London game confirmed

[Mike]

Hopefully, the RFL / Wigan RLFC will be trying to sell big time to Londoners / Southerners. The intention / ambition is commendable.

You mean like the many other times we've tried to sell the sport to them?

At some point someone has to stand up and accept,for the most part this is a northern sport,Union has the rugby viewers down south.

Shall we roll over and die then? Go semi pro? Acceptance of your place, doesn't sound right to me. Its a recipe for extinction. On the other hand I can't really see this as anything othet than IL feeling bad about his broncos going down and leaving a SL gap in london that won't be filled for at least two years.

[Owd Codger]

Hopefully, the RFL / Wigan RLFC will be trying to sell big time to Londoners / Southerners. The intention / ambition is commendable.

You mean like the many other times we've tried to sell the sport to them?

At some point someone has to stand up and accept,for the most part this is a northern sport,Union has the rugby viewers down south.

Shall we roll over and die then? Go semi pro? Acceptance of your place, doesn't sound right to me. Its a recipe for extinction. On the other hand I can't really see this as anything othet than IL feeling bad about his broncos going down and leaving a SL gap in london that won't be filled for at least two years.

Exactly, the choice is simple, you either support the game at London or you stop at home and moan about IL being on a ego trip.

And not all down south are always Union viewers as I and a few other Wigan supporters found when we attended a wedding held at Teignmouth RU clubhouse and found members not only watching a Super League game in the games room, but also telling us that each year they have two weekend trips to London, one to Twickenham and the other to Wembley for our Challenge Cup Final.

My only worry about any future league game in London is us in a Challenge Cup final at around the same time as the game.

And I suspect the game will attract more Catalan supporters who will relish the idea of a trip to London rather than to Wigan.

[gruffy]

Mike,sometimes you just have to accept things in life,if rugby league was ever going to break out from unions shadow it was with the formation of super league,it didn't happen and now never will,yes I do worry about the long term health of the game being a northern game of course isn't good for the sport as there's only 3 teams that can hold their own year on year.

With respect IL is now chairman of Wigan and as such hold no soft feelings towards the Broncos they went down as they're not good enough,sports like that it's ruthless you pat them on the back and say sorry but ultimately if that's the case IL should sell up and go back if feels so bad about it,but would the Broncos bring him the cache of Wigan?very doubtful

If there is this mythical batch of fans and sponsor just waiting to watch the game down south,and again history tells us there isn't,but then as I've said before take the magic weekend down there,take it to say Highbury it's a great,great showcase for the game,take it there as part as a strategy that involves all of super league,play a round a week down there,if that market is there then why hasn't this happened?ive no doubt the ameuter game is strong but it's very different playing and going to see a game as the Broncos find out week on week.

Nothing would please me more than expanding the game but I'm a realist,and realistically that won't happen,certainly not with this in fairness potentially meaningless game being played in an area that shall we say is strongly football orientated.

I feel that in shall we say 5 years this will all be forgotton and Wigan will be safely back at the DW for all home games and this will be a footnote in the clubs history but hey I hope I'm wrong I really do I guess as I'm bored with the whole subject now nothing would please me more,but history tells me otherwise.

[Panchitta Marra]

Will there be many Catalans fans at the game on 5th September if they're out of range of the top 4 by that date?

[cpwigan]

London is vital to ANY sport in this country and why should we not try to develop RL across all of Britain. Yes, there is a lot of work still to be done in the North but we should never simply accept our lot and give up hope / desire to make RL a nationwide sport.

[Bunny]

Hello all, Millwall fan here. I have found this thread very interesting.

First off, can I just say I have never watched a Rugby League game in my life - until last night. This interest was sparked by Wigan Warriors coming to The Den. So, in a sense that's a small victory of sorts, especially as I enjoyed the game. I detest Union, I think it's slow and lacking in skill (and that's from a former PE teacher), however, RL seemed exciting and skillful & cannot understand why it's not far more popular than the tedious Union code.

