I think the last 2 years has seen Foxtel make a readjustment with it's sporting content. AFL and NRL now have dedicated channels as they are clearly the top two football codes in Australia. Union is now squabbling with Australian Soccer for air time on Foxtel. Soccer even has as many chat shows as Union.

The reason Foxtel adjusted its league content is because Optus beat them to the EPL rights and they were looking very expensive in NSW and QLD without it.
I can’t believe they managed to recycle RL content and not drop their prices

 

[madunit]

The reason Foxtel adjusted its league content is because Optus beat them to the EPL rights and they were looking very expensive in NSW and QLD without it.
I can’t believe they managed to recycle RL content and not drop their prices

Still they could have picked Union over League.

The fact they picked League further proves my point that the influence and power of Union in Australia is weak as piss compared to past decades

 

[Pommy]

Still they could have picked Union over League.

The fact they picked League further proves my point that the influence and power of Union in Australia is weak as piss compared to past decades

I really do think Foxtel had to scramble after the shock of losing out to optus and it had to be a banker or they were really up shit creek.
union does seem to be dead here though, which is strange as it seems to be growing in popularity in the NH.

 

[madunit]

I really do think Foxtel had to scramble after the shock of losing out to optus and it had to be a banker or they were really up shit creek.
union does seem to be dead here though, which is strange as it seems to be growing in popularity in the NH.

RL in the NH is run atrociously. Its not only kept RU alive, it's kept it relevant and ahead of RL in that area.

If the RLIF and RFL could get half a clue, they'd blow union out of the water within 5 years

 

[Perth Red]

The class war is much greater in the Nh, especially in uk. Throw in the England north/south wealth divide and where each game is popular and no wonder union dominates league in uk. No one wants to be working class anymore and few wants to follow a working class northern English m62 game. Then throw in poor administration of game plus clubs like bulls being poorly run and you have what we've got. Union in Nh is as far behind soccer as soccer is behind league here.

 

[madunit]

I'm not sure the class war is greater. I think it's been maintained for some time. Rugby League's big issue in England is that it never won the PR war against RU.

In Australia, RL went after RU and proudly boasted how fair it was. It helped too that strong Workers Union men and the sports darlings Dally Messenger and Victor Trumper were with the new code.

RU in the UK managed to make it a matter of religion as well as class, which helped them to not only show that professionalism was detrimental to the sport, that it was also inherently evil. (The religious angle was revisited by the Vichy Govt during WWII to justify their decision to delete RL).

RU was hit so hard and so savagely in 24 months in Australia, by the time they got their shit together, RL had reached it's third year, poached Messenger and 80% of the Wallabies, while also getting the game introduced in Sydney's Catholic Schools. RU was on the back foot and all they could do was stage public battles about which code was morally acceptable.

After WWI ended, RU was the second Rugby code in Australia and they never recovered.

 

[siv]

Interesting watching the RL v RU divide in England after having look around a few years ago

There is the M4 RU base of London to Cardiff in the south based around old unis verses the M62 RL base in the north

Rugby seem to feel like a maximum north outpost only relevent to RU because of the old Rugby School legends

 

[Stallion]

Union's 'worldwide dominance' over rugby league can be attributed to many behind the scenes factors such as : RU insisting/manouvering its influence for RL to be not recognised as an international sport (GSAIF), the constant banning and black listing of players playing rugby league from union (numerous countries), the lack of government funding for rugby league compared to union as a result of non recognition as a sport, the pro union bias in the top end of town as a flow on effect of elite private school educated employees whom have mostly no regard or affiliation with rugby league, the containment stance of the Australian media which minimises international coverage of the code as seen with the recent world cup coverage, poor scheduling and exhorbitant ticket prices for rugby league internationals like world cup games (need to crawl b4 walking!) and apathy from the Australian rugby league itself in not appreciating the future benefits of international rugby league enough! Their's a few reasons why union dominates rugby league internationally. Their's more but will stick with those for now. An example of the subversive rugby union tactics against RL is attached in the following telltale article.

 

[King hit]

Union dominating league? Union is almost totally dead and irrelevant

 

[Perth Red]

Union dominating league? Union is almost totally dead and irrelevant

Globally, not locally

 

[Stallion]

Globally, not locally

This 'global presence' that rugby union has over rugby league can be mostly attributed to the marginalising/blacklisting and ostracising of people whom have chosen to play rugby league by rugby union officials/supporters. The number of probable players and fans that would have enjoyed rugby league but were unable to do so would be in the millions. For example, in France, rugby league was quickly becoming the rugby code of choice. By 1941, the subversive lobbying by rugby union officials to 'friends' in the NAZI appointed government seen the outlawing of rugby-league along with the seizing of rugby league's assets, blacklisting of players and losing the right to have the word 'rugby' used in its name. After the war no compensation occured or any rightful reclaiming by RL for assets stolen by the French rugby union. The code (RL) inadvertently waned after a generation or so as people died off and it wasn't taught in French schools. With rugby union boasting 350000 participants annually, if those numbers are translated into a rugby league friendly(even neutral) scenario I'm certain not only rugby league would be dominant in France, but its inclusive and attractive rules of play would have fueled growth throughout Europe and beyond. That's another major historical fact causing rugby league to being a comparatively minor sport internationally. For those unaware of this repression example a book called 'The Forbidden Game ' by Mike Rylance is worth a read. Even if you scan the back page blurb you will get an idea how bad this scenario was. Rugby league is still not a subject that can be taken in any French universities therefore is not taught in schools.

 

[flippikat]

For example, in France, rugby league was quickly becoming the rugby code of choice. By 1941, the subversive lobbying by rugby union officials to 'friends' in the NAZI appointed government seen the outlawing of rugby-league along with the seizing of rugby league's assets, blacklisting of players and losing the right to have the word 'rugby' used in its name. After the war no compensation occured or any rightful reclaiming by RL for assets stolen by the French rugby union.

Precisely. We should never forget that rugby union administrators were not only willing to collaborate with fascists, they ACTIVELY LOBBIED them to eliminate rugby league.

 

[Stallion]

Precisely. We should never forget that rugby union administrators were not only willing to collaborate with fascists, they ACTIVELY LOBBIED them to eliminate rugby league.

Precisely. We should never forget that rugby union administrators were not only willing to collaborate with fascists, they ACTIVELY LOBBIED them to eliminate rugby league.

Remembering this is one example. Quite often you will get a rugby union apologist trivialize this as an isolated example. It's not! Their's plenty of other repression examples of rugby league in many other countries including New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland to name a few.

 

[Perth Red]

Bit like the games blamimg SL for all its modern day ailments, continuing to blame union for how sht we have been in growing the game does little to change things. Pretty sure union are not behind the arlc’s total lack of strategy or plan to how they intended to build on rlwc2017. Oh I know we won’t have the kangaroos playing a Meaningful game this year
I guess that is unions doing as well?

 

[Stallion]

Bit like the games blamimg SL for all its modern day ailments, continuing to blame union for how sht we have been in growing the game does little to change things. Pretty sure union are not behind the arlc’s total lack of strategy or plan to how they intended to build on rlwc2017. Oh I know we won’t have the kangaroos playing a Meaningful game this year
I guess that is unions doing as well?

Unless these valid facts are discussed and acknowledged in absolutely impacting rugbyleague then its pointless going forward. The code needs to acknowledge why and how its in a such a predicament. RU has significantly limited and stopped rugby league's presence and growth in many places around the world. If this is not acknowledged then the source of rugby league's issues are not addressed. Pretty sure union wont be changing their decetful tact !? Incompetent administrators are also within rugby league no doubt! This incompetence doesn't happen by chance!