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Originally Posted by valo403
I watch plenty of rugby, likely more than most as we get tons of games from a variety of league on my cable package. I see very little of the type of action you posted above, I see plenty of grinding, which I definitely enjoy, but it's very different than the speed game of League. I like both, but if I'm not invested in an outcome I prefer the speed of league most of the time.
As for your first paragraph, I'm not sure what your basis is. It's propped up by owners and not driven by fans? The only games that draw attention are origin? The average attendance per round in the 2012 NRL season was around 15,000, not all that far off from what we see in the NHL. The Final drew 82,000. This for a sport played largely in one area of a small country in the middle of nowhere.
There has never been an international component, although oddly enough there's actually more of one now than there has been in the past.
Players have routinely left to play Union, then returned to League, then gone back to Union. It's not a new development, it's something that has occurred in Australia for a long time.
It's never going to be a global game the way Union is, but to say it's on life support is a massive overstatement.
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Sorry i wanted to respond sooner, then forgot. I watch maybe 4-5 games a week and have played for 20+ yrs.
League is played in 2 states in one country and a couple of counties in another. The leagues rarely expand, and outside of those that follow it few know much about it. Union at least has a higher profile than league world wide. TSN showed the last world cup. Hell will freeze over before the it would show the League world cup. Yes there is one. The sport is not expanding, while the argument could be made it is doing well in those areas, it is only mantaining, not growing. Perhaps, stagnant is a better term than life support.
League is a a boring game, 5 up then kick. All areas of contesting the ball have been removed:
Line out - gone, great place to steal the ball
scrum - neutered to such an extend it is useless
ruck - gone
maul - gone
If you watched the Blues v Crusaders game you saw some great work done by Ranger. He applied pressure to he ball carrier while on the ground causing them to give up a penalty. It is much akin to keeping you feet moving and drawing a tripping penalty in hockey. The skill shown by Ranger is amazing. The ability to control and maintain your body in the face of that physical pressure in amazing.
I can name a large number of players went from union:
-Davies
-Bateman
-Quinnell
-Gallagher
-'Inga
-Thorn
-Tait
Those were all before Union became professional. Other than SBW, what high profile Union players have gone to league? The movement is to the growing game of union.
I am also confused by you saying you
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prefer the speed of league most of the time
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and also saying
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I also really like watching Union games that turn into a war of attrition between two great packs
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those two comments couldn't be farther apart.
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 What? Where? It's only ever been popular in Australia and New Zealand (mostly Australia) and it's popularity isn't decreasing at all.
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Not to be rude, but but Northern England says high. The sport was "created" there and is still popular there, but wait I am making you point.