Wigan buy Orrell RUFC

[imported_kier]

Not content with recruiting the odd player or coach.......Wigan have gone out and bought an entire RU club!

Price - £500,000

 

[Willow]

So it's official. Wigan will have a RU arm to their organisation?
But it was Wigan who put up the money... have I got this right?

 

[G@v]

Next, half the Warriors will no doubt be playing kick n clap during the winter. I'm not surprised what Whelan and Lindsay will do. I might take the view that this was Wigan being proactive, but I don't think they understand that concept.

 

[CanadianSteve]

Will they move the union team to their stadium?
Is this a good thing for league? How is it going with Leeds?

 

[imported_kier]

RL and soccer are already played at the JJB stadium - it will not be feasible to have a third club there.....also Orrell only get a few hundred to their games.....they'd look very odd in a 20,000 ground.

The Leeds venture can only be fairly assessed next year when the Tykes play in the ZP1.......but it should be mentioned that despite leading the ZP2 most of the year the Leeds RU side only got 500-600 to their games (and Leeds has the 2nd biggest population of any English City). Even the "final" - the deciding game between the top to teams in the division to see who won promotion to the ZP1 - got a crowd of "around" 5,000.

 

[imported_Ian__________________]

This is a trend started by Leeds Rhinos and I don't see it as a major problem.
It is not a bad idea for our top League clubs to take over a local Rugby Union Club I'm waiting now for the London Broncos to take over the London Wasps and move both clubs to a new stadium in Acton where they will both live happily ever after.
http://get-me.to/Londonbroncos
http://devoted.to/Londonwasps
http://devoted.to/SimplythebestRugbyleague