14 replies to this topic

[Honor James]

The fixture details have been confirmed for rugby league's Alitalia European Cup which will be played this autumn.

Scotland, Ireland and England Knights will face each other with the Scots playing in the nation's capital for the first time thanks to funding from the City of Edinburgh.

Rugby League European Federation General Manger Danny Kazandjian expects the Alitalia European Cup, which mirrors the matches to be played by England, Wales and France in their Triangular Tournament, to be highly competitive.

"The two Celtic nations are preparing for next year's World Cup and England Knights were looking for fixtures on consecutive weekends to continue to build their structures and spirit," he said. "Alitalia have been and continue to be superb sponsors for this competition."

Originally it had been hoped that Italy would be participants but, because of the precarious financial situation in the country at present, they are concentrating their efforts on the European Shield, where they top the table and play in Russia on Saturday.

Kazandjian noted, "When coupled with the significant expenditure FIRL committed to the World Cup qualifiers the Italian rugby league felt it was not in a position to support the national squad for a further three weeks, even with a support package from the RLEF."

"It was an extremely difficult decision for FIRL to take, and their board, with the close co-operation of the RLEF, has decided to undertake a full review of their governance to ensure they are running as efficiently as possible in this challenging economic climate."

England Knights coach Keiron Purtill sees the two internationals as a significant test for his charges.

"We're really excited to be heading into a competition environment," he said. "Our mission is to get the group ready to push for England places for the World Cup in 2013. We've got a few new faces in the group and that competition for places will be fiercer as a result. The programme is in its second year now so most of the pllayers know what's expected of them, and we're really looking forward to a good preparation in camp and then playing Ireland and Scotland."

Scotland will be coached by Dave Rotheram during the tournament as head coach Steve McCormack has been given leave of absence for personal reasons. McCormack, who has coached Scotland with Rotheram as his assistant since 2004, will retain his position as Head of Performance at Scotland RL and return as Head Coach in preparation for the 2013 World Cup.

Rotheram commented, "We are really looking forward to this year's Alitalia European Cup the squad and staff are very excited to be playing in Edinburgh the National
Capital for the first time ever. With the 2013 World Cup coming up, this competition will prove invaluable for our long term planning and preparation."

His sentiments are shared by Ireland coach Mark Aston. "We are delighted to be participating in the Alitalia European Cup," he declared. "With the World Cup just
over 12 months away it will give us the ideal opportunity to start our preparation in earnest. We played against the England Knights before the first Exiles game and
for 35 minutes we competed with only a limited amount of preparation and players available so we certainly looking forward renewing that battle."

ALITALIA EUROPEAN CUP SCHEDULE

Round 1
14 October: SCOTLAND v IRELAND, Meggetland, Edinburgh 1400 hrs
Round 2
19 October IRELAND v ENGLAND KNIGHTS, Belfast Harlequins, Belfast 1930 hrs
Round 3
28 October: SCOTLAND v ENGLAND KNIGHTS, Meggetland, Edinburgh 1400 hrs


PHIL CAPLAN
RLEF MEDIA OFFICER

[EdinburghExile]

Brilliant, I live about five minutes from Meggetland. Will be interesting to see if Edinburgh can produce better attendances than Glasgow, filling the ground I'm sure is doable with a 3,500 capacity.

[thirteenthman]

Originally it had been hoped that Italy would be participants but, because of the precarious financial situation in the country at present, they are concentrating their efforts on the European Shield, where they top the table and play in Russia on Saturday.

Kazandjian noted, "When coupled with the significant expenditure FIRL committed to the World Cup qualifiers the Italian rugby league felt it was not in a position to support the national squad for a further three weeks, even with a support package from the RLEF."

"It was an extremely difficult decision for FIRL to take, and their board, with the close co-operation of the RLEF, has decided to undertake a full review of their governance to ensure they are running as efficiently as possible in this challenging economic climate."

Good to see the fixtures for at least one of this autumns international tournaments has been released. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with both the Ireland and Scotland teams in the run up to next years World Cup.

Shame about Italy, and I fully understand the problems with finance. The cynic in me would suggest that as well as the money, they couldn't pursuade any of their heritage players from the NRL and SL to take part, and they didn't much relish pitting the local players against the England Knights.

[deluded pom?]

The cynic in you is probably right 13th.

[Johnoco]

Hope its a competitive series and not just a walkover for England. I'd love to catch a game but probably won't be able to.

Hope Ireland can do ok.
I'd agree with the comments about the Italians too.

Edited by Johnoco, 07 September 2012 - 05:31 PM.

[Methven Hornet]

It's a little bit disappointing - and concerning - that Italy can't make it, especially as they are playing in the world cup next year. It would have been a good opportunity (the only opportunity?) for them to give the full team a run out. I wonder what the sponsors think about it?

England Knights should be a good test for Scotland and Ireland, though!

And Deramore Park in Belfast looks an interesting venue for Ireland's game.

[thirteenthman]

It's a little bit disappointing - and concerning - that Italy can't make it, especially as they are playing in the world cup next year. It would have been a good opportunity (the only opportunity?) for them to give the full team a run out. I wonder what the sponsors think about it?

But the problem is that the 'full team' are probably only interested in playing in the World Cup - not in playing games in small grounds in front of even smaller crowds.

I was reading an interview with Ben Te'o the other week, and someone asked him about playing for Samoa if he couldn't make the Australian team (after playing Origin this year). His reply was that 'all the boys would like a free trip to the World Cup'. I'm sure this isn't true of all RL players, but you do get the impression that a lot of the guys who turn out for the developing nations in the World Cup aren't fully committed to the cause, and it's just a convenient way of playing in a big tournament.

