Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 3:03 pm  

Old Feller wrote:

Currently the RL Challenge cup is one of those events that has to be shown on terrestrial tv.
But with the current govt. who knows what changes they will make to this list to appease their media friends?

IIRC only the final has protected status, not the rounds leading up to it.

So Sky could quite happily show every round including the final, but they would also have to allow a terrestrial broadcaster live rights for the final itself.

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:29 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

IIRC only the final has protected status, not the rounds leading up to it.

So Sky could quite happily show every round including the final, but they would also have to allow a terrestrial broadcaster live rights for the final itself.

Correct but showing our game on terrestrial tv at prime time has to be good for viewers if not for travelling Rhinos fans.

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:49 pm  

I'd be happy to see both semi finals back-to-back on the same day. Or even have them both at one good sized venue on the same day

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:04 pm  

Friday night is no problem if, say, saints were playing warrington at wigan. it's stupid forcing one set of fans to travel 70 odd miles over a motorway that's a car park on a Friday afternoon

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:24 pm  

IIRC, I got the coach from Headingley to Doncaster for the semi-final against Cas and we hit traffic on a Saturday afternoon. Only got to the ground about 20 minutes before kick-off. Probably why the coaches are leaving at 5pm tomorrow.

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:29 pm  

Think people might have to get use to it over the next few years if Leeds keep making Cup semi finals. Think I read something about the RFL wanting to avoid using the football/rugby grounds like Hudds and Wigan for the semis and just use the RL grounds like Langtree and the HJ for example.

This is the first time Hudds ground has gone 2 years without hosting at least one of the semis and both semis this year and last year were East vs West clashes and Headingley has gotten the nod this year ahead of Hudds for the first semi here since '99 I believe when London beat Cas. We obviously can't play at Headingley then it leaves very little options apart from travelling west if Hudds is a no-go. An all-Yorkshire tie might get Odsal or back down to Doncaster like a few years back but any East vs West clashes wouldn't really see those venues be top choice.

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:30 pm  

Good job the game wasn't tonight.
Tail back from Junction 29 to Junction 26 at 6.30.
Probably an hour delay before you even get to Ainley top and then into Lancashire.

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:45 pm  

FoxyRhino wrote:

IIRC, I got the coach from Headingley to Doncaster for the semi-final against Cas and we hit traffic on a Saturday afternoon. Only got to the ground about 20 minutes before kick-off. Probably why the coaches are leaving at 5pm tomorrow.

Why did you go a day early?

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:31 pm  

Fat Boy wrote:

Can't complain about the choice a venue - it had to be either in Yorkshire or Lancashire. Which ever stadium had been chosen it was bound to favor one team more than the other.

It's the choice of day that is fekkin' stupid.

The Challenge Cup has been running for nearly 120 years and this is the first time in the competition's history that a semi has bee played on a Friday night... and there's a fekkin' good reason for that.

The RFL have the backbone of a jellyfish.

Agree with you ref the Venue, some one has to travel and its luck of the draw as to who. I'm sure that the venues are chosen a long time before the semi-finalists are known, so again luck of the draw. But the timing is or should be completely in the control of the RFL. Too much influence given to the broadcasters IMO. Presumably the BBC are looking at whether Fridays yield better viewing figures than Saturday or Sunday, not sure they will in a meaningful way but it will ensure there are less people in the ground, tackling the M62 in either direction on a Friday evening is not for the faint hearted

Re: St Helens CC Semi Final Friday 8pm BBC2 : Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:32 pm  

ThePrinter wrote:

Think people might have to get use to it over the next few years if Leeds keep making Cup semi finals. Think I read something about the RFL wanting to avoid using the football/rugby grounds like Hudds and Wigan for the semis and just use the RL grounds like Langtree and the HJ for example.

This is the first time Hudds ground has gone 2 years without hosting at least one of the semis and both semis this year and last year were East vs West clashes and Headingley has gotten the nod this year ahead of Hudds for the first semi here since '99 I believe when London beat Cas. We obviously can't play at Headingley then it leaves very little options apart from travelling west if Hudds is a no-go. An all-Yorkshire tie might get Odsal or back down to Doncaster like a few years back but any East vs West clashes wouldn't really see those venues be top choice.

Hudds wasn't used last year because it is sponsored by John Smiths while the cup was sponsored by Tetleys. I believe that neither sponsors wanted their respective brands to be associated with each other.