Big bang theory
A threat, healthy competition or neither?
Big bang theory
By Paul
July 23 2008
Rugby league, I'm a fan. Any sport that produced Sion Edwards deserves, if not demands, your respect. And now officially not just a sport for Northern types and Iestyn Harris. Wales and rugby league go back a long way, Billy Boston and Jim Sullivan through to Jonathan Davies are just some of the influential Welshman to have made it big in the 13 man code.
Big bang theory
July 23 2008
Rugby league, I'm a fan. Any sport that produced Sion Edwards deserves, if not demands, your respect. And now officially not just a sport for Northern types and Iestyn Harris. Wales and rugby league go back a long way, Billy Boston and Jim Sullivan through to Jonathan Davies are just some of the influential Welshman to have made it big in the 13 man code.
But the Celtic Crusaders in Super league is something completely different altogether. Now top flight rugby league will be easily accessible in South Wales.
Bridgend and it's surrounding area have been treated horrendously, by various parties during the professional era, and really deserves a top flight professional side. I'm not going to name any names here, Mr.Moffett.
Potentially both Union and League can very happily co-exist. I'm sure I'm not the only person who enjoys watching both, admittedly as someone writing this on a Welsh rugby union site, you can guess which one takes priority for me.
It's very ease to worry about League coming in and diluting the player pool available to Union, along with luring away potential paying customers from our regional and Premiership sides.
But realistically this is long overdue and We've had it coming. But whether or not both codes of rugby are in the same market place is debatable. After all league is now a summer sport, (admittedly an optimistically eight month long summer), plus as much as the Australians don't like it, both codes are still vastly different in a number of key areas, I still can't work out what that forty-twenty business is all about.
Union will always be engrained on the Welsh nations conscious, the red shirt will always act as enough of an incentive to get youngsters into the game. But part of me still worries that the allure of a professional side in that part of Wales, which may see fifteen and sixteen year old kids not wanting to travel either way down the M4 to join a regional side, preferring to represent a side they can identity with, inconspicuous of what code they play in.
It's all getting a bit serious this article, so I think I'd better just say it would be better to wait and see if the Crusaders are enough of a success to last past the the three year license they've been given, and whether or not people in Hengoed start wearing flat caps and the whippet population in Maesteg goes up, only then can we really start to worry.
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A threat, healthy competition or neither?
Posted by: Bred in Heaven (IP Logged)
Date: 23/07/2008 11:01
A threat, healthy competition or neither?
Re: A threat, healthy competition or neither?
Posted by: Isaac Dix (IP Logged)
Date: 23/07/2008 16:50
I am really chuffed that the Crusaders got a franchise. I am a lover of both codes as are many Rugby fans I know. Been to see them play a few times too. Union in the winter and now soon to be Super League in the Summer. Great!! (Sm127)
Re: A threat, healthy competition or neither?
Posted by: Zippy (IP Logged)
Date: 27/07/2008 12:35
Bridgend is buzzing from the news and a timely boost given that the rugby club is likely to fold or merge with Maesteg in the not too distant future.
On the union front the WRU need to sort out the Welsh Prem otherwise only youngsters who peak from an early age will ever get a chance.
On the rugby league front everything I've seen so far from the Crusaders is impressive, good lukc and hope to see some homegrown talent in the team.
On the union front the WRU need to sort out the Welsh Prem otherwise only youngsters who peak from an early age will ever get a chance.
On the rugby league front everything I've seen so far from the Crusaders is impressive, good lukc and hope to see some homegrown talent in the team.
