taipan said:
Polynesian Warrior said:
taipan said:
Polynesian Warrior said:
taipan said:
Polynesian Warrior said:
screeny said:
We have the name rugby league now and changing would be an admission of weakness in my opinion. It would take a PR coup the sizeof which I'm not sure RL is capable of pulling off to change names AND convince the public it's because we don't want to be tarnished with the sh*t that is RU.
Personally, too many of league's stalwart warriors over the past 100-years would be betrayed if we gave up on the name now, too. It's difficult but I'm for keeping the name and letting the public choose.
RU's slowly changing into RL as it knows its product is crud by comparison. This is the only long term chance RU has.
Rugby Union is still rugby union and will be a million years more. Rugby League is still rugby league and will be a million years more .
Rugby Union has improved 100% than what it was 50 years ago . You guys can tell me what percentage league has improve since 50 years ago ?
The only thing I could think off is Warriors , London , Brisbane and Melbourne + Origins .
Lets see hmmm Russia,Serbia,Lebanon,New Caledonia,soon to be Georgia
,and the West Indies,an increase to 10 teams in the US,a much improved French national team,the growth of rugby league in Wales in particular,Ireland with 12 teams in conferences,a lesser growth in Scotland in junior levels,a 60% increase in the number of players in UK in the past few years.BTW rugby union 100 years ago in Oz was larger than league,it sure as hell aint now.The NRL competition now 15 teams,(rest assured 16 teams will be announced next year) compared to 8 teams decades ago. Do your sums PW there is plenty of percentage increase both locally and internationally in rugby league,like a true union man you might find these facts a little distrubing.
Taipan ! If you are a rugby union fan or a fan of both codes then you will compare rugby union 50 years ago to this day .
All those league playing countries you mention also have union . The spread of rugby union has surprise those on the IRB board .
The word now is which countries haven't got rugby union ?
The truth is rugby union is now played all over the world it is hard to think of which nations haven't got a comp .
Fifty years ago only the main nations were playing test matches . Now there are test matches beign played in every corner of the world .
The RWC , U21 & U19 world cups , Womens world cup , 7s world cup , and the Commonwelth Games .
Rugby Union is now more healthy than it was fifty years ago . And we are not even talking about club rugby here .
PW I am not arguing that union is not more healthy today than it was 50 years ago, i am replying to your silly comments that rugby league intimating has hardly improved in that period.I responded by giving you the latest info which says it has.end of story.I wouldnt throw club rugby in here , the crowds are deplorable compared to twentyyears ago.
i am aware of union being played in over 100 countries,but the simple fact is like the new countries taking up rugby league,the number of teams and players in the vast majority of those countries is so tiny,that the populations in general hardly if at all knows of its existence.
Despite all the years that have gone by,union is the national code only in NZ and losing to soccer in Wales that mantle,soccer is the main code in Sth Arica,although union has the profile.rugby league is the national code of PNG with a population bigger than NZ.So PW maybe neither code should brag too much.I am still waiting for confirmation of the 6billion tv viewers who were supposed to miraculously materialise in the union world cup of 2004,courtesy of Mr John O'Neill MA institute of HYPE.
Club rugby has always been played in front of small numbers of local supporters .
But it is the provincial and state level that rugby look after really well and this let to rugby union being look after by their national body(ARU/NZRFU/SARFU) .
Rugby league is run by clubs and they decide where players go to tours or use money to blackmail them .
Der Kaiser I know about the German rugby union and Im not saying that they were millionaires but i do know that they have a good club structure with Jrs and they host Canada not long ago .
My two cousins play club rugby in Holland and they said it is a well run and well sponsor and its not as big as soccer but its there .
Now don't try to compare German and Holland rugby union who has local a comp with local players and strong Jrs developments .
How can you compare that to America Samoa league, Samoa league, Italy and Greece rugby league where there's no local comp but they play international league made up of players from Auckland and suburb Sydney .
Your rugby union brain is very limited taipan because rugby union is the national sport of NZ ,South Africa , Wales and most of the Pacific nations .
Whoever told you that Wales is now a soccer country must have the same hate you have of rugby union .
Australia's national sport is cricket and you don't see people flock to watch the Pura Milk cup etc .
That same goes for Wales rugby at the moment and people are still not use to the Celtic league .