[Methven Hornet]

But the problem is that the 'full team' are probably only interested in playing in the World Cup - not in playing games in small grounds in front of even smaller crowds.

I was reading an interview with Ben Te'o the other week, and someone asked him about playing for Samoa if he couldn't make the Australian team (after playing Origin this year). His reply was that 'all the boys would like a free trip to the World Cup'. I'm sure this isn't true of all RL players, but you do get the impression that a lot of the guys who turn out for the developing nations in the World Cup aren't fully committed to the cause, and it's just a convenient way of playing in a big tournament.

Sadly, I'm sure you're right.

[deluded pom?]

But the problem is that the 'full team' are probably only interested in playing in the World Cup - not in playing games in small grounds in front of even smaller crowds.

I was reading an interview with Ben Te'o the other week, and someone asked him about playing for Samoa if he couldn't make the Australian team (after playing Origin this year). His reply was that 'all the boys would like a free trip to the World Cup'. I'm sure this isn't true of all RL players, but you do get the impression that a lot of the guys who turn out for the developing nations in the World Cup aren't fully committed to the cause, and it's just a convenient way of playing in a big tournament.

This is why heritage players are a double edged sword. With immigration from western Europe to Australia having slowed drastically since the 1960's the number of heritage players some countries have to select from will become smaller and smaller until they have to rely primarily on home grown players. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) for the likes of Serbia and Russia they don't have very many heritage players to choose from but I believe they, especially Serbia, will benefit in the future because they have put the hard development work in now. The other side of the sword is that the likes of Italy can get a spot at the WC with very little domestic development in place in comparison to Serbia.

Edited by deluded pom?, 08 September 2012 - 12:43 PM.

[thirteenthman]

This is why heritage players are a double edged sword. With immigration from western Europe to Australia having slowed drastically since the 1960's the number of heritage players some countries have to select from will become smaller and smaller until they have to rely primarily on home grown players. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) for the likes of Serbia and Russia they don't have very many heritage players to choose from but I believe they, especially Serbia, will benefit in the future because they have put the hard development work in now. The other side of the sword is that the likes of Italy can get a spot at the WC with very little domestic development in place in comparison to Serbia.

It's why I'd like to see some sort of 'residents' World Cup type tournament for developing nations using only homegrown players. I know finances would be the biggest stumbling block, but at least it would reward nations who are actually putting in the hard work in developing their own players. As you say, some nations just won't be able to benefit from heritage players, and as World Cup qualification and participation relies so much on them (for the forseeable future at least), we really need some way of encouraging those who don't have them,

Of course, the Italians may turn out to be another Lebanon, who have developed the game at home on the back of an appearance at a World Cup. The irony there being that they lost out on what would've been a deserved and much welcomed World Cup spot to the Italians.

[Methven Hornet]

It's why I'd like to see some sort of 'residents' World Cup type tournament for developing nations using only homegrown players. I know finances would be the biggest stumbling block, but at least it would reward nations who are actually putting in the hard work in developing their own players. As you say, some nations just won't be able to benefit from heritage players, and as World Cup qualification and participation relies so much on them (for the forseeable future at least), we really need some way of encouraging those who don't have them,

Of course, the Italians may turn out to be another Lebanon, who have developed the game at home on the back of an appearance at a World Cup. The irony there being that they lost out on what would've been a deserved and much welcomed World Cup spot to the Italians.

I've always argued for some sort of 'residents' tournament, perhaps at European rather than world level just to help with the financing of it. Or maybe market it as an 'inter-league' tournament in the same way we used to have inter-league matches in soccer. The rugby league authorities want strong(ish) teams to make the world cup reasonably competitive, but it would be good to see Scotland and Ireland residents compete against Serbia, the Lebanese league, and similar teams from Russia, Italy, etc. To my mind these would be more attractive than games between teams made up solely of heritage players.

[deluded pom?]

I've always argued for some sort of 'residents' tournament, perhaps at European rather than world level just to help with the financing of it. Or maybe market it as an 'inter-league' tournament in the same way we used to have inter-league matches in soccer. The rugby league authorities want strong(ish) teams to make the world cup reasonably competitive, but it would be good to see Scotland and Ireland residents compete against Serbia, the Lebanese league, and similar teams from Russia, Italy, etc. To my mind these would be more attractive than games between teams made up solely of heritage players.

To an extent I agree MH but I also think we'd be playing into the hands of the heritage players who only want to play in the WC. I'd prefer to see the Italian squad that will pitch up at the WC turn out in the European Cup and give Italian domestic players a higher level to aspire to.

[Evil Homer]

The answer is one nation for life, and developing a culture of regular meaningful tournaments. That will make it much easier for heritage players to commit to nations. A hastily-arranged competition featuring a second-tier team in England Knights doesn't really cut it for me and I don't really blame the Italians for favouring the Shield, which is a lower level but far more beneficial and legitimate IMO.

[Methven Hornet]

To an extent I agree MH but I also think we'd be playing into the hands of the heritage players who only want to play in the WC. I'd prefer to see the Italian squad that will pitch up at the WC turn out in the European Cup and give Italian domestic players a higher level to aspire to.

Oh, I'm talking about residents/inter-league games as well as the current full internationals (if the funding was available).

[Dave T]

Looking forward to the two Scotland games, made up they are in Edinburgh this year!