Rugby League 2022

[Rita_Poon]

Thats a try!

Thats a stinker!

 

[Rita_Poon]

Shocker, 73 passes, 43 hit the ground, and it looks a try. Well played Tonga.

 

[Walken]

What a great match up that was

 

[Gwladysstreetlad]

I went the Tonga Vs Papua New Guinea match last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a really good game of league. I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd, which was way better then I thought it would be and very involved and appreciative of what we saw.

The only negative of the whole night was the morons who took over running the ticket office. This is not a criticism of the club. It wasn't the Saints system that crashed. It was the fools running the event. Their cards system wouldn't work or accept anyones payment but they also couldn't/wouldn't accept cash payments meaning that loads of us (I'd got my ticket online ages ago but also brought friends on the night for their first taste of rugby league) had to wait for ages for them to resolve the problem. It just wasn't a great advert to people experiencing the sport for the first time and it came over as very amateur and small time.

The good news is that the people I brought weren't put off by all that nonsense and want to try another game so will be going the Wales Vs Tonga game on Monday. I hope more people who are trying the sport for the first time also feel like this.

 

[Walken]

I went the Tonga Vs Papua New Guinea match last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a really good game of league. I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd, which was way better then I thought it would be and very involved and appreciative of what we saw.

The only negative of the whole night was the morons who took over running the ticket office. This is not a criticism of the club. It wasn't the Saints system that crashed. It was the fools running the event. Their cards system wouldn't work or accept anyones payment but they also couldn't/wouldn't accept cash payments meaning that loads of us (I'd got my ticket online ages ago but also brought friends on the night for their first taste of rugby league) had to wait for ages for them to resolve the problem. It just wasn't a great advert to people experiencing the sport for the first time and it came over as very amateur and small time.

The good news is that the people I brought weren't put off by all that nonsense and want to try another game so will be going the Wales Vs Tonga game on Monday. I hope more people who are trying the sport for the first time also feel like this.

I nearly went myself and I am really annoyed I didn't.

 

[Gwladysstreetlad]

I nearly went myself and I am really annoyed I didn't.

Try and go to the game on Monday of you get the chance mate. Or the Australia Vs Italy game next Sat if you aren't going the blues match and have the time. Its well worth it. I know some people are moaning about the ticket prices but £25 for a ticket in the western terrace for a world cup game is great value imo. The more people going and the bigger crowds the games get the better.

 

[Walken]

Try and go to the game on Monday of you get the chance mate. Or the Australia Vs Italy game next Sat if you aren't going the blues match and have the time. Its well worth it. I know some people are moaning about the ticket prices but £25 for a ticket in the western terrace for a world cup game is great value imo. The more people going and the bigger crowds the games get the better.

I'm out of the country for a while on Sat which is a shame as it really does feel like a proper tournament. Made up I got to St James last sat though, the biggest difference for me was being able to watch things like full back play from the stands seeing the whole picture.

 

[barneygumble]

If any of you boys want a couple of tickets to Samoa Vs. France in Warrington let me know.

Won some in a comp; but I’m meant to be going on holiday that day, sadly!

Don’t want anything for them like.

I’m going to Leigh on Sunday, Lebanon Vs. Ireland I think they’ll be a great game.

 

[Gwladysstreetlad]

Its hard to not feel a little bit sorry for the Scotland lads here. Its like watching adults vs kids.

 

[tnc85]

Australia were awesome tonight. The team to beat still it seems

 

[barneygumble]

Australia were awesome tonight. The team to beat still it seems

Men against Boys, wasn’t it?

As good as Australia were Scotland were terrible. It was like they didn’t know the rules. Only had it on the tablet as I Was watching something else, but woeful.

I’m going disappointed by the crowds, they’re claiming 10k there yesterday and it is so far from the truth.

 

[mahermi1]

It’s been dying for years. Attendances dropping , viewing figures dropping, people playing the game, the skill set, amateur game killed off. Could go on for days about the mess it’s in.