However, I do agree it's going to be hard to get Londoners off their backsides to investigate and discover what I discovered by watching Wigan at The Den. But, small steps and all that.

As for the venue choice, again I do have sympathy for the dissenting voices...but I think you need more context.

People suggesting QPR as a better choice - having been many times to Loftus Road all I can say is the parking is horrendous, the leg room is poor, and views are limited in certain parts of the stadium, and the corporate hospitality is average.

Oh, and White City is hardly the genteel west London of Fulham. So, it doesn't even best The Den on that. Furthermore, id imagine (albeit with my tiny knowledge of RL) the pitch would be too small.

Whereas The Den, despite Millwall FCs reputation, has excellent corporate facilities and is in fact used regularly by companies to host events. You can see Canary Wharf from the Kitchener Stand and the club is always featured in the Wharf newspaper, and so is well known in the City & is given a much more sympathetic press than in the tabloids. What I'm saying is Millwall aren't quite the bogeymen to these City types as they are to provincials whose only knowledge of the club comes from the tabloid press.

Indeed, The Den is the ground of choice for pretty much every football related advert on tv, and so again doesn't hold this mysterious Jack the Ripper fear amongst the media executives that is does for Mark from Skipton.

It also hosts a lot of charity events, included the celebrity football matches etc, and had hosted international games for African sides and the Women's FA Cup final - all of which attracted healthy crowds (Women's FA Cup circa 13,000).

Conversely, these events were attended by a mix of locals and people from across the southeast. This because The Den is very easy to get to. South Bermondsey overground sits literally on top of the ground (you can see inside the ground from the platform) and there's a walkway from the station to the North Stand, a 2 minute walk. The station is one stop from London Bridge and is a 4 minute journey, with extremely regular trains.

Furthermore, Bermondsey, Surrey Quays and Canada Water tube stations are all within walking distance - I can do the walk in 12 minutes odd, but am 35, relatively fit & walk briskly.

Moreover, while there are some very deprived and dangerous areas in Southwark & Lewisham, these are actually quite avoidable. In fact, Bermondsey in the day, especially towards the river, is quite trendy these days, although there are also nice old fashioned London boozers around too...i know a few places were you can get a pint for about £3.90...very cheap in inner city London!

Although id imagine for outsiders the best bet is to drink around London Bridge - more expensive, but lots of choice all close together and welcoming to tourists. But you can still get some decent ales etc in traditional pubs, if the likes of All Bar One aren't your thing. Then hop on train & be in your seat within 10 minutes easy.

Also, the area is very underrated - these north Londoners make me laugh. Southwark is home to the Globe Theatre, the Tate, Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, the Southbank, London Eye...and a bit further down you have Greenwich and all that has to offer. Sorry if we don't have as many hipster coffee shops though!

And if you're keen on markets then Southwark has some of the best in Europe!

Whether it's a success or not for Wigan or RL in general, who knows...but those that do go should be able to have an enjoyable time.

Weighing it all up & defending your chairman there are far more pros for using The Den than cons. Our reputation is bad...but, if you live down here you'd know people aren't quite as dubious about us they once were...and okay they may not go to a Millwall v Leeds game, but I know lots of people whove gone along to one of the charity football games to watch idiots from Blue etc without a care in the world about our rep, including 13 year old girls from Kent etc..

[Fujiman]

Hello all, Millwall fan here. I have found this thread very interesting.

First off, can I just say I have never watched a Rugby League game in my life - until last night. This interest was sparked by Wigan Warriors coming to The Den. So, in a sense that's a small victory of sorts, especially as I enjoyed the game. I detest Union, I think it's slow and lacking in skill (and that's from a former PE teacher), however, RL seemed exciting and skillful & cannot understand why it's not far more popular than the tedious Union code.

However, I do agree it's going to be hard to get Londoners off their backsides to investigate and discover what I discovered by watching Wigan at The Den. But, small steps and all that.

As for the venue choice, again I do have sympathy for the dissenting voices...but I think you need more context.

