Mr MacPhisto
November 22nd, 2004, 10:33 AM
Ok, so the days of 100,000 plus crowds at Rugby league Grand Finals in England are long gone, but it seems they can still draw a good crowd to the big games. The Tri-Nations games have all sold out and crowds are increasing again in France.
I'm seeking info about the English RL competitions.
There seems to be two....the Challenge Cup (the final of which was played in May between Wigan and St Helens in front of 73,734 people at Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales) and the European Super League, the October final of which hosted Bradford and Leeds in front of 65,547 fans at Old Trafford, Manchester.
The Challenge Cup seems to run from November to May and Super League runs from Feb to October. Given the overlap, do some Challenge Cup games count towards Super League or do the poms just like playing lots of footy?
Average crowds for Challenge Cup seem pretty small, I assume because it's more like a pre-season comp for the Super League and lot's of smaller B-Grade teams are included (hence the odd 88-8 scoreline).
I found an overview of the Challenge Cup as follows....
2004 Rugby League Challenge Cup
Preliminary Round
Will be contested by twenty two amateur teams. The eleven successful teams progress to Round 1.
Round 1
The eleven successful amateur teams from the Preliminary Round will be joined by a further forty seven amateur teams, to make for twenty nine ties.
Round 2
The twenty nine successful teams from Round 1 will be joined by one team from Russia. The draw will be arranged so that the Russian team plays away and there will be fifteen ties.
Round 3
The twenty clubs from National Leagues One and Two join the competition, along with four clubs from France and another from Russia. There will be twenty ties. The draw will be arranged so that the twenty clubs from National Leagues One and Two will play either amateur, French or Russian opposition. The French and Russian clubs will be drawn to play away from home.
Round 4
The twelve clubs from Super League join the twenty successful teams from Round 3. This makes for sixteen ties, which will be decided by an 'open' draw.
Round 5 onwards
The competition proceeds on a straight knock-out basis. The semi-finals will be played on neutral grounds and the Final will be at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
I also noted a French team is expected to re-join the Super League and some comentators are suggesting a League consisting of 12 English teams, 2 French Teams and Two Welsh Teams.
Anybody got any more info?
I'm seeking info about the English RL competitions.
There seems to be two....the Challenge Cup (the final of which was played in May between Wigan and St Helens in front of 73,734 people at Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales) and the European Super League, the October final of which hosted Bradford and Leeds in front of 65,547 fans at Old Trafford, Manchester.
The Challenge Cup seems to run from November to May and Super League runs from Feb to October. Given the overlap, do some Challenge Cup games count towards Super League or do the poms just like playing lots of footy?
Average crowds for Challenge Cup seem pretty small, I assume because it's more like a pre-season comp for the Super League and lot's of smaller B-Grade teams are included (hence the odd 88-8 scoreline).
I found an overview of the Challenge Cup as follows....
2004 Rugby League Challenge Cup
Preliminary Round
Will be contested by twenty two amateur teams. The eleven successful teams progress to Round 1.
Round 1
The eleven successful amateur teams from the Preliminary Round will be joined by a further forty seven amateur teams, to make for twenty nine ties.
Round 2
The twenty nine successful teams from Round 1 will be joined by one team from Russia. The draw will be arranged so that the Russian team plays away and there will be fifteen ties.
Round 3
The twenty clubs from National Leagues One and Two join the competition, along with four clubs from France and another from Russia. There will be twenty ties. The draw will be arranged so that the twenty clubs from National Leagues One and Two will play either amateur, French or Russian opposition. The French and Russian clubs will be drawn to play away from home.
Round 4
The twelve clubs from Super League join the twenty successful teams from Round 3. This makes for sixteen ties, which will be decided by an 'open' draw.
Round 5 onwards
The competition proceeds on a straight knock-out basis. The semi-finals will be played on neutral grounds and the Final will be at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
I also noted a French team is expected to re-join the Super League and some comentators are suggesting a League consisting of 12 English teams, 2 French Teams and Two Welsh Teams.
Anybody got any more info?