Ask any Welshman who their heroes are and they will tell you one of many rugby legends not some soccer players born and live in England .
So Taipan the Wallabies played in front of 8000 fans 50 years ago and players have to pay their own transport and expenses .
Fifty years later and they are now well off and played in front large stadiums with large TV audience .
PW I dont know what you are on about you came on saying that union has improved 100% over the years,what has league done or words to that effect.
I am saying to get through to you that in Wales the national game has gone backwards,huge debt,huge inroads of soccer and yes they do get big crowds at internationals,that hasnt happened in NZ.In the Pacific Islands to be a liittle more accommodating sure rugby union is the national code,however they now have to share the islands sports with league and or AFL,so they now have more competition for the youth.In Japan the recent test results have shown that something has happened to the standard,as it appears to have gone backwards.
In australia the crowd at the semi final of the 1987 world cup was 17,000 odd,I watched the game on TV(whether you believe that or not doesnt matter).The unions test crowds have improved dramatically,and the s12 has been a huge success.However club rugby union has really been hit hard,the TV ratings in sydney are almost non existent on the ABC,and it is club union officials who are complaining about the treatment they get from the controlling body,not me PW.Your code is more high profile in Oz than before.I am still looking for the 6billion people who were to watch the wc.There have been plusses as well as minuses.
You question leagues growth ask the new teams in Russia,Serbia,USA,Ireland,Wales and Scotland and England.Ask the 10% increase in junior playing numbers in Australia this year,ask the organisers of the financially successful tri series which was ridiculed by union people in Sydney,ask the increase in fans who attended NRL games this season,ask the TV stations of the TV ratings for free to air and pay TV in Oz,ask the crowds (record) who attended SOO),ask the 239,000 TV viewers who watched on TV the final of the Qld cup ,ask the promoters of the 2008 WC which would not have been attempted 10 years ago,ask the West Indies and Singaporean and Georgian youth who want to play rugby league as early as next year .
League has failed to get up in south africa that is a minus,but to infer that nothing much has happpened in rugby league,shows you either dont care about the game or dont know.That is the sort of dumb biased argument that league supporters have to put up with in the media,that the game is in NSW Qld,NTh Island NZ and Nthn England which may have been the case 15 years ago .
Taipan you and carlnz must dream the same dream because with the bu**sh*t you are coming with . It is hard to believe that there are idiots out there who believe you guys .
In the Pacific Islands Taipan Fiji and Tonga have a few league clubs which you call pub teams in Holland with no Jrs in Tonga and only a handful in Fiji .
There are no rugby league in schools at any level at those two countries .
Rugby League doesn't even exist in Samoa anymore and was never ever played in America Samoa .
Carlnz I do have alot of friends who are bouncers all over Brisbane and I can tell you that you talk shi*t .
Fifa gave Samoa soccer one million dollars and they also built a soccer stadium in Taunamanoto in Apia west for their use .
Well guess what Carlnz you will never see a Samoan soccer game on TV and you will never see a Samoan soccer team at any world cup etc .
Just like Tongan soccer it will never take over rugby as their national sport .
If soccer in NZ and Australia makes the world cup and the profile of the game grows it doesn't mean it will be the national game .
Do your homework fool and learn what national sport is ? Is not just about money and the growth of a sport . Its history and legends who to this day are still heroes in their countries .
NZ has Colin Meads , Kel Tremain , George Nepia etc . Australia has Don Bradman , Allan Boarder etc .
Samoa has Taufusi Salesa , Faitala Talapusi etc and ask your Tongan mate who is Tongan national hero and he will tell you its not a soccer player but rugby legend Sione Mafi and Alamoni Liavaa and many more .
Fiji has Senivalati Laulau , Waisale Serevi , Seru Koroduadua .
So carlnz do you think you and your phantom Tongan mate can name any Pacific Islands soccer players ?
Rugby in Fiji has now gone pro this year with the Fiji RFU paying players in the FIJI national provincial comp ..
Rugby Union numbers has also increase in the Pacific , NZ as well as Australia .
TV ratings has also increase in Australia with S 12 on foxtel and rugby tests on channel 7 .
Last year's no 1 programme on TV was rugby union and it was also in the top ten sport ratings ever .
