Rugby league great James Graham has blown up over an “embarrassing” crowd for an international fixture between England and France last weekend.
In a mid-season clash between the two sides, England would emerge as the 40-8 victors in Toulouse, with the likes of Jack Welsby and George Williams starring.
But the biggest story to come out of the double-header, which also featured a women’s match, was the disappointing turnout, with less than 5000 spectators in attendance.
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Speaking on The Bye Round, Graham let loose at the game’s organisers and raised concerns over the future of the international game.
“I’m actually embarrassed about England rugby league … I don’t even know if you can call it a crowd,” he said.
“It is beyond embarrassing, it is so bad the amount of people that were there. I love international rugby league and I loved playing for my country, but I felt sorry for the lads who had to endure playing in front of a couple of people and their dog.
“That’s not what you should be looking at the pinnacle of our sport, it was disgraceful. It actually pissed me off, it was so embarrassing … there’s no excuse.
“Go and have a look, you’d be shocked by how bad it is. It was that bad, I turned it off.”
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The crowd was less than an average Super League game and those involved in the sport in the northern hemisphere are extremely worried about the attendance.
The comments from Graham – who made 44 appearances for his country – comes after Phil Gould called for the NRL to step in and help keep the game afloat overseas.
“The UK Super League is not doing as well financially as it possibly could and I think the game as a whole, we have an international board but it’s rather a toothless tiger,” he said on Nine’s 100% Footy on Monday night.
“Our calendar is getting so congested at the back end of the season, we’re playing too many months of the year, we need a rolling five-year calendar for domestic rugby league, international rugby league and other forms of representative football.
“It can only be done if you’ve got one governing body for the lot.”
Graham however isn’t sure the responsibility lies with the NRL.
”I don’t know if it’s on Australia to promote it or make people aware of it,” he said.