Wrong wrong wrong.

If we want to be taken seriously as a sport we need games to be played in full stadiums .

If there is something that says Mickey Mouse sport is then RL community talking about the greatest game , opportunity of a lifetime the best players in the world then all the games being in TV and the grounds being empty .

Showing a TV audience a full ground with great rugby will make people want to try it out and make advertisers think it is worthwhile.

Trying to compete on pricing for RU internationals who sell tickets on a corporate basis to hedge fund managers from the city of London is patently ridiculous .

I went to two games this weekend England v Samoa and Ireland v Jamaica. . 3 tickets at each game for me and the kids was over £200. I am lucky and can afford it but most RL would struggle with that.
Add on petrol and other costs and that is not a cheap few hours out .

Then asking those fans to pay that money for 30 plus games in 4 weeks what do you think is going to happen. I would travel to watch the rest of Irelands games and create some atmosphere but not at those prices when I add on the travel etc.. I would also go and see other more local games . If tickets were reasonable..

I am all for selling tickets based on grading prices and let those who can pay get the best seats but it is bonkers charging £35 each to sit in the rafters at the end of at St James park when there are 2000 empty seats Side on further down. From the point of view of the cameras having those seats full would have looked better on TV. Also for all those casual fans I met who came along and are not RL diehards it would have made their day out more enjoyable and more likely to convince them to come back.

You don’t build an audience by pricing people out from attending games

Why ?

If we are going to do it, do it right.

People too bothered about results or empty seats in this sport. We never let any of our seeds grow.

Lets not devalue a competition by not sending our best squad. Im all for international growth but I want more then the same old Aus or NZ series.

THe Wheelchair sport benefited more from the tournament, I personally had dismissed it through ignorance prior to the World Cup but once I watched one of the earlier games I was hooked. My very earlier vision of the sport was a wheelchair bashathon but the skill and team work was a joy to watch, and having Amor doing the commentary explaining the rules was a bonus.

running all 4 comps together was the big success from this tourney, the whole project was average when it came to publicity and attendance, but the wheelchair and PDSL has been a big success, let us hope they build on that for 3 years time.

I know the French will be after revenge in the Wheel chair comp,that would be something to look forward to that is for certain.

Hosting in places that have an arena right in the centre for the Wheelchair and a good stadium walkable from the centre for the Mens and Womens games is the way forward. Newcastle ticks this box, Liverpool will when Everton's new stadium opens etc. Gives the whole weekend more of a festival feel rather than people just going to one game then driving home.