RLWC2017 Crowd Watch

[Jim from Oz]

Best thing for the WC would be if England make the final. Ashes cricket is on, so you'll get a few of the travelling Poms going to the final.

Unfortunately not.

By the time of the RLWC final on Dec 2, the 2nd Ashes Test will be on in ADELAIDE.

If England had won the opener against Oz, it would have meant they'd play their semi at Brisbane on Nov 24/25 weekend, just when all the Pommy fans are in Brissie for the 1st Ashes Test.

But of course, England lost, so they'll play in Auckland on that Nov 24/25 weekend, likely v NZ.

 

[Burns]

Waikato is looking very healthy... largest crowd for these two nations is 15,225 at Parramatta Stadium... you would have to think that they are a real chance of beating this with a good walk up.

Hmm, I can even update my post on the previous page in regards to the Samoa v Tonga.

This morning CAT C - Bay 1/2 wasn't for sale. This afternoon is on sale with about 62 seats on sale.

I guess confirmation once and for all that Bays are being put on sales ad hoc and at different times to pan the crowd out amongst the Grandstands.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

A lot of the union WC crowds are boosted by the relatively large number of travelling fans from NZ, South Af, England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Argentina. If you've flown halfway around the world for the tournament you are gong to see your team's games and a good handful of neutral games. You only need 1000-2000 touring fans on average from each of those nations and it boosts the crowd by 10,000 to 15,000.

Rugby league, apart from a smattering of English and local diaspora, simply doesn't have this (yet?).

 

[adamkungl]

it is when the eligibility rules make ours a laughing stock
no one seems to appreciate the damage this does to the cred of our world cup

lol. Stick to dribbling in the NRL forum

 

[Disinterested third party]

No, it's been underwhelming for Australian games. The last internationals Sydney have hosted have been Pacific tests and the crowds have been much better than the crap Townville, Cairns and Canberra served up. Sydney hasn't hosted an Australia v England/GB test since 2006 and the last three times they have hosted Aus v NZ the crowds have been better than the last three Australia v England tests at AAMI Park.

It's not a bad narrative except it totally discounts Brisbane - so you are wrong.

 

[Perth Red]

A lot of the union WC crowds are boosted by the relatively large number of travelling fans from NZ, South Af, England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Argentina. If you've flown halfway around the world for the tournament you are gong to see your team's games and a good handful of neutral games. You only need 1000-2000 touring fans on average from each of those nations and it boosts the crowd by 10,000 to 15,000.

Rugby league, apart from a smattering of English and local diaspora, simply doesn't have this (yet?).

I think the absolute apathy of most Australian RL fans to anything that isn't about NSW or Qland is probably a much bigger factor!

 

[Raiderdave]

lol. Stick to dribbling in the NRL forum

then lets hear your theories aDUMB on why no one cares about this world cup
we all need a laugh afterall : )

 

[Raiderdave]

Yeah you're right, I guess that's why the Tongan team full of switchers is getting no support and everyone turned out to see the domestic players from USA on Saturday night.

RUWC gets big crowds because it's seen as a world-class event, similar to the FIFA World Cup. People who don't support sport at all turn up, just like they do to Origin and the GF. We saw a little bit of this event status at the 2013 RLWC, with big crowds in Cardiff, London and Manchester and sold out smaller stadiums for minnows. In Australia the RLWC is seen as an extension of the NRL except my team isn't playing.

yep , we get enough of our NRL stars for 30 odd weeks of the year, every year
no wonder no ones interested in seeing them again dressed up in the colours of other nations
to bolster the quality of the tournament , we need to rethink the whole thing i believe

 

[deluded pom?]

Think away then Dave.

 

[adamkungl]

then lets hear your theories aDUMB on why no one cares about this world cup
we all need a laugh afterall : )

You don't have anything constructive to add, you're just here to bag the comp and self justify why you can't be bothered supporting Rugby League.
If it wasn't the eligibility rules, it would be the score blowouts from fielding amateurs.
If we limited it to the 6-8 strong teams, you'd have a crack at how few nations there are and dismiss it because Australia's gonna win anyway.

The only way it improves is by getting people through the gates, making money and investing it into the RLIF and developing nations. Something can't sprout from nothing. The eligibility rules are designed to reflect Rugby League's multicultural makeup and give nations the best chance to field a professional team.

