The best of friends...
Post categories: Rugby
| 14:13 UK time, Friday, 11 May 2007
Live rugby league is back on BBC TV this weekend with two matches from the 5th round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup.
On Saturday we are at Headingley for Leeds v Wigan (BBC1, 2.30) while on Sunday it's Wakefield v Bradford (BBC2 1.45pm).
Sunday's coverage follows rugby union with our highlights of the Guinness Premiership final between Gloucester and Leicester (BBC2 1.00pm)
As the TV Editor of both codes I am often amused by the enmity of some supporters of one code of rugby for the other. League fans talk dismissively of the "kick and clap" game while Union folk dismiss the "wrigglers" as the inferior game.
In this context it is interesting to report the findings of BBC TV's own audience research. If we leave football out of all findings (as it tops all lists in sport) what sport do you think most BBC rugby league viewers are also going to watch?
Yes you guessed it - rugby union. Over 60% of our Challenge Cup viewers also watch BBC's rugby union output. And the reverse is true. More of BBC's Six Nations audience also watch rugby league more than any other sport.
Setting petty prejudices aside this shouldn't really be surprising. Rugby fans it seems are rugby fans first and foremost. Of course there will always be competitive tensions between the two in this country over issues like player recruitment and retention, but it's reassuring to know that the rugby watching community is much more united than the bar room barrackers would have us believe.
Watch out this Saturday for our second rugby league forum on BBC Interactive (4.35pm). Thank you for the many responses to our first forum last month. It was pleasing that almost all responses were positive about this innovation.
On Saturday Clare Balding is joined in the studio by Robbie Paul and Wakefield boss John Kear while our match commentators Ray French and Jonathan Davies will also take part in the forum.
Topics you might want to send your views on include the role of the Video ref after last week's Leeds/Bradford debacle, the 2008 World Cup - particularly keen to hear from our Papua New Guinea viewers on that one - and last weekend's Millennium Magic experiment.
As my Ra-rah friends would say - enjoy!
