if england....

[eccywarrior]

won world cup which is unlikely (but you never know) would you think league will get higher profile in this country? yawnion won and it got a massive boost.

[Sutty]

In a word NO, I think we'll maybe get a 20 second slot on the news if we're lucky. Nothing else will be said about it. No open top bus parade for the lads, no knighthoods, no high profile endorsments and sponsorship deals. It really makes my blood boil how shodily RL is treated by the media in this country.

[Wigan Watcher]

If the BBC showed more interest then the rest of the media would. Unfortunately the BBC is still run by people who think they will decide what we watch and also feel that primarily North based sports are not worth advertising or promoting, unlike our kick and clap cousins.

Yes they throw us a bone televising the Challenge cup but that’s it really, I honestly think if they could get away with not televising this they would.

How can a sport with so many fans watching the game every week cant hold down a regular TV position on the BBC is beyond me.

As the old saying goes its not what you know it is who you know and the so called upper class are not interested in rugby league and never will be.

[MrDave]

England RL could win the world cup by beating Australia 100-0 in the final and it still wouldn't raise the profile of the sport in England.

Like Sutty said it will be 20 seconds on the news and might get 100 words in some 'rugby league friendly' newspapers.

I no some rugby league fans who until recently had no idea there was a world cup this year so I doubt none rugby league fans have a clue what is going on.

[shawcross da warrior]

nope, we get the odd mention on sky sports as it is, might get a little few minute video made but thats about it...

[Sutty]

nope, we get the odd mention on sky sports as it is, might get a little few minute video made but thats about it...

I agree, it's not just the BBC that fails to promote out sport, it's also the newspapers and Sky Sports.
I've lost count of the number of long fancy adverts for the forthcoming European Cup in Rugby Union, as well as the ridiculous amount of publicity that Yawnion gets on Sky. In comparison the amount of publicity afforded to Rugby League is virtually non existant. I play football with the sports reporters and presenters off Granada Tonight, and they both agree that the amount of publicity that Rugby League gets is ridiculous. If it was up to them they would talk much more about it but unfortunately their hands are somewhat tied.
It will probably never change, there is too much snobbery and money in Rugby Yawnion, we're just classed as the poor Northern cousins.

[highland convert]

Well if you play a qualifier on a school pitch to take you to the world cup then the problem is not down to the game itself but the rl marketing team. I went with Trot to a college pitch in Glasgow to see S v W. Very few people wold know it was on. One stand for spectators, Sky was set up on the other side which was another pitch. Paper adverts were, I expect non existant. Paper write-ups the same. Only one team, England, gets a mention in going. Sky projects an image of trying to expand the sport yet do not promote teams outside the heartland or England. I have said all along we have a great sport, played to the highest standard that is introverted. It looks inward. Edinburgh should promote it north of the border but that promotion should be underway. Why can't sky run a golden oldie season. Compititions for Magic weekend packages.We hit the season flat. We trudge through the season. We get to GF, OK we have this WC this year, Switch off and come back Feb. We are sticking with it fo the WC but normally we switch to films then back to skysports for the new season. It is too bitty. Set up an intigrated package 12 months long to maintain us through the off-season.
Sell the sport, it will not sell itself.
Jim

[Sutty]

Well if you play a qualifier on a school pitch to take you to the world cup then the problem is not down to the game itself but the rl marketing team. I went with Trot to a college pitch in Glasgow to see S v W. Very few people wold know it was on. One stand for spectators, Sky was set up on the other side which was another pitch. Paper adverts were, I expect non existant. Paper write-ups the same. Only one team, England, gets a mention in going. Sky projects an image of trying to expand the sport yet do not promote teams outside the heartland or England. I have said all along we have a great sport, played to the highest standard that is introverted. It looks inward. Edinburgh should promote it north of the border but that promotion should be underway. Why can't sky run a golden oldie season. Compititions for Magic weekend packages.We hit the season flat. We trudge through the season. We get to GF, OK we have this WC this year, Switch off and come back Feb. We are sticking with it fo the WC but normally we switch to films then back to skysports for the new season. It is too bitty. Set up an intigrated package 12 months long to maintain us through the off-season.
Sell the sport, it will not sell itself.
Jim

I can see what you mean HC but I think even in England the promotion of our game is virtually non existant, Is it because Sky and other media outlets can't be bothered with RL? Or is it that the RFL don't pay the media enough to promote our game? RL has nowwhere near as much money as the RFU but surely they (the RFL) have enough to put together a decent sum towards a proper marketing campaign on Sky and other media outlets. Istill doubt that this would make much difference to the amount of coverage and subsequent publicity that RL gets in this country

[markill]

I think part of the problem to some extent is that, globally speaking, RL is a minority sport. It is played in two areas of the world, north-west europe and south-east pacific islands. It is hard to do anything about that with the global popularity of boring boring football. RU and cricket was spread a little further by British colonisers but that was before our sport was invented don't forget. It is hard to spread something that hasn't existed so long.

Look at american football, a sport i really enjoy watching. That has tried and failed to expand outside the US for years, but has only existed for 100yrs or so too. Baseball has a longer heritage and is played throughout latin america and in places like japan too.

Its not just in britain the sport is under-exposed. RL is the national sport of one nation - PNG. I bet even handball or something is a bigger sport in more countries (eg. germany, austria), and we know nothing about that over here.

Oh yeah, and RU is traditionally supported from national team down so everyone is more *ahem* united in who they follow. I know people who don't like following England or GB because all the players are from clubs they dislike, be it Wigan back when or saints and leeds now. This impedes its growth as a national sport. I bet a lower proportion of RL supporters care about England than same in Union.

Let us RL fans support the sport we love and get used to it being underappreciated by the rest - at least we can rest assured that we know the best sport!

[highland convert]

IF Scotland turn over france I thunk they will finish higher than England. Of the section England I least fancy.