Salford is 3 miles from Manchester city centre and is technically in Manchester and St Helens is only 13 miles from Liverpool city centre. Both teams fall well within the catchment area of 'big cities'. The problem in attracting young kids to our sport is not geographical.



Kids see the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard living pop-staresque lifestyles, driving super-cars, living in mansions and getting paid millions a year and aspire to be these people. The youngsters that live in Manchester get draw towards Manchester United or City, those in Birmingham follow City or Villa. If you grow up in Newcastle it is almost indoctrinated into your psyche to be a Newcastle United fan.



Kids play soccer at school - in their games lessons and on the playground with their mates. I did as a kid 40 years ago and nothing has changed to this day.



The problem attracting new supporters (and therefore investment) to RL is marketplace competition. How can RL possibly compete with soccer when the most a Rugby club can spend on it's entire squad every year is nearly equivalent to one single soccer player's annual salary?



How many times have we seen the RFL try and expand the sport outside of it's heartlands and spectacularly fail? RL has had 120 years to establish its self as a national pastime but has been unable... and why? There is little or no appetite for RL outside the heartlands because there are far too many other, more attractive teams to nail your flag to.

Grow up and come back when you can put a coherent argument together. The above is pathetic!!



People are not obsessed with close games - people just want value for money. This is supposed to be elite sport with standards on the field that reflect that ambition. The size of the winning margin is irrelevant it is the quality on the field and the lack of competitiveness of many of the teams that is at issue. You may be happy if Leeds were the only serious side in the competition and won every game by 50 but for the game as whole that isn't healthy.

Were you drunk when you wrote this ?

I agree which is partly why I suspect it will require some determined and obsessed rugby league fans from the likes of Cas and Wakey going elsewhere and taking the game to kids in pe lessons and having them play. Kids are impressionable and do what they see. If people can infiltrate schools or youth clubs and introduce kids to it and get them playing young it will rub off.



It isn't the same but I taught in two French schools and kept banging on to students about my favourite bands, one of whom had never been there or had any CDs in any shops available to by.



My passion (and lending CDs to them to "get them into it"icon_wink.gif meant that about 12 or 15 of them liked these bands by the end. I appreciate lending a cd is a lot more practical than having kids playing RL but I do think the passion if the "teacher" is a massive influence.



I have wanted to get involved in learning to play RL but have only picked a ball up a few times following a rogue supply teacher who made us play in pe at school. I live in Leeds city centre and have not had much joy so far. After the world cup I was getting emails about "touch rugby" being "set up near you" and initially it listed the Leeds Rhinos foundation in Headingley as a place to go but that never got started so I think there is a league around Seacroft way or I go to Wakey or Bradford. Which seems daft when Leeds is best positioned to teach people and develop a league.



As I say I think passion at low level and influencing kids with yours is probably the way it will happen. It is just a slow process and in the lap of the gods!

Nobody is going to like to read this but you are correct in your assertions that you need to be introducing Primary School children into tag rugby and I hope you find the support you need within the RL community.



However the bare truth is that if you wanted to do the same for kids playing RU, and at tag level it is no different at all to RL, then you would easily find the support from centrally funded local RU clubs either at the club itself or (as in the case at my daughters Primary school some years ago) via a funded supply sports teacher for one lesson a week.



There may well be a similar provision made by the RFL and I hope if there is then someone will point you in the right direction but if you want to be involved in junior tag rugby (and you don't need to have played the game) then you will be made most welcome at most amateur clubs of either code.

Ovenden 46 - 46 Oldham St Annes



The above result is from last Saturday . I am guessing it was a rather exciting game to watch .

92 points scored in one game and resulting in a draw has to be entertaining .





Am now sat waiting for the inevitable ... Both teams to be accused of having great attack and terrible defence .





EDIT : Just out of curiosity would you have rather watched : Oulton Raiders 78 - 0 Saddleworth Rangers ?

It's impossible to overestimate the effort and scale of the RU's direct involvement in the mini and junior game. The set up, the funding, the number of volunteers, the opportunities to play, the access to quality coaching is all on the money. It's a cheap sport as we'll for kids. We charge 35 quid a season, we have free second hand kit for those that need it and the club pays for all festival entries.

I would, because I like to watch Oulton and follow them. 100 would have being even better.

Just as an aside. The scooper dooper rugby union premiership in the last three seasons, the same three clubs have being in the top four each season.



By contrast in Super League, only Warrington have being in the top four for all of last three seasons.



If we have a problem, what does Union have at club level?

The difference is club level RU is the sideshow, club level RL is the shop window - simple really

The Heineken Cup, in England a 4.25 million salary cap, countrywide professional game, a junior club in practically very town, development officers and RFU coaches in every district of England, a thriving junior game (Rosslyn Park played us this year and they have 100 kids to pick from just in their under 11's). They also have a top 4 playoff rather than an embarrassing top 8 system and last year Quins pulled in 82,000 spectators to a league game with London Irish at Twickenham.



That's just off the top of my head.

West Park Bramhope (although they don't call themselves that now).



No further evidence needed as to the development investment made into their game from 8 years old upwards, there isn't anything comparable in RL, nothing.