Re: Toulouse : Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:23 pm  

GUBRATS wrote:

And as I pointed out , rarely are any team at full strength , given Bradfords extremely disjointed pre season , they will be immeasurably better next time you play them

So what will your excuse be then ?

Teams may be rarely at full strength, but teams are rarely without most of their star players, as Toulouse was. Toulouse's situation was like St Helens being without John Lomax, Theodore Fages and Thomas Makinson, perhaps even moreso.

Bradford may be better next time, but so should Toulouse and they will be playing at Toulouse in warmer, dry weather.

Re: Toulouse : Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:24 pm  

thefaxfanman wrote:

Any of these star players due back this weekend?

Not sure.

Re: Toulouse : Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:21 pm  

So...full strength.....dry weather.....anything else? Oh yes playing a wet weather team who have several players out injured.

Re: Toulouse : Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:27 pm  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

Teams may be rarely at full strength, but teams are rarely without most of their star players, as Toulouse was. Toulouse's situation was like St Helens being without John Lomax, Theodore Fages and Thomas Makinson, perhaps even moreso.

Bradford may be better next time, but so should Toulouse and they will be playing at Toulouse in warmer, dry weather.

Having watched Lomax,Fages and Makinson on Friday , I doubt they could have done any better than others who would have replaced them

You do realise it is warmer and drier in Bradford in the summer

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:57 am  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

Not sure.

"Not sure"? You seem pretty sure about everything else so why not this?

Fax are firing on 2 cylinders at most at the moment but I still expect a win this weekend.

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 11:14 am  

GUBRATS wrote:

Having watched Lomax,Fages and Makinson on Friday , I doubt they could have done any better than others who would have replaced them

You do realise it is warmer and drier in Bradford in the summer

Even on a hot summer's day, it never gets much above freezing point at Odsal

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:09 pm  

DemonUK wrote:

So...full strength.....dry weather.....anything else? Oh yes playing a wet weather team who have several players out injured.

He doesn't have many caveats does he? I like the one he regularly uses about a losing team scoring more tries but missing their goals as if goal kicking isn't an integral part of the game.

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 12:38 pm  

I'm probably going to get shouted down again but...

Surely having the top french teams playing in what is predominently and originally an English league does not really help grow the game and inspire a more professional domestic league in countries such as France? We possibly need a form of Champions League where these teams compete rather than just the world club challenge, but surely the teams should be the best in their own country first? And yes, I know that RL in France is already quite popular but just not high profile.

It just seems to me that SL/RFL is getting ahead of itself and wants the end game without putting in more effort lower down first.

Let me approach this a different way. Why are Toulouse and Avignon so desperate to play in SL? Is the French league not competitive enough or have enough financial backing? If they both play in the Championship or even SL, does that not devalue the remaining teams in the Elite Ligue?

Or should SL BE that Champions League now but instead of the current mid 8s, the bottom 4 if SL play the top championship side from England, France, Spain and Italy instead of the top four from the English Championship?

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:57 pm  

Gallanteer wrote:

I'm probably going to get shouted down again but...

Surely having the top french teams playing in what is predominently and originally an English league does not really help grow the game and inspire a more professional domestic league in countries such as France? We possibly need a form of Champions League where these teams compete rather than just the world club challenge, but surely the teams should be the best in their own country first? And yes, I know that RL in France is already quite popular but just not high profile.

It just seems to me that SL/RFL is getting ahead of itself and wants the end game without putting in more effort lower down first.

Let me approach this a different way. Why are Toulouse and Avignon so desperate to play in SL? Is the French league not competitive enough or have enough financial backing? If they both play in the Championship or even SL, does that not devalue the remaining teams in the Elite Ligue?

Or should SL BE that Champions League now but instead of the current mid 8s, the bottom 4 if SL play the top championship side from England, France, Spain and Italy instead of the top four from the English Championship?

You're idea is great.
However, it depends how long you want to wait.
The French, left to their domestic league, would take decades to become full time professionals and be in a position to compete with Super League and rthe same applies to N. America.
Whether parachuting clubs into SL and the National Leagues is the right way, is still open to debate.
However, IF RL took of in Canada and N. America, it would be huge for the game and it would elevate the international scene tremendously, which would of course help increase sponsorship & tv revenues.
Mind you, we are a long way off at the moment.

Re: Toulouse : Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:27 pm  

Gallanteer wrote:

Let me approach this a different way.

1. Why are Toulouse and Avignon so desperate to play in SL?

2. Is the French league not competitive enough or have enough financial backing?

3. If they both play in the Championship or even SL, does that not devalue the remaining teams in the Elite Ligue?

1.To compete at the highest level, and to raise their playing standards and their popular support
2. yes,
3. yes.