The RFL are coming in for a lot of stick over the England v France international. Wrong time, wrong venue are two of the most often aired criticisms. June 12th also sees the England football team’s first game in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, an event that will dominate the sporting media for its duration, unless and until Fabio Capello’s team fail to make the desired progress, in which case we’ll have to endure the inquest into his failure for the next four years. Meanwhile, whatever happens in the Rugby League international at Leigh that day will pass almost unnoticed except for the few thousand fans inside the stadium and those who read the dedicated Rugby League media.
The argument over the venue itself is not that Leigh Sporting Village is not a great Rugby League venue, it clearly is, but that it is too small and too far off the beaten track to make much of an impact in terms of flogging extra tickets or raising additional interest.
I can sympathise with both viewpoints, though with reservations.
On the face of it, it does seem crazy to have England in Rugby League action on the same day as the national football team. But then, what other alternative dates were available? The season is already packed with club fixtures and runs from February to October. Shoe-horning a mid-season international in there at any time will meet with a complaint from some quarter or other and face a challenge for public interest from other rival sporting attractions. If not football, maybe Wimbledon tennis or the cricket.
At some stage, a line has to be drawn, a decision has to be taken, and Rugby League must assert – if only to itself – that our own international fixtures are important enough not to have to worry constantly what else is happening around them, otherwise they will not happen at all.
It is unfortunate that the game clashes with FIFA’s World Cup on this occasion whatever the reason, but despite all that, if there are not at least 10,000 people more interested in watching a live international Rugby League match for only a tenner a ticket and prepared to tear themselves away from a football game on the television, just how great is this game we keep moaning at the media for not paying sufficient attention to? If we don’t care enough about it, why should anyone else?
I’ll be at Leigh on June 12. Not because I have to be, as editor of a Rugby League magazine, but because I want to be, as a fan. I’ve bought my own ticket and I won’t even be recording the football to watch later. I’m sure it’ll be hard to avoid, however much I try.
All that said, allowing a Super League game to take place on the same day too, particularly one that involves the reigning Champions does suggest that this international fixture is not considered the highest priority by those charged with the responsibility of organising it, which can only undermine its credibility within our sport, let alone beyond it.
As for the venue, we should not be ashamed to acknowledge that games against France do not have a history of attracting massive crowds. Selecting a stadium – particularly a new build stadium – in an area which is not already sated with Super League action can add to the attraction of attending this event, rather than detracting from it. There would have been little to gain from putting this game in a bigger, more iconic venue apart from lots of empty seats, unless and until France are seen to have a better chance of beating England and the RFL are prepared to speculate to accumulate in terms of spending more money – any money, in fact – to promote it to a wider audience.
It’s true that rugby union has had some success in playing club games at Wembley that have pulled in significantly more people to watch them than if they had been played in their more regular venues, but then, as we know, rugby union does not have to work quite as hard in achieving publicity for these events as we would need to do in Rugby League.
However, on a slight tangent, when it comes to those international Rugby League games that do have a history of pulling huge crowds in places such as Old Trafford and Wembley, primarily against Australia but also on occasion New Zealand, they should be back there on the biggest stages as soon as possible. One size does not fit all.
On balance, the RFL have made a good choice to host France in Leigh, just as they did in taking a game against the same opponents to Doncaster in last year’s Four Nations.
The aspect of the game against France that disappoints me most is not the timing or the venue. It is that its status is so unclear. I think this contributes to the general lack of interest and excitement surrounding it far more than when or where it is played.
When England – or Great Britain – play Australia, it has either been for The Ashes or more lately the Four Nations trophy. Against New Zealand, outside the Four Nations they contest the Baskiville Shield. But against France, what? Last year’s French game had the benefit of being a Four Nations group match at least, but this year’s is being sold short as not much more than a warm up game, an opportunity for the new England coaching team to test out a few options, rather than a full-blooded Test in the traditional sense with not just honour and pride at stake, but a trophy and a prize fund too.
If this game is to have a regular place in the international calendar – and I believe it should – it is time to invest it with some real meaning and stop treating it as a glorified friendly. Perhaps then we can begin to develop it into an event that will stir the blood of those taking part and those watching far more than it is doing right now.
Page XIII Editorial – First published in Rugby League World Issue 351 (July 2010)