If you want to support the game, attend World Cup games and buy some merch.
If you want to trash the game, keep whining about eligibility rules.


The main difference between Union and League fans is that League fans are cheap, whining merkins.

 

[Perth Red]

Maybe adam if this was promoted more, ie how the RLWC supports the growth of the game around the world, apathetic RL fans may be willing to support the tournament more? Then again if it isn't about their club or SOO they probably just don't give a frick about the actual sport. Never have understood it, RL fans whinge at the raw deal in the media and the lack of public interest in the sport beyond a couple of regions yet wont get involved in making the sport more successful when they get the opportunity. Weird bunch.

(Caveat: Talking about Australian RL fan. PNG, NZ and English fans seem to have better commitment to the sport beyond their own self interest in a club

 

[adamkungl]

Maybe adam if this was promoted more, ie how the RLWC supports the growth of the game around the world, apathetic RL fans may be willing to support the tournament more? Then again if it isn't about their club or SOO they probably just don't give a frick about the actual sport. Never have understood it, RL fans whinge at the raw deal in the media and the lack of public interest in the sport beyond a couple of regions yet wont get involved in making the sport more successful when they get the opportunity. Weird bunch.

(Caveat: Talking about Australian RL fan. PNG, NZ and English fans seem to have better commitment to the sport beyond their own self interest in a club

NZ fans are even bigger sooks than Australians. They revert straight to pretending they never liked League in the first place as soon as the Kiwis have a form slump.

 

[adamkungl]

Maybe adam if this was promoted more, ie how the RLWC supports the growth of the game around the world, apathetic RL fans may be willing to support the tournament more?

Don't get me wrong the RLIF and RLWC could certainly do a lot of things better. One thing i've been harping on about is the amount of test matches, and visibility of these matches, that tier 2s play. People think that these teams are thrown together a few weeks before the WC, but even the ones stacked with heritage players still have local competitions* and local players* go through qualifying tournaments and playing test matches every year.
*Except Scotland

One bloke on Twitter earlier today said "I'm Greek and Greece aren't in the WC so why should I care?"
The more money this thing makes the more the RLIF/EF can do for nations like Greece and improve their chance of featuring in the qualifiers.

 

[Pommy]

Don't get me wrong the RLIF and RLWC could certainly do a lot of things better. One thing i've been harping on about is the amount of test matches, and visibility of these matches, that tier 2s play. People think that these teams are thrown together a few weeks before the WC, but even the ones stacked with heritage players still have local competitions* and local players* go through qualifying tournaments and playing test matches every year.
*Except Scotland

One bloke on Twitter earlier today said "I'm Greek and Greece aren't in the WC so why should I care?"
The more money this thing makes the more the RLIF/EF can do for nations like Greece and improve their chance of featuring in the qualifiers.

Was he actually Greek, or heritage Greek?

 

[adamkungl]

Was he actually Greek, or heritage Greek?

Should have told him he doesn't count if he's ever identified as Australian before

 

[Perth Red]

MAybe you should have said" because your a RL fan and this is the rugby league world cup"!

 

[Pommy]

Should have told him he doesn't count if he's ever identified as Australian before

Well if he’s an Australian he should care Australia are in it.

 

[jim_57]

Well if he’s an Australian he should care Australia are in it.

There is still a lot of negative attitude towards Australia winning everything, the "why bother?" Attitude.

Which is funny because I don't remember similar things when the Aussie cricket team was all conquering or Ian Thorpe was guarenteed a gold in 400m Olympics freestyle. Really is a strange attitude.

 

[DC_fan]

There is still a lot of negative attitude towards Australia winning everything, the "why bother?" Attitude.

Which is funny because I don't remember similar things when the Aussie cricket team was all conquering or Ian Thorpe was guarenteed a gold in 400m Olympics freestyle. Really is a strange attitude.

Difference is that neither the Australian cricket team or Thorpe dominated their respective sports for as long as the Kangaroos have in international rugby league.

 

[morningstar]

Difference is that neither the Australian cricket team or Thorpe dominated their respective sports for as long as the Kangaroos have in international rugby league.

The domination ended in 2005. What's the excuse for the past 12 years?