Given the obvious draw to these World Cup games of ex pats of the countries involved & cheering their respective countries along ,i was wondering if there is an avenue, as yet unexplored ,that may be beneficial to our game.



As we all know, Britain is now a multicultural society but much of its sport ,including RL is very much still white working man's by tradition. In our part of the world ,the M62 Corridor ,the heartland of the game , we are also home to many people of diverse origins & cultures who are not actually represented at sporting level apart from when the Indian & Pakistani cricket teams are touring the UK. Maybe the RFL should make soundings among various ethnic groups about forming teams at a level they would find for themselves & thus flying the flag to rally round their particular countries compatriots. The list is endless ,ranging from Australian ex pats right through to Indian & Pakistani ex pats & at first the teams could probably be nomadic ,hosted by various grounds throughout the country with assistance from the RFL, to see what appeal there would be to the ex pat public of the participating teams.Some ethnicities in the North would probably have a big appeal in their own localities. but a case in point was the recent England v Poland football match with its big attraction for Polish ex pats.



This could be where the London experiment keeps faltering because there are not enough actual white working class in an area that is already steeped in football & rugby union & the ethnic minorities there have no game to identify with . The games even get better crowds when moved out of the capital.



If it was a success ,a scheme like this would provide ,in time, a broader player base & hopefully bring communities together under a sporting umbrella by giving these communities a wider interest than tension on the streets.

IIRC, Pakistan already have a Rugby League team. Didn't Ikram Butt liaise with the RFL and set one up back in 2011? Obviously it's not UK based, but it's definitely a start.

This is a point I raised in regards to Warrington on here a few months back. Warrington has a thriving Polish community which to me is crying out to be tapped into. I stumbled across this website ( www.warrington.pl/ ) the other day which is interesting and shows the club could potentially reach out to new audiences at a low cost. That website has over 6,000 users, the club regularly posts on this forum these days which has how many Warrington based members?

This is a point I raised in regards to Warrington on here a few months back. Warrington has a thriving Polish community which to me is crying out to be tapped into. I stumbled across this website ( www.warrington.pl/ ) the other day which is interesting and shows the club could potentially reach out to new audiences at a low cost. That website has over 6,000 users, the club regularly posts on this forum these days which has how many Warrington based members?

Think we're running without learning to walk.



We need to first focus on three possibly 4 key areas first.



1.Any development of London regardless of ethnicity, they need help and they need it quick, the amateur game is thriving but the professional game is in desperate need of people who know what they're doing.

This should be the primary focus of help, they need a general focus and not just pockets of certain communities.



2.Wales ie Wrexham

This needs again someone who knows what they're doing, with a bit of business acumen and focused on promotion of both Wrexham and Wales as a whole, the Welsh love rugby and with the correct plan in place with the correct people it's a guaranteed success because the appetite is already there.



3.Cumbria

There's only one way this is going to work and for me it's a bitter pill to swallow not only for the history of the game but for the fans of Barrow, Whitehaven and Workington. They have to come under one Cumbrian banner and play in one place preferably a place that isn't one of the above so possibly Carlisle. The hunger is there but Cumbria is a small county in terms of numbers, they have to unite together and play under one name, would it happen though?



4.Only once all of the above are sorted would I even dare expand but I'd be looking to reestablish either Gateshead or look to the midlands, a prime candidate being Coventry, having been striped of their football club it's got some potential there is a rugby scene in the area and with the correct name and marketing could draw people in from surrounding areas.



We need sensible focused/targeted growth, we need the right people in charge and we also need to find out if the appetite is there before jumping in head first.

Have you ever watched a sport in which you know non of the rules, you think you like it but every decision naffles the crap out of you? That's the problem with attracting new fans, how many of us have 'converted' soneone, took them to their first game and talked them threw it as the game unfolds. I have and it makes it easy for then to understand, you can't just invite people without that, the game is alien and by that respect is confusing and not as engaging.



If you want to play it smart, target communties the right way, have possibly a couple of workshops on the rules and slowly introduce them. Just throwing tickets at them or pushing threw the gates isn't enough.

Think we should get the game run correctly before we try and expand it anywhere.

The RFL are clueless they cant entice sponsorship of the League itself never mind run it London disaster Wrexham Disaster Wakefield Castleford nearly broke No hope of any sort of expansion until someone fixes up what we already have imo

When did the RFL take on the responsibility of micromanaging individual clubs?

Penrith.....near the M6...crying out for a franchise...under the Cumbrian banner.

How would the "Cumbrian" banner work though as this is a 'county' and not a town?

If Cumbria want in it has to be under CUMBRIA not too fussed where they play, Carlisle was just a suggestion.

It's a name, an identity, it's the only way you'll get fans to unite, call it anything else and it just won't work.



I for instance COULD support a Cheshire team but if you called it Chester I wouldn't.

I could support a cheshire club if it wasn't a merger between warrington and widnes. I guess it would have to be similar to nrl mergers if ive read it correctly in the past?

Illawara Steelers despite merging with st George still survive at junior levels.

And North sydney still survive as a lower league NSW cup team. similarly west magpies despite merging with balmain to form the wests tigers still retain their original identity in a semi pro comp..



So maybe thats the way to go retain the individual clubs so the heritage of the old historic clubs isn't lost but create a new venture so former bitter rivals can start afresh with a new team.