Have just seen pics of Qui...no, can't say it....v Les Cats.....

[screeny]

....and my mind is now made up: I want Harlequins to lose most of their matches.

I know, I know, that is a terrible thing to say, and opens me to scorn, but I can't help it. Just seeing that heretic jersey playing in RL disturbed me.

Before these pics I took the line that, although deep down the 'merger' (which it aint) was a good thing in practical terms (which it undoubtedly is for the former Broncos, due to the rent free ground, bar and corporate facility takings) my heart was against it for purely 'selling out' reasons, which veered between the rational and irrational.

Having seen the pics I was sickened to see that filthy rah rah jersey playing RL. I now want the pure RL clubs to defeat the Londoners when SL begins, just to see what kind of real committment the RU parent club has for RL. They'll be promoted after this season and, when the three year rent agreement is up, what will there attitude be to the RL beggar on their doorstep?

And the Broncos management, for all their bleating that the two clubs are separate entities, sure as hell didn't take that line when it came to protecting any sense of RL aesthetic heritage.

I hope London Rl continues to grow at the same pace it has over the past few years, but I wish the new club no on field success. Shame on me.....

 

[ParraDude_Jay]

I guess you'll be knocking yourself off by the end of 2006 then. 'Quins have recruited well and will win alot of games this year.

The scenario for London was simple, merge with 'Quins or fold completely, and why on earth would you fold when you could remain alive with great facilities and no worries.

Just curious, do you want Leeds to lose all their games too for their association with RU?

 

[screeny]

I guess you'll be knocking yourself off by the end of 2006 then. 'Quins have recruited well and will win alot of games this year.

The scenario for London was simple, merge with 'Quins or fold completely, and why on earth would you fold when you could remain alive with great facilities and no worries.

Just curious, do you want Leeds to lose all their games too for their association with RU?

Like most Leeds fans I don't like the association with the Tykes, but Leeds RL hasn't changed one iota to accomodate the union poor relation.

London has given up what heritage the club had to serve the RU club's brand identity.

And if you read my post you will see that I fully accept that the Broncos had little choice as they now get a lot more financial benefits (already club record season ticket sales and access to corporate packages that they previoulsy didn't have at Brentford, or for that matter, anywhere else). That being said, whether this is the best long term move for the club is still unknown.

Read the Guardian article today in which the CEO reveals that as recently as 6 years ago Harleq etc etc club wouldn't even cooperate with the Broncos at the most basic level, and that's not all that long ago. As much as I accept the move was a financial fait accompli for the Broncos, we should all accept that the zero, zero, zero sense of philanthropy towards RL came into the RU club's thinking when making this move, and that will surely result in trouble ahead.

 

[terracesider]

No shame on you, screeny. Hating Harlequins is quite natural, even in Union circles.

I don't for one minute believe they are spearate entities, other than perhaps for tax purposes. Although the precise nature of the relationship is not yet known, it is clear that it's rather more than a landlord-tenant relationship and that the RL club is adopting the Buffoon's corporate identity. It seems to be a sort of slow motion merger/takeover.

It's important for RL to have a ESL club in London but it has to be a credible club. Even after decades of preferential treatment from the RFL, Fulham/Brisbane/Harlequins have never provided that. It's damaging the game. Why should the national London-based media take ESL seriously when they can see its not a level playing field and that the RFL is so deperate for club down there that they're willing to break their own rules.

 

[screeny]

No shame on you, screeny. Hating Harlequins is quite natural, even in Union circles.

I don't for one minute believe they are spearate entities, other than perhaps for tax purposes. Although the precise nature of the relationship is not yet known, it is clear that it's rather more than a landlord-tenant relationship and that the RL club is adopting the Buffoon's corporate identity. It seems to be a sort of slow motion merger/takeover.

It's important for RL to have a ESL club in London but it has to be a credible club. Even after decades of preferential treatment from the RFL, Fulham/Brisbane/Harlequins have never provided that. It's damaging the game. Why should the national London-based media take ESL seriously when they can see its not a level playing field and that the RFL is so deperate for club down there that they're willing to break their own rules.

Well said that man. A Chinese Premier in the 1980s, when asked what he thought were the main effects of the French Revolution, said 'it's too early to tell'. The same goes for this Broncos capitulation. In the short term it's a 'no brainer' as the Yanks would say - London had to do it, but the long term effects are as yet unknown.

One thing we can all safely assume though is that not one milligram of philanthropy or investment in RL came into the RU club's thought process when coming to this arrangement.

 

[terracesider]

Red Man posted this link on the VT over at RLfans .

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbyleague/story/0,,1692858,00.html

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Just having a look at the pics from the game v Les Catalans and the Quins uniforms don't look that bad. They're still one of the worst leagye uniforms I've seen but on the field they look better than I thought. Having never seen the Quins RU side play I have no aversion to the traditional design other than the fact it's obviously not a league design. The quarters scream union but then again the Broncos used to wear quarters in the late 90s. I've never supported London, largely because I couldn't bring myself to cheer on a side called the Broncos, but I do want the club to succeed off the field. A stronger rl presence outside the heartlands in England, and especially in the capital, is important.