Sale RU have announced that they will be playing 3 games at the Reebok next season...



[urlhttp://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/rugby_union/s/1332802_sale_confirm_reebok_jaunt[/url

Sale chief executive Mick Hogan said: "Today's announcement is the culmination of nearly twelve months work to enable us to announce this event."



"We now have seven months to achieve a sell out crowd, and I truly believe that there are almost 30,000 people in the north-west who would like to attend a live game of Sale Sharks' rugby.



"We want to show the north-west some real ambition and give the region a rugby team that they can truly be proud to support."





Thoughts?

It's one game per season for the next three years. I think Sale do already have a support base of that size in the North West, or at least rugby union does. As you can see from the autumn internationals in RU etc, it's as much about the 'event' as the game - all Sale are doing is creating an event aimed at a similar demographic.

For Sale: Tickets to prawn sandwich eating convention with complimentary rugger match. £30 each.

Exactly what I was saying, only far more direct

I wouldn't mind going myself but I don't have a wax jacket or a picnic basket for that matter .

I was pointing out Mick Hogans thoughts, and wondering what people thought...

Reading to much into it I think. He's obviously just referring to a union side rather than rugby in general, probably just a slip of the tongue.

I don't know about the area east of Wigan - i.e. Bolton and all that - but if the Wigan area was interested in RU, Orrell would still exist.



It's possible they'll turn it into some kind of 'event', but I'm not sure people on the inside at Sale RU realise just how unsexy Sale RU is to those on the outside.



Even if a shed-load of RU fans show loyalty and traipse there from all across the north, that won't have achieved their aim. Their aim is to pinch new fans from the Wigan / Leigh / St Helens area. In that respect, I think they're on a hiding to nothing.

I can see clubs like Wigan R.U, Liverpool St. Helens etc. being given a shed load of tickets to sell for a fiver each.

No chance, draw the curtains.

Mick is simply doing his job.



To do his job correctly he shouldn't have us or any other club in mind. Business is business and I don't think he'll bothered about stepping on anybody's toes as long as he gets his job done.



Fair play to him I suppose. To bail on us the way he did whilst halfway through a job shows that he is keen to to do what it takes to be successful.

It's Mick's new job, it's what he does. They call it rugby cause they had the name first apparently. I don't care what it's called, I care what it looks like and League is the diamond to Unions tu*d. I wouldn't watch union if they paid me to go.