18 replies to this topic

[Futtocks]

...with a very famous athlete in the crowd!

LINK TO ARTICLE

[Futtocks]

[Marauder]

Strange silence on this thread..............................................................................................Really................................................................Must be a BARLA tour

[deluded pom?]

Strange silence on this thread..............................................................................................Really................................................................Must be a BARLA tour

Any tour to a developing nation is great by me.

[brooza]

Strange silence on this thread..............................................................................................Really................................................................Must be a BARLA tour

There's silence on a lot of threads on this board

[GeordieSaint]

There's silence on a lot of threads on this board

Exactly. More to do with people being uninterested rather than ignoring BARLA.

[deluded pom?]

Exactly. More to do with people being uninterested rather than ignoring BARLA.

Unfortunately RL is a club orientated sport and this is confirmed by the lack of international interest on this forum. Over at the LU forums the Australians seem far more interested in international topics.

[keighley]

The Aussies interested in international RL.Seriously .This is the country that is trying to sabotage the Pacific island teams by insisting that players must commit to Australia of they want to be selected for State or Origin. This is the country that want to cancel the ANZAC test games. This is the country that refused tp take part in the four nations this year due to player burn outl This is the country that won t agree to revenue from International Games going to the RLIF to fund international development. This is the country that sends a presidents selection or some such thing to Papua New Guinea every year rather than their full international side.

[deluded pom?]

The Aussies interested in international RL.Seriously .This is the country that is trying to sabotage the Pacific island teams by insisting that players must commit to Australia of they want to be selected for State or Origin. This is the country that want to cancel the ANZAC test games. This is the country that refused tp take part in the four nations this year due to player burn outl This is the country that won t agree to revenue from International Games going to the RLIF to fund international development. This is the country that sends a presidents selection or some such thing to Papua New Guinea every year rather than their full international side.

I meant the fans of the game NOT the Australian authorities.

[Futtocks]

There's silence on a lot of threads on this board

I read all the posts on the International section of TRL. Judging by the ratio of views to replies, I'm not alone. I may not necessarily post, but there are people on here posting stories and reports that would be hard to find through normal channels, so it's much appreciated.

Edited by Futtocks, 22 June 2012 - 08:41 AM.

[dhw]

The Aussies interested in international RL.Seriously .This is the country that is trying to sabotage the Pacific island teams by insisting that players must commit to Australia of they want to be selected for State or Origin. This is the country that want to cancel the ANZAC test games. This is the country that refused tp take part in the four nations this year due to player burn outl This is the country that won t agree to revenue from International Games going to the RLIF to fund international development. This is the country that sends a presidents selection or some such thing to Papua New Guinea every year rather than their full international side.

Australian RL contributes more to international RL than any other country. RFL has chosen to play an ill-prepared SL expatriates side over France or Wales, the reason being they believe it will give English (sic) players a better test. How often has the Aus President's selection lost to PNG ? NRL clubs have pulled players out of international games but no more so than SL clubs. ARL did not refuse to take part in a 4 nations tournament, it was agreed with the committee but there was nothing to stop England doing a three test tour of NZ or heaven forbid send a full international team to PNG.

RL fans in Australia (NZ also) attend games more enthusiastically than do fans in the UK and do show a greater interest.

[keighley]

It has often been commented upon, by Australians at that, that British crowds are much more demonstrative, enthusiastic and passionate than Australians. The last three internationals in this country before this Exiles series had crowds of 40, 000 plus, 25,000 sellout and 34,000 sell out in last years four nations tournament. England have played several times in papua New Guinea and it's hardly in our back yard, now is it?

It was agreed that there would be no four nations because the Australians were citing player burnout issues.

I take your point entirely that the fans in Australia and the governing bodies are two different animals, but it is the governing bodies who determine whether or not Austrlaia take international RL seriously, not the fans.

[dhw]

Admitted in the NRL you will often hear more noise at an OAPs picnic though we are talking about club RL. You get a similar situation with crowds in England for RL matches unless Australia are involved. The 40k plus crowd was a heavily marketed double header, the game at the KC was not a sellout, the 34k was a final. England vs Wales was 10k.

Australia and NZ in recent years have played France in France when did England last play in PNG? ARL not participating in the 4 nations does not stop the RFL from arranging fixtures with the Kiwis in New Zealand, or PNG, or Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands though they have not done so. This was the first opportunity in a long time to tour NZ and RFL decided it was not in their interests just like it was not in their interests to place France.

