I chose
London Broncos because rugby league needs a presence in the capital of the UK, to make it seem to the public not just a regional game (which it is not), and also to give a convenient professional career pathway for the thousands of young players in London and the south of England, many of whom will give up the game if there is no nearby SL team.
I chose
Newcastle Thunder because we need a club in the far north of England, and Newcastle has the chance to succeed because of its very good ground and its associations with a successful RU club. It also now has a dynamic coach who can attract talented players from PNG and give them professional experience.
I chose
Toulouse Olympique because we need a second French club to help build the game in France, and because Toulouse has strong financial backing and organisation, plus a huge local population pool to attract spectators and players from.
(My next three would be
Sheffield, because it is a big city with great potential,
South Wales, because we need to build our game in the more populous part of a rugby mad nation, and
London Skolars, because we need to build the game in London and can do that by means of a local derby).