Growing up in a rugby league town, you see the demise of the sport even more. I’m 34, seen the game go into a massive decline in the last 15 years. When I was growing up, you had loads of amateur teams, kids teams. Now I think the is one open age amateur team and about 2 clubs for kids in certain age brackets. Very sad. When it was played right, the was nothing like it, sadly now it’s just all beefed up players who run in straight lines. It’s like watching
Rugby Union from 20 years ago, boring.

it's become like football really, most of them ain't footballers, just athletes, Rugby league is the same, you used to get 4 or 5 fast players in a team and they'd stand out, now it's more like 9 or 10 and they don't stand out. Sky ruined Rugby for me.

 

[widnesblue]

it's become like football really, most of them ain't footballers, just athletes, Rugby league is the same, you used to get 4 or 5 fast players in a team and they'd stand out, now it's more like 9 or 10 and they don't stand out. Sky ruined Rugby for me.

Totally agree in every aspect of that. Was having this conversation with my dad and mates last week. You don’t know the difference between a winger and a prop/second rower nowadays. Widnes signed a player few years ago whose two positions was a prop and a winger, it just doesn’t make sense. You used to get players back in the day who were versatile like Ste O’Neil for Widnes but now it seems like they are all like that.

The coaching from a young age is poor and it transitions into the professional game. How do all the players go full time completely, move from Winter rugby to summer, and the skills decline. If anything should of improved drastically but they haven’t.

Totally agree with the Sky comment too, completely ruined RL in this country. Turned it into an embarrassment of a sport, a complete farce. Think said it before, RL was a Guinea pig for Sky to see if they could implement some of the stuff into Football. It’s drive hundreads of thousands away from the sport and it can’t bring them back because the in field product is poor, the off field decisions are embarrassing. This new thing they are trying with the category A and category B thing is a disgrace too, goes everything against what sport stands for. Just a glorified Super League they tried in the football the other year.

 

[tnc85]

Men against Boys, wasn’t it?

As good as Australia were Scotland were terrible. It was like they didn’t know the rules. Only had it on the tablet as I Was watching something else, but woeful.

I’m going disappointed by the crowds, they’re claiming 10k there yesterday and it is so far from the truth.

Yeah I’ve not seen Scotland play before and was surprised how bad there were.
France will be a tougher test for England today but still predict a win of 20+ points.

Yeah disappointing turn outs. Think the tickets are over priced and all the games are on TV! Plus the weather has turned, not like it’s nice and sunny!

 

[mahermi1]

Totally agree in every aspect of that. Was having this conversation with my dad and mates last week. You don’t know the difference between a winger and a prop/second rower nowadays. Widnes signed a player few years ago whose two positions was a prop and a winger, it just doesn’t make sense. You used to get players back in the day who were versatile like Ste O’Neil for Widnes but now it seems like they are all like that.

The coaching from a young age is poor and it transitions into the professional game. How do all the players go full time completely, move from Winter rugby to summer, and the skills decline. If anything should of improved drastically but they haven’t.

Totally agree with the Sky comment too, completely ruined RL in this country. Turned it into an embarrassment of a sport, a complete farce. Think said it before, RL was a Guinea pig for Sky to see if they could implement some of the stuff into Football. It’s drive hundreads of thousands away from the sport and it can’t bring them back because the in field product is poor, the off field decisions are embarrassing. This new thing they are trying with the category A and category B thing is a disgrace too, goes everything against what sport stands for. Just a glorified Super League they tried in the football the other year.

Spot on, one of the first winger forwards was at Bradford, can't remember his, hang on Vianakolo or something like that, great novelty at first, but soon wore off, I preferred my wingers like Offiah at Widnes and Robinson from Wigan. Remember there was a bunch of Widnes lads come through about 10 years ago, they played in the same football team as my lad, within a year they all bulked up incredibly, same everywhere, they all look like weightlifters, that to me tells me it's unnatural.
moved to Widnes in my late twenties and remembered when Rugby had a Widnes team like Basketball players, great fun to watch,Offiah, Johnathon Davies, Currier, the Hulmes, Sorenson, Koloto and Alan Tait just some I can remember. Best player I've ever watched an Australian centre called Mal Meninnga, incredible player.