This myth that Australia (sic) we are talking about the ARL here are damaging/destroying Internaional RL has no basis in reality particularly when the RFL are definitely no better. FFR are just not interested they could easily arrange fixtures with Lebanon. Take all the RL players who learnt their RL in Australia but representing other countries and remove them from playing for anybody except Austrlia then the last World Cup would have been of very poor quality and fewer teams participating.

[keighley]

Are you complaining because the marketing suceeded and we got a 40,000 crowd. The crowd at the KC might not have been a sell out but it was a pretty packed ground. I was there. England V Wales was a good attendance. the stadium only seats 13000. Wales are not a big attraction at the moment although that might change as they get better due to their production line og young talent being developed.

As far as I can discover Australia played PNG in PNG in 1982, 86, 91, 96 and 2001 ( five times ) .Since then they have gone as the Prime M inisters team. Perhaps you need to have a second team like the England Knights. It looks and sounds better than The Prime Ministers team. England have never played in PNG but their previous incarnation as Great Britain played there in 1984,88, 90 ( 2 games ), 92, and 96 ( 6 times ) .

The Australians have never played in Fiji, Samoa or the Cook Islands, but you expect England to cross the World to play them. They are much closer to Australia and in their sphere of influence. Also Australia is a much more cashed up league than the RFL. Australia should be playing their ( if they are not too burnt out that is ).

England played NZ in NZ in the last four nations but one. Not too long ago.

They should take all the players who represented NZ but played in the NRL out of the equation. Australia might have won the World Cup.

Australia are damaging International RL by not supporting the nations in their area by denying them access to players via this state of origin selection process and by not playing these nations even as a B international concept. The RFL do support fledgling European international teams by sending amateur teams from BARLA to give them meaningful competition at a competitve level. They also have the Scottish and Irish teams to do the same.

At a senior level they need to raise their game to compete with Australia but have no opposition in the Northern hemisphere of a high enough standard to play against to do this, hence the exiles concept. If France and Wales were as strong as New Zealand are in your area there would be no need for the exiles.

Anyhow, I am looking forward to seeing Australia and all the other Southern hemisphere teams over here next year in the World Cup. It could be a great tournament and a big boost for International RL with luck. If there is a profit, the top countries, Eng, NZ, Aus should make sure they use it to expand international RL not just run off back home with the cash.,

[deluded pom?]

I doubt very much that the RFL send BARLA teams to play developing European nations.

[The Future is League]

Australian RL contributes more to international RL than any other country. RFL has chosen to play an ill-prepared SL expatriates side over France or Wales, the reason being they believe it will give English (sic) players a better test. How often has the Aus President's selection lost to PNG ? NRL clubs have pulled players out of international games but no more so than SL clubs. ARL did not refuse to take part in a 4 nations tournament, it was agreed with the committee but there was nothing to stop England doing a three test tour of NZ or heaven forbid send a full international team to PNG.

RL fans in Australia (NZ also) attend games more enthusiastically than do fans in the UK and do show a greater interest.

The reason England wont do a tour of NZ this year is that NRL clubs said they wouldn't release their players to play internationals this year, apart from the tests between the Aussies and the kiwis. The NRL is getting more insular every year making it harder for the ARL to run a successful international programme.
The reason that union in playing numbers has grown in Australia in the last 15 years or so it because of increased union international games.
The reason that Aussie Rules has grown in NSW and Queensland in the last 20 years or so is because Aussie Rules is better marketed,and they are very proactive. Aussie Rugby League is not well marketed nowadays and its certainly not very proactive compared to Aussie Rules. People who are involved in Rugby League in Australia have to realise that SOO is not the be all and end all of Rugby League.
How many towns in NSW that use to be Rugby League towns have now been taken over by the AFL?
How many playing fields that 5 years ago were used for Rugby League have become Aussie Rules fields?
Take away the SOO games and Rugby League in Australia is not in good shape primarily for 3 reasons, 1, Lack of international competition, and remember the Kiwis are world champs, 2, the game is poorly marketed, 3, they have become more reactive rather than proactive.

[keighley]

BARLA are sending an under 18 s team to Lebanon I think a member if the RLEF very shortly. I think they have been to Serbia, Russia and others in recent years. BARLA, whilst a semi autonomous body, are members of the RFL joint board ot whatever it s name is.

[nadera78]

BARLA are sending an under 18 s team to Lebanon I think a member if the RLEF very shortly. I think they have been to Serbia, Russia and others in recent years. BARLA, whilst a semi autonomous body, are members of the RFL joint board ot whatever it s name is.

Community Lions U-18's are going to Lebanon not BARLA. The former selects players from right across the amateur game, not just BARLA clubs.

[keighley]

OK, I stand corrected. Still an arm of the RFL though.