10 times what the NRL rated In Melbourne on SundayRaiderdave wrote:Insignificant ?Xman wrote:So what your telling me is international RL is effectively insignificant in Syndey, RL's largest heartland city. In fact its way less significant than a domestic Aussie Rules competition in Adelaide, Perth and MelbourneParraEelsNRL wrote:Of course, this game historically only gets a crowd when held outside Sydney, Sydney hasn't turned up for decades.
You seem to forget or don't know would be my bet, the Kangaroos historically (that word again) when playing in Sydney for 70 years at the SCG set all sorts of crowd records. Then Australia started moving away from everyone else in every facit of the game in regards professionalism and everything that goes with it. The other National teams started to go to junk, it all happened around the mid 70's threw to the mid to late 80's.
During this time, there was the odd upset here and there, but Australia did go 16 test matches undefeated and not taking into account the Emus games against the club sides they played while on these tours over the 3 or 4 years. That record is up there with the Test Cricket side.
Over the last 15 years, the International game has seen some tremendous games played that imo and in many others it seems after reading their thoughts at different places that a hellava lot of these games were much much better than anything SOO put up. Yet all these great games were played when it was a series, none of the 1 off test matches since it was reintroduced have been much chop, the kiwis always need a few games to really get into it and have proved this over the last decade by winning a tri nations, a 4 nations and a RLWC, the first time in near 30 years Australia (back in 2005) had lost a series (last one was in France of all places in 1977).
What I'm saying is, it's going to have to take the other nations stepping up on a consistent basis to get the Sydneysiders along to the games again. It's a pity, cause I would've loved to have been around back in days when Australia would play France GB and NZ in Sydney in front of record crowds.
I read a book not that long ago called "champagne rugby" it was about the great French teams that toured Australia in 1951-55 and 60. In one of the chapters, it mentioned the crowds that followed the French team everywhere they went, the night before the first test in Sydney 1951 (First time France had been in Australia) the team where having a feed and a drink at one of the local pubs that was just up the road from the SCG where they were staying. After they called closing time, the hundreds in the pub left and the french team was the last of the ppl there. A couple of the players decided to go for a walk and have a smoke, when they got outside the pub, they looked towards the SCG and all they could see was something like thousands of fire flies buzzing around in the SCG. One of the French players asked a local who was walking past what those strange lights were that were coming from the SCG, the man turned to the French guys and said, that's the people getting in early for the big match tomorrow, they're all just having a smoke. There was already over 10,000 in the SCG the night before the First test.
Doesn't help when NZ have a coach that seems to have no clue whasoever.>
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When 600, 000 of them watch a sporting event Id say not
No
Insignificant would be a sport that can only attract 50, 000
Eg
The fumbles & bumbles
So what's YOUR prediction Dave? 50k for the RL international? 40k? Surely a match like this couldnt attract a smaller crowd