95 replies to this topic

[Lobbygobbler]

Why not play a GB test soon with our Lion Logo and all.....

[The 4 of Us]

No. Only RU exists. Just see the coverage.

[ckn]

Keep this strictly to rugby league and the Olympics. Mention of union will get it locked. There are already threads on the Cross-Code and AOB forums for non rugby league comments.

[Marauder]

Not a chance, who will be the only people to benefit from the millions spent on the games, not us brought up on the council estates.

[Johnoco]

Until RL is played to a decent level all over the UK, then it can't legitimately claim to represent GB.

As many RL fans never want to see this actually happen.......

[Konkrete]

RL got a mention in the opening ceremony commentary. I was shocked and stunned.

[Just Browny]

Until RL is played to a decent level all over the UK, then it can't legitimately claim to represent GB.

As many RL fans never want to see this actually happen.......

Not sure that's fair John. Do Britain's rowers come from all over the UK? Equestrian riders?* There's no reason why a group of Northerners shouldn't represent GB if they are the best at their chosen sport. The question of whether the interests of the game are best served by having GB split is a different one, and in my view they are.


*Actually looked this up. There is one non-English rider for Team GB, and around half of the entire team comes from Gloucestershire.

[Johnoco]

Fair call JB but Equestrianism is a minority sport (no disrespect) and as such dominated by perhaps people from one social background. However I'm guessing the GB team could have people from all over the UK at its top level, something RL cannot claim. Believe me, I'd love to argue otherwise.

And while we have people urging us to forget about kids in the Midlands or wherever, it will remain the same.

[Just to be clear]

Why not play a GB test soon with our Lion Logo and all.....

Just to be clear, against whom, when, and why?

Australia and New Zealand are not interested in playing us, there are no gaps in the sporting calendar the remaining South African tests in cricket between Olympic and Paralympic game, after which comes the Ryder Cup and ICC World T20, and there cannot be many who would look in this window that will not get a better and more compelling chance to do so with the World Cup next year.

[NEIL FOX IS GOD]

Until RL is played to a decent level all over the UK, then it can't legitimately claim to represent GB.

As many RL fans never want to see this actually happen.......

rubbish most do but then again most of us are realists

[Johnoco]

rubbish most do but then again most of us are realists

How is it rubbish? We have evidence of people like Garry Schofield arguing we should concentrate on the local kids and forget the outsiders. And he isn't the only one.

If this is the common view in RL, then fine but call the team Northern England or at least England. But it isn't GB and never really has been.

[CANETMAN]

Sorry i dont agree with you IMHO (For the sake of extra sports council funding) the RFL just dumped 100 years of history into the trash bin GREAT BRITAIN ment international RL (even the current GB soccer team is 90% english) England will never mean anything in international RL and Scotland and Ireland should be playing against our amateurs in internationals,these fake international teams that have been created to make up the numbers for the RLWC just make our sport a laughing stock amongst potential sponsors and neutral fans.

I would have had a WC made up as follows.

GREAT BRITAIN
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
FRANCE
PNG
SAMOA
TONGA
FIJI
USA
COOK ISLANDS

Underneath this there should be an emerging nations world cup.

BRING BACK GB AND PROPER TESTS

CM

Edited by CANETMAN, 29 July 2012 - 08:16 AM.

[Johnoco]

So CM, kindly provide me a list of names from this 100 years that were not English and didn't come from RU.
Any purely RL Welsh? Scots?

I'm not saying they don't exist, I would like to know about it and I may alter my view. Nor am I being disrespectful. The fact is that GB has essentially been England and some RU converts. Which is not the same thing as a GB team made up from all 4 nations in GB.

[dhw]

It is not 'Great Britain' it is ' Great Britain & Ireland'. All this guff about 100 years history it is and always has been England. What % of Welsh Irish and Scottish players representing GB&I learnt their rugby league outside England and how many did not play RU at a decent level outside England?

[Johnoco]

They even played tests in Australia as England in the 1920's or so.

[deluded pom?]

So CM, kindly provide me a list of names from this 100 years that were not English and didn't come from RU.
Any purely RL Welsh? Scots?

Whilst he's at it perhaps he could research when the RL team actually became GB as opposed to England/ Northern Union.

Edited by deluded pom?, 29 July 2012 - 08:48 AM.

[Dave T]

Nobody had an issue with England in the 95 wc when it looked like we may win.

Win a series and people wont care.

Btw, id love to see Lions tours like in Union but that doesnt mean people arent into England.

[keighley]

With all due respect, the contribution of the Welsh players to GB, whether RU converts or not has been immense. Billy Boston, Lewis Jones, Jonathan Davies, John Bevan, John Mantle, Colin Dixon, Tommy Harris, Ben Gronbow, Clive Sullivan ( World Cup winning captain ) and many many more whom I cannot remember but are easily researched.

We also won a world cup captained by a Scot, Dave Valentine. George Fairbairn was also Scottish.

Our best winger of the last twenty years was Irish, Brian Carney.

I am neutral on the subject of returning to a Great Britain set up but to dismiss the contributions on the non English to the former GB teams is doing a great diservice to some of our finest international players.

[dhw]

With all due respect, the contribution of the Welsh players to GB, whether RU converts or not has been immense. Billy Boston, Lewis Jones, Jonathan Davies, John Bevan, John Mantle, Colin Dixon, Tommy Harris, Ben Gronbow, Clive Sullivan ( World Cup winning captain ) and many many more whom I cannot remember but are easily researched.

We also won a world cup captained by a Scot, Dave Valentine. George Fairbairn was also Scottish.

Our best winger of the last twenty years was Irish, Brian Carney.

I am neutral on the subject of returning to a Great Britain set up but to dismiss the contributions on the non English to the former GB teams is doing a great diservice to some of our finest international players.

Where did all these non-English players learn to play RL ?

[Methven Hornet]

With all due respect, the contribution of the Welsh players to GB, whether RU converts or not has been immense. Billy Boston, Lewis Jones, Jonathan Davies, John Bevan, John Mantle, Colin Dixon, Tommy Harris, Ben Gronbow, Clive Sullivan ( World Cup winning captain ) and many many more whom I cannot remember but are easily researched.

We also won a world cup captained by a Scot, Dave Valentine. George Fairbairn was also Scottish.

Our best winger of the last twenty years was Irish, Brian Carney.

I am neutral on the subject of returning to a Great Britain set up but to dismiss the contributions on the non English to the former GB teams is doing a great diservice to some of our finest international players.

But times change...

Those players from the other home nations came from union. There are going to be very few stars of that game crossing over to league in the future.