The Virtual Terrace • Who will replace Widnes: Toronto, Toulouse or London?
Castleford only got 7,200 for their game against Huddersfield tonight. Catalans are regularly averaging bigger crowds, which makes them a more popular club than Castleford. Plus Catalans have won the Challenge Cup this year, while Castleford have not won it for decades. The fact that Catalans started the season off so badly is irrelevant to their standing today. That is why Catalans deserve to be rated among the top Super League clubs, just behind Leeds, Wigan, St. Helens, Warrington and Hull FC (the five big ones), and ahead of Castleford, Hull KR, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Widnes, and Salford.
If Toulouse was to be promoted to Super League, their attendances would rise massively, just as Catalans did when they were promoted to Super League. If I am not mistaken Catalans crowds pre-Super League were lower than Toulouse's current pre-Super League crowds. With Toulouse in Super League we would have two powerful clubs in France, attracting more French youth to play the game, and over the long term improving the quality of the French national team.
Also, with Toulouse in Super League Sky would be able to schedule a Saturday afternoon match from France every week instead of every other week, which would be a bonus for French and British fans alike. And a smart Super League management would be able to schedule each English team's visits to France over consecutive weekends (vs Catalans and Toulouse), thereby minimising the English teams' travel costs and fans' travel costs and giving English fans the chance of a full week's holiday in France.
Having Toronto in Super League also offers advantages, including an extra possible TV game for Sky in the UK each other week, and the chance of securing a Canadian TV contract which provides at least one British TV game for Canadian telecast each week in return for having the Toronto home games on Sky. That set up would do wonders for rugby league development in Canada.
Having London in Super League does't offer any of those advantages that Toulouse and Toronto provide. However it is important for the game to have a professional team in London playing at the top level, to make the game more credible in the UK and internationally. It is also important in order to attract southern English youth to playing the game and aspiring to a professional level.
For those reasons I would like to see all three "expansion" teams in Super League, but my preference is (1) Toulouse (2) Toronto (3) London.
If Toulouse was to be promoted to Super League, their attendances would rise massively, just as Catalans did when they were promoted to Super League. If I am not mistaken Catalans crowds pre-Super League were lower than Toulouse's current pre-Super League crowds. With Toulouse in Super League we would have two powerful clubs in France, attracting more French youth to play the game, and over the long term improving the quality of the French national team.
Also, with Toulouse in Super League Sky would be able to schedule a Saturday afternoon match from France every week instead of every other week, which would be a bonus for French and British fans alike. And a smart Super League management would be able to schedule each English team's visits to France over consecutive weekends (vs Catalans and Toulouse), thereby minimising the English teams' travel costs and fans' travel costs and giving English fans the chance of a full week's holiday in France.
Having Toronto in Super League also offers advantages, including an extra possible TV game for Sky in the UK each other week, and the chance of securing a Canadian TV contract which provides at least one British TV game for Canadian telecast each week in return for having the Toronto home games on Sky. That set up would do wonders for rugby league development in Canada.
Having London in Super League does't offer any of those advantages that Toulouse and Toronto provide. However it is important for the game to have a professional team in London playing at the top level, to make the game more credible in the UK and internationally. It is also important in order to attract southern English youth to playing the game and aspiring to a professional level.
For those reasons I would like to see all three "expansion" teams in Super League, but my preference is (1) Toulouse (2) Toronto (3) London.
Statistics: Posted by JEAN CAPDOUZE — Thu Sep 13, 2018 9:35 pm — Replies 198 — Views 9155