Quote Willzay="Willzay"Ah so it's to the benefit of SL and not the game as some people are saying then. If Catalans had lost on Saturday it wouldn't be disastrous as the expansionists on the VT claimed because A) the championship would be more intriguing then ever, B) don't think Sky would be able to reduce the TV deal until the current one runs out whenever that is, and C) despite all the money they've spent on Aussies have Catalans made any difference to French RL.'"
RL in France has always been a contentious subject, for many years they were actually banned by parliament from calling themselves rugby due to pressure from rugby union. Super League has brought tv deals and national coverage of a sport which would have otherwise been almost impossible to imagine had there not been a French SL club. The local French league is also getting stronger, predominately in the southern regions around Tolouse and Perpignan, with lots of young French talent coming into the game at a lower level. They're battling a tide of Union and the coverage from having a SL team is helping that cause, young French players are seeing league, and seeing it as a viable option now
