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That's excellent news! Well done to the Rams. Do you know if it will include commentary?

The A Leagues average crowd numbers have fluctuated. In 2010/11, the 6th season, the average was 8,393. Last season it was over 13,000. The NRC is a much shorter competition so even if it were to get up near the averages of the A League it wouldn't be near it on aggregate. I hope we see at...

I agree that ultimately the NRC should be looking to achieve the same kind of numbers as the A League. At least in terms of averages for crowds and ratings.

The difference is that the A-League is the highest level of competition played in Australia (other than a handful of internationals), while we have super rugby. People perceive the NRC as a development competition for super rugby rather than a national championship in its own right. There was...

I don't think there needs to be less teams in NSW. The Sydney teams have been losing, sure, but they've all been competitive. The only change I'd like to see is for the Sydney Stars to become an inner west PLUS eastern suburbs team. I know that Randwick would like their own team but I think...

The lack of foresight is disappointing. Sounds like the crowd might have been double what it will be if it was played on Sunday.

And I doubt the financial support would last long if they don't get bums on seats. The Asia-Pacific Dragons are going to play the Maori All Blacks in Singapore this November. I guess that will show whether they have any potential for drawing a crowd. It will be embarrassing if a couple of...

I do actually like the idea of an Asia-Pacific Dragons team. The big problem is just whether they can find a base of support in Singapore. Especially if they're not even called Singapore! If they do get in I hope they will play the occasional game in the islands. Perhaps when they have a home...

Not a bad idea but the funding requirement would be higher given the longer competition (the Pacific Cup in Feb/March was finished in a month). A tangent of your idea could be to use some of the best local islander talent to prop up a team in a new market like Adelaide. If the IRB was willing...

I believe that is the position of the NZRU. But I'm pretty sure I read Pulver say that they had initially gone in with a preference for an Australian and NZ (perhaps eventually Asia-Pacific) conference that didn't play against South African teams until an expanded finals series. But NZ and SA...

I'd still go with the team that wins the competition. Just makes more sense to me. The champions defend it first, not the minor champions.

You can define tiers however you like. There's no absolute truth in these matters. I would personally define it by the level of competition. Not by where a player earns their money and spends most of their time competing. The Top 14 isn't at all controlled by the FFR and test players in the Top...

I know why people use it, but I think it negatively effects the perceptions of more general fans. I think if I was a casual fan and someone asked me to a third tier rugby match I'd say no unless I had a free ticket and the stadium was within walking distance of where I lived. A National...

Fair enough, but it's hard to say as crowds aren't really reported at those levels. Anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand I'd estimate. One thing I'd love to see, maybe next season is a Sydney double header on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon featuring the 4 NSW teams. Put some other...

Bloodthirsty greek mofo would be cooler. But I don't really care so long as it doesn't look like an oversized dinner plate or the type of boring wooden shields high schools use to list their past school captains. Needs some size and character about it. And a bit of uniqueness.

NSW Cup and QLD Cup. Comparable to Shute Shield from what I've seen. They are comparable competitions as they run parallel to the NRL. The NRC is not a comparable competition to the NSW Cup and QLD Cup.

Manly got some good crowds in the Shute Shield this year. Hopefully a lot of them show up for the Rays.

Do you guys not get that my point is how ridiculous it is to be obsessed with 'tiers?' 'Third tier' should be banned from all rugby commentators and officials lips.

The State of Origin players make 50k per match. Not sure about Kangaroos, but it's not chumps change. I assume you would rate Top 14 and the Heineken Cup (or whatever it is going to be called now) as the top tier of rugby in Europe?

Just because a small % of players that aren't eligible for either NSW or QLD play in the NRL doesn't mean the state of origin is not a higher tier of competition. For Australian league players there is a pretty obvious hierarchy: Kangaroos - Origin - NRL. Similar to rugby: Wallabies - Super...