Who says the lower leagues are dead? We finally have proof they're not.

All season Sky Sports have been broadcasting one game a week from either the Championship or Championship 1 on a Thursday evening. It has generally been the most anticipated game of the round from either league that has been shown. As a result, the enjoyment from watching the Championships has been unprecedented. Take the Grand Final as an very good example of what I'm talking about.

While the skill factor is not as high as that in Super League, the level of commitment and desire to succeed in what is becoming a very creditable and unique competition. Due to the high skill gap between the Championships and Super League, for many players winning this competition will be the highlight of their careers. With increased exposure on Sky Sports, the best may indeed end up playing at Super League level. However, due to the attitude of Super League clubs insisting of producing their own players, which is more cost effective, only a handful will ever move without being part of a club's successful license being approved.

But the problem for the RFL is the capture the public's imagination that the Championships are indeed a creditable competition. Having cut off automatic promotion and relegation (something British sport must have for it to be accepted in this countries sporting society, apparently) then an outsider sees the leagues as nothing more than a feeder competition and a graveyard for ex-professionals. This is an obstacle the RFL needs to overcome for attendances to grow and for both Championships to thrive in the local communities. Only after successfully targeting local areas can a club become ambitious because the communiy is the foundation to growing attendances and regular supporters.

Is university challenge failing its exam?

Well that was a thriller, wasn’t it? Oxford thrashed Cambridge 38-10 for the second year running in the annual Varsity match that was shown live on SKY. It wasn’t big. It wasn’t clever and nothing special. In fact I was so bored watching it I left at the hour mark unable to take anymore of the students’ inapt ability to play the sport at any pace at all. The fact the game was one sided didn’t help the occasion but I fail to see why I should watch thirty four rugby union players get to grips with the way Rugby League works. For the match to be shown on television is an insult to those watching in the heartlands of Lancashire and Yorkshire who have to put up with limited and, on some occasions, poor coverage of our game.

However I feel the RFL are involved in convincing SKY to show the game in the first place. For them it is an easy way to expand, and once more it can provide the possibility of a future politician studying at either of these universities to become a fan of the sport therefore having a voice in parliament. Well at least that’s the theory. But in all honesty, this is just another poor standard university match that everyone who watched or played the game will forget the following day because it doesn’t mean anything to them. Those playing were aroused by the fact the game is on national television, while the majority of those in attendance at The Stoop were there for a bingeing session with easy transport links to London City Centre.

The poor standard of the game doesn’t entice anyone south of London to become engrossed in the match. Anyone who flicked onto Sky Sports 3 between the hours of seven thirty and nine thirty will have turned off within five seconds. But despite this I have to applaud the RFL’s attempt to increase interest in the sport in the capital. Harlequins RL are struggling for numbers at their ground on match days and this can be seen as a carrot on the stick attempt to increase support for the club. It might not be the best idea in the world with a concept worse than the World Club Challenge, but its a start and I for one would be upset if either SKY or the RFL abandoned the match.

There is the argument that SKY should focus on the BUSA final rather than the Varsity game, but the majority of these games involve northern universities so would be pretty pointless in terms of expanding and increasing support down south. However I can see where that argument has been spawned from because the quality of rugby is better in these games. Leeds Met are one of the best university teams in the country and they have made it into the third round of the Challenge Cup. But this quality could be why the BUSA final is not shown on SKY. Judging by some of their results, the final might be more one sided than the Varsity match.

So it seems university Student Rugby League is in a pickle. At least the colleges are more competitive, but let’s not touch that subject. Not at least until September.