People suggesting QPR as a better choice - having been many times to Loftus Road all I can say is the parking is horrendous, the leg room is poor, and views are limited in certain parts of the stadium, and the corporate hospitality is average.

Oh, and White City is hardly the genteel west London of Fulham. So, it doesn't even best The Den on that. Furthermore, id imagine (albeit with my tiny knowledge of RL) the pitch would be too small.

Whereas The Den, despite Millwall FCs reputation, has excellent corporate facilities and is in fact used regularly by companies to host events. You can see Canary Wharf from the Kitchener Stand and the club is always featured in the Wharf newspaper, and so is well known in the City & is given a much more sympathetic press than in the tabloids. What I'm saying is Millwall aren't quite the bogeymen to these City types as they are to provincials whose only knowledge of the club comes from the tabloid press.

Indeed, The Den is the ground of choice for pretty much every football related advert on tv, and so again doesn't hold this mysterious Jack the Ripper fear amongst the media executives that is does for Mark from Skipton.

It also hosts a lot of charity events, included the celebrity football matches etc, and had hosted international games for African sides and the Women's FA Cup final - all of which attracted healthy crowds (Women's FA Cup circa 13,000).

Conversely, these events were attended by a mix of locals and people from across the southeast. This because The Den is very easy to get to. South Bermondsey overground sits literally on top of the ground (you can see inside the ground from the platform) and there's a walkway from the station to the North Stand, a 2 minute walk. The station is one stop from London Bridge and is a 4 minute journey, with extremely regular trains.

Furthermore, Bermondsey, Surrey Quays and Canada Water tube stations are all within walking distance - I can do the walk in 12 minutes odd, but am 35, relatively fit & walk briskly.

Moreover, while there are some very deprived and dangerous areas in Southwark & Lewisham, these are actually quite avoidable. In fact, Bermondsey in the day, especially towards the river, is quite trendy these days, although there are also nice old fashioned London boozers around too...i know a few places were you can get a pint for about £3.90...very cheap in inner city London!

Although id imagine for outsiders the best bet is to drink around London Bridge - more expensive, but lots of choice all close together and welcoming to tourists. But you can still get some decent ales etc in traditional pubs, if the likes of All Bar One aren't your thing. Then hop on train & be in your seat within 10 minutes easy.

Also, the area is very underrated - these north Londoners make me laugh. Southwark is home to the Globe Theatre, the Tate, Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, the Southbank, London Eye...and a bit further down you have Greenwich and all that has to offer. Sorry if we don't have as many hipster coffee shops though!

And if you're keen on markets then Southwark has some of the best in Europe!

Whether it's a success or not for Wigan or RL in general, who knows...but those that do go should be able to have an enjoyable time.

Weighing it all up & defending your chairman there are far more pros for using The Den than cons. Our reputation is bad...but, if you live down here you'd know people aren't quite as dubious about us they once were...and okay they may not go to a Millwall v Leeds game, but I know lots of people whove gone along to one of the charity football games to watch idiots from Blue etc without a care in the world about our rep, including 13 year old girls from Kent etc..

Thanks for the insight Bunny and good post.

[RJ]

London is vital to ANY sport in this country and why should we not try to develop RL across all of Britain. Yes, there is a lot of work still to be done in the North but we should never simply accept our lot and give up hope / desire to make RL a nationwide sport.

May I point out that cycling was based in Manchester and got more gold medals at the London Olympics than was ever thought possible. Yes the games might have been in London but the sport wasn't based there. In fact most people don't understand why they built a new velodrome in London.
There is this unfortunate belief that everything has to be based in London. When you consider the transport problems and accommodation costs its amazing that this continues. Its not even in the centre of the country where it would be more accessible.

[dontshootthemessenger]

great post Bunny-and as I suggested QPR v the Den , I bow to your local knowledge(I only ever lived north of the Thames is my excuse)

Do you know much about the amateur RL scene in London , Bunny ?
Never saw any evidence of it north of the river.

[Wandering Warrior]

Bunny do they do proper ale in the pubs or are they all lager buckets?