Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:41 am  

To suggest a conspiratorial bias against any sport in 2014/5 is laughable, especially against one that is now professionally a regional one in the UK. In regard of the UK sporting landscape, Rugby League is just not relevant enough to warrant a conspiracy against it and is only a smokescreen to cover the inadequacies of the people who run the game. To make out RL has editors giving out edicts against it is living in a fantasy land, this may hurt a few moonies but Rugby League just isn't that important in the real world.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:35 pm  

The argument that union gets more coverage because it's bigger and more popularly played and watched is absolutely true overall and where internationals are concerned but completely falls apart when it comes to the domestic game. Club union vs club league get near as dammit identical crowds and league tv figures dwarf unions, so you really do have to question the massively disproportionate level of newspaper coverage the domestic union game gets as it is clearly and demonstrably no more popular than its league counterpart and quite feasibly actually less so.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:43 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

He's too busy switching between accounts to actualy read other people's posts properly!

This. He's not even doing a good job of changing the writing style.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:16 pm  

galliant wrote:

...this may hurt a few moonies but

Oops

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:22 pm  

galliant wrote:

To suggest a conspiratorial bias against any sport in 2014/5 is laughable, especially against one that is now professionally a regional one in the UK. In regard of the UK sporting landscape, Rugby League is just not relevant enough to warrant a conspiracy against it and is only a smokescreen to cover the inadequacies of the people who run the game. To make out RL has editors giving out edicts against it is living in a fantasy land, this may hurt a few moonies but Rugby League just isn't that important in the real world.

Well gallant/gutterfax

Rugby Union is at domestic level is also regionalised with the majority being M4 based and all being southern based.

Please don't throw Sale and Newcastle at me because they're irrelevences and can be dismissed in the same way you dismiss the 2 professional London clubs and the professional Cumbrian clubs.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 5:49 pm  

Big Jim Slade wrote:

The argument that union gets more coverage because it's bigger and more popularly played and watched is absolutely true overall and where internationals are concerned but completely falls apart when it comes to the domestic game. Club union vs club league get near as dammit identical crowds and league tv figures dwarf unions, so you really do have to question the massively disproportionate level of newspaper coverage the domestic union game gets as it is clearly and demonstrably no more popular than its league counterpart and quite feasibly actually less so.

Its alright Jim, the British press don't show any bias, it's all down to what the readers of the relevant papers and tv viewers expect.
The day when there is any kind of balanced reporting in the press will be it's first, on what ever subject you wish to read about, not just sport and not just RL.

The North (outside the M25) is the forgotten part of the UK in all aspects, until the next general election and then we can expect the usual visits form condescending Westminster MP's pleading for our "Northern" votes.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 8:34 pm  

The Avenger wrote:

Well gallant/gutterfax

Rugby Union is at domestic level is also regionalised with the majority being M4 based and all being southern based.

Please don't throw Sale and Newcastle at me because they're irrelevences and can be dismissed in the same way you dismiss the 2 professional London clubs and the professional Cumbrian clubs.

I believe that after the facts being ignored repeatedly, i sank that particular battleship with a nice graphic that even the most fanatical of you blind devotees of the x files couldnt ignore......I'll fish it out again just for you.......but whilst im doing that, please point out northampton and leicester on the m4 or south of the watford gap.....

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 8:53 pm  

here you go purdie.....top flight rugby teams in the british isles, where the BBCis received free of charge and the papers are all available.......i also have a very nice one of top flight french rugby too.......

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:37 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

here you go purdie.....top flight rugby teams in the british isles, where the BBCis received free of charge and the papers are all available.......i also have a very nice one of top flight french rugby too.......

Like I said, you ignore all the other professional clubs in Rugby League in order to propagate your fabrication.

Re: Sam Burgess Union debut : Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:55 pm  

Big Jim Slade wrote:

The argument that union gets more coverage because it's bigger and more popularly played and watched is absolutely true overall and where internationals are concerned but completely falls apart when it comes to the domestic game. Club union vs club league get near as dammit identical crowds and league tv figures dwarf unions, so you really do have to question the massively disproportionate level of newspaper coverage the domestic union game gets as it is clearly and demonstrably no more popular than its league counterpart and quite feasibly actually less so.

The aviva averages......12.5k and the heineken 13.5k whilst super leagues average last season was 8,365. I make that 50% more fans for the aviva and 61% more fans for the Heineken. Then there's the TV issue.......which is currently helped from a RL point of view by the infancy of BT sport, where by the game that delivers the smaller audience has a TV deal that is bigger. Of course, the TV ratings for the European Super League are for the UK only whilst the French TV viewing figures for their H Cup games often exceeed 1,000,000.
As for the press coverage...........the games in the UK get pretty much what they deserve in coverage. Here's a map of the GB & I reach of the two sports