I see that Burgess has been made the scapegoat by dropping him for the last game...

I'm assuming you live in Warrington which might explain that. If you lived in Leicester, Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Edinburgh, South Wales, Cork or Dublin you'd probably know someone who is interested in it. In most cases they would have less awareness of rugby league than people in Warrington have of rugby union too.

There has also been tens of thousands of people in attendance at every match in this World Cup too, and the tickets weren't cheap, nor were all the games played in traditional RU areas.

mark_m wrote:Just who goes to a Union match? The domestic games have small attendances and I don't know anyone who is interested in the game? Not correct. The Aviva Premiership has higher average attendances than SL. Leicester, Saracens and Harlequins all have average attendance > 20,000. http://rugby.statbunker.com/competition ... omp_id=469 I suspect there will also be more spectators at the Etihad for the England game then for the Magic Weekend on one day. If those want to take on the dominance of RU effectively they need to acknowledge the facts instead of rubbishing them. The fact is that, as a tournament, the RU World Cup has been a massive success so far with packed stadiums across the UK. So for a "crap" game it doesnt do so badly. Whilst the RL community continually pat themselves on the back with "the greatest game" nonsense and sneer jealously at Union.

mark_m wrote:Just who goes to a Union match? The domestic games have small attendances and I don't know anyone who is interested in the game? Not correct. The Aviva Premiership has higher average attendances than SL. Leicester, Saracens and Harlequins all have average attendance > 20,000. http://rugby.statbunker.com/competition ... omp_id=469 I suspect there will also be more spectators at the Etihad for the England game then for the Magic Weekend on one day. If those want to take on the dominance of RU effectively they need to acknowledge the facts instead of rubbishing them. The fact is that, as a tournament, the RU World Cup has been a massive success so far with packed stadiums across the UK. So for a "crap" game it doesnt do so badly. Whilst the RL community continually pat themselves on the back with "the greatest game" nonsense and sneer jealously at Union.

Lancaster has made 9 changes for the game. Burgess being one.

surely they should be giving him as much playing time as possible, a dead rubber is perfect for this...unless he's being scapegoated and they're trying to claw back some face.

Having watched Burgess play it's clear that his assets are not best used at centre and there are other players that are more effective in that position. He was tried in the pack and that idea was quickly dropped. I think it's a tricky time for Burgess as there doesn't seem a natural position for him.

Wires71 wrote:Not correct. The Aviva Premiership has higher average attendances than SL. Leicester, Saracens and Harlequins all have average attendance > 20,000. http://rugby.statbunker.com/competition ... omp_id=469 I suspect there will also be more spectators at the Etihad for the England game then for the Magic Weekend on one day. If those want to take on the dominance of RU effectively they need to acknowledge the facts instead of rubbishing them. The fact is that, as a tournament, the RU World Cup has been a massive success so far with packed stadiums across the UK. So for a "crap" game it doesnt do so badly. Whilst the RL community continually pat themselves on the back with "the greatest game" nonsense and sneer jealously at Union. But...it is the greatest game. Skills and athleticism are far superior. Anyone who saw the NRL GF can have no doubt of that surely? I have seen mistakes in these RU games that you wouldn't get at U9s junior RL. Indeed the things that hold the game back at most levels is the fact that is very tough to play it, increasingly so for the professionals and a cynical, underdog attitude. We need more confidence and inclusion in our sport.

Wires71 wrote:Not correct. The Aviva Premiership has higher average attendances than SL. Leicester, Saracens and Harlequins all have average attendance > 20,000. http://rugby.statbunker.com/competition ... omp_id=469 I suspect there will also be more spectators at the Etihad for the England game then for the Magic Weekend on one day. If those want to take on the dominance of RU effectively they need to acknowledge the facts instead of rubbishing them. The fact is that, as a tournament, the RU World Cup has been a massive success so far with packed stadiums across the UK. So for a "crap" game it doesnt do so badly. Whilst the RL community continually pat themselves on the back with "the greatest game" nonsense and sneer jealously at Union. But...it is the greatest game. Skills and athleticism are far superior. Anyone who saw the NRL GF can have no doubt of that surely? I have seen mistakes in these RU games that you wouldn't get at U9s junior RL. Indeed the things that hold the game back at most levels is the fact that is very tough to play it, increasingly so for the professionals and a cynical, underdog attitude. We need more confidence and inclusion in our sport.

I don't disagree with you Mark. Skill and athleticism is high, as it is with Gaelic Football, Aussie Rules etc, but that is not enough to get the crowds flocking in.

Playing devils advocate I could point out what I believe are the negatives of league. That being formulaic and predictable, repetitive and tactically simplistic in nature.

Do we really believe that there are millions of RU fans watching that would turn to RL if only they were aware of it and had seen a game?

I believe in one of the games he played Burgess only touched the ball twice.

As for Rugby Union, the game now has a massive advantage with top management from a business point of view & is able to attract the type of sponsors that RL can only dream about. I doubt RL has changed drastically in its efforts in business terms since our game first became a professional sport. On the other hand,& after all the years of under the counter payments, finally coming out of the closet as a professional sport has paid off for RU. Maybe professional marketing from a top level is what we need & to grab back the initiative from sky regarding scheduling of matches so fans can plan their match visits better instead of taking the tv viewing option.

My comment was based on the media coverage (especially 5 live) of Burgess being dropped, none of the other 8 players were mentioned.