Mailbox: Co-ordinating fixtures to grow the game
Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Want to be featured? Email the editor: james@loverugbyleague.com
Hi James,
Lobby the RFL, Super League and FFR etc, to co-ordinate fixtures.
EG, several years ago we attended Catalan v Saints on Saturday evening and on Sunday afternoon a Lord Derby cup match between two nearby French teams.
We’ve not be able to do anything similar since. A couple of seasons ago we were staying in Toulouse on Friday prior to attending the Catalan v Saints game on the Saturday.
Featherstone played Toulouse also on the Saturday with a similar kick off time.
I was talking to some Featherstone fans and we agreed if their game had been on the Sunday some fans would have attended both games.
In 2021 if we have Ottawa and Toronto, schedule games so fans can attend both and if and when NY come into RL.
Games on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some of us fanatics would attend all 3.
We are Saints fans, but a couple of years ago we attended Toronto v Barrow and v Coventry on consecutive weekends.
Went to Mount Rushmore etc., in between games. We were scheduled to attend Toronto v Wigan and v Saints before the pandemic.
RL media, RFL, Super League, FFR etc., lobby Easy Jet, Jet 2, ( Please not Ryanair !) to fly Liverpool and Leeds Bradford direct to Perpignan.
You and yours stay well.
Name supplied
Editor’s comment: While there should certainly be some co-ordination, I think it would be difficult to have Catalans and Toulouse, for example, playing on back-to-back nights. The reason they play on Saturday evenings is because that’s the best for their local crowds. As a big advocate of the French game, there should certainly be more of an effort to introduce travelling fans to the Elite Championship, although their season does finish in June. However, there should undoubtedly be more done to utilise Catalans/Toulouse to grow interest and knowledge of the French game. In terms of North America, the same applies. Clubs will play when is best for them for commercial reasons – if you told St Helens, for example, that they could only play on Saturday nights because Wigan had first refusal on Fridays, I’m not sure how that would go down! There’s also the added factor of travelling times – for player welfare reasons in Super League for the following week, and more pertinently, for work for the part-time players in Championship and League One.
Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Want to be featured? Email the editor: james@loverugbyleague.com