gutterfax wrote:
I have never said I had a solution or a magic wand, but I would have played Australia's 2 group games excluding England in London, same with NZ's games v Tonga and PNG. Relying on Locals and 7 quid tickets is not a business strategy...it cost-cutter marketing.
As it is, the Media will not be interested in the "lesser" nations games, so the success of the tournament is currently reliant on England being competitive.
I'd have played England v Australia in Huddersfield.....the birth place of the game with a rammed 25,000 fans......as it stands, Italy v Wales at Cardiff in the 2nd game could prove an embarrassment.
No chance of getting a ticket to the final without attending 2 group games and QF minimum......double headers should have been for the smaller draws, not the bigger teams.
Tickets could have been purchased through clubs ST's from September 2012......
as for marketing/sponsorship/partners.....the sale of the TV rights to premier killed any hope of a national brand buying into the comp...I said a while back Gillette may ride in at the 11th hour and I am still of that Belief.
Sally Bolton has said 500k is the target......in reality, 350-400 is more likely and well done them, but it won't do anything to promote the game as a national sport....it will be seen as a northern hobby also played by Aussies.....if Italy turn over Wales I suspect Craig Gower being interviewed as the Italian playmaker will only reinforce this stereotype!
I agree with you playing England games first is a stupid idea. Can't work it out why they have done that, rather than the stadium filling up, it only empty during the second game with people getting trains home.
With your constant AustraliaB statements, give it a rest, Fiji, PNG are full of many home grown stars.
Why would you play England v.s Australia at Huddersfield? Ticket sales for the double heard look to be at least 45k+ already. Thats 20k ticket sales you would have wiped off by playing it at Hudds. It will look a million times better playing it at Millennium than Hudds.
I disagree with your idea of not having a chance of getting a ticket to the final unless you brought a ticket from 2 group games and QF. Thank god your not on the marketing team because good luck in telling fans they can't get to a final unless they buy tickets to the group games when money is tight. How are families going to be able to afford this? We've not sold the final out yet so how you would expect to fill it out with an idea like that baffles me. The idea i would like with the CC, no the WC.
You also contradict yourself, you say the media/sponsors aren't interested in the smaller nations, you then say because the TV rights were sold to premier sports, that sponsor will no longer invest as a result.
The main priority for the WC organisers is
A. to make the game look good and stadiums well attended. I think they will do this.
B. Make more profit than the last WC to invest back into the game. Again i think they will do this.
To make international RL grow we need to invest into the smaller nations, the money we generate from the WC will go a long way to this and help BUILD and DEVELOP those nations. I trust in your eagerness for this to be a success you are buying plenty of merchandise from the WC shop.
Oh and on Craig Gower, you mean the same Craig Gower that represented Italy RU
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