Quote ="DGM"I don't really follow that logic. Surely all that proves is that the RFL [ithink[/i that nobody in Scotland cares? hence playing it at Workington where they hope to draw out an attendance of RL enthusiasts.
Proof would be holding the game in Scotland and nobody turning up, wouldn't it? Even then, it's a bit of a chicken & egg scenario really - do you only play games there once the interest is there, or do you create the interest by playing games there? The accent comment is daft. Nationality isn't defined by your accent.
We also have the issue that when they have played games in Scotland in the past (Galashiels), it's against inferior opposition, in inferior competitions and they themselves can't attract the same quality of squad like we've seen in the 4 Nations this year.
I'd like to see a move to create Regional Academies in Wales and Scotland, along the same lines as the Midlands, Cumbria & North-East academies - helping to create that additional pathway for talent to come through in those nations.'"
Going off on a slight tangent, surely the Magic weekend was the ideal event to create some interest in less well established areas and it would be ideal to stage the Magic event in Edinburgh or Cardiff and then aim to sell tickets for other fixtures/ Internationals on the back of that.
I understand that the 2021 world cup had been arranged over here and IF we were serious about increasing interest in Scotland and Wales then, perhaps we should have the Magic events in these places prior to some Internationals being played in the area.
Although having the next world cup planned, we really do lack a proper forward thinking strategy for the game (at all levels)
