240 replies to this topic

[roughyedspud]

the new international format, i remember when england and wales put out great teams packed with talent but today the product in substandard to say the least. apart from the odd surprise result france have always been the whipping boys of international rugby so nothing has changed.................

wales where also propped up by the fact we used to sign welsh union talent......thats a biggest factor into wales basically having to start over again

[Johnoco]

it must be so rosy in your world, these pointless internationals have proved beyond doubt that france are woeful and england are decidedly average, it just hasn't worked so why persist with it???

This is pretty much the first time Wales have entered such a tournament with Welsh RL players. And you expect what exactly? France are pretty much as they were in relation to England.

Why persist though? Why bother at all?

[nadera78]

Just when you think it can't get any more short term or myopic, Rugby League scores again.

[gingerjon]

Why we can't just have a GB team to tour and host tours every 4 years, as originally planned when the England team was created, i don't know..

Because, whilst that was a good idea, the Australians and Kiwis lost the fag packet where they agreed to host a tour in 2012.

This means heads must roll at Red Hall until they start putting out a team with a blue and red chevron which, as we all know, is instantly invincible against ANZAC peasants.

[JohnM]

england,scotland,ireland & wales have played nearly 60 tests over the last 4 years.

I am not advocating a return to GB - see post 4 . In addition there has never been much of an international programme going back many many years.

I'd like to see the list that you quote, though. for example England v Wales this year is one fixture, not two. IIRC Wales will not play any international fixtures now for over 12 months. Hardly a packed fixture list and I do not see how such a sparse list will contribute to Wales's development at international level.

[Johnoco]

Probably missing something major here, but how will GB strengthen the Celtic nations considering there are about 3 international fixtures at best until the World Cup? Must admit here, I haven't read anything about this on twitter etc

The thinking is that if a handful of SL players temporarily decide to be Welsh or Irish in order to play in the WC, then this means we have fixed the problem. The fact that we should be getting bona fide Celts up to standard doesn't seem to matter.

[roughyedspud]

its the number of tests england have played,wales have played,scotland have played & ireland have played...


between 2009 and now..

wales have played 15-16 tests
scotland & ireland 10-12 each
england up near 18-20...

i wrote down the actual numbers but i can't find it anywhere.....but the figures about are about right give or take a test or 2 lol


*england have played 20 tests plus 3 exiles games & 1 game v cumbria.......im happy to not count those 4 non tests though

Edited by roughyedspud, 06 November 2012 - 10:46 AM.

[gingerjon]

Hardly a packed fixture list and I do not see how such a sparse list will contribute to Wales's development at international level.

This isn't limited to Wales.

I'm asking because I don't know but how many times have Fiji, Tonga and Samoa played since 2008?

Compare that to the opportunities offered by other codes. It's ridiculous that we don't know from one month to the next, let alone one year or World Cup cycle to the next, what the fixture list is going to look like.

And it will get worse as the money in Australia is really now only for the clubs and Origin.

[Baaarrow]

The GB side has to return, simple as that !!!!!
Since the demise of the GB side the international game has become a farce played in front of small crowds and involving meaningless contrived matches.
Sure, have your home nations sides but have them as developing nations in a separate format where the players are playing for a GB shirt !
The whole country is now familiar with Team GB following the fantastic Olympics.....................now IS the time to bring back Team GB Rugby league.
The GB brand should never have been disbanded !

[roughyedspud]

tough...it has

[terrywebbisgod]

The GB side has to return, simple as that !!!!!
Since the demise of the GB side the international game has become a farce played in front of small crowds and involving meaningless contrived matches.
Sure, have your home nations sides but have them as developing nations in a separate format where the players are playing for a GB shirt !
The whole country is now familiar with Team GB following the fantastic Olympics.....................now IS the time to bring back Team GB Rugby league.
The GB brand should never have been disbanded !

Name me current Scottish,Irish and Welsh international players who would be automatic selections for a GB team.

[Johnoco]

Er small crowds? You did see some of the GB games didn't you? Have a look on YT at so called glory days of GB. The crowds are embarrassing alright.

[Johnoco]

The Olympics comparison is a total red herring anyway. Everyone liked team GB because it WAS GB. People like Garry Schofield don't even want non heartlanders involved at all.

[JohnM]

. So, how would that work? Who would we have played at International level between say Jan 1st 2012 and the start of the world cup?

And what about 9th November 1985 when 15, 506 turned out at Central Park to watch GB v NZ, or 15th Nov 1980 when 8,210 turned out at Headingley to watch GB V NZ?

or 1st Dec. 1973 when 10, 019 turned out to watch GB v Aus at Wilderspool, or 3rd Nov 1973 when 9,874 turned out to watch GB v Aus at Wembley?

0r 16th Feb 1991 when 5,284 turned out at Headinley to watch GB v France, or 18th March 1964 when 4,750 turned out to watch GB v France at Hilton Park.

Ah! If only we could get back to those days!

[Methven Hornet]

I read on twitter (usual suspects) yesterday that it is being proposed that the GB team is returning.

It was claimed by one that this will instantly strengthen the Celtic nations for the 2013WC. It probably will in terms of that tournament, but it won't accelerate the number of Celtic players of high enough standard. All that will happen is some players will discover they are related to a highland terrier and fancy a run out for Scotland. They will suffer mysterious injuries for almost every other Scotland game and perhaps pop up at the next big game. That's false representation in my eyes.

To me, this utterly sums up why RL is in the state it is regional and development wise. Rather than develop things from the bottom up and see if it grows (which is what happens now), pressure is put on the 'authorities' by vocal critics to get an instant result. When it doesn't work instantly, these same critics are lambasting the same authorities as incompetent and they need to do such and such instead.

I welcome the idea of a GB team but only when the player pool warrants it. To do it anytime soon is just false. If a player turns out for say, Scotland in the 2008 WC, and then changes his allegiance to England a bit later, it suggests to me that this player wasn't actually very Scottish to begin with. Nor is the alternative to pack the teams full of Aussies either. The only true way to do it, is wait. But why wait when we can try and fix it in 5 minutes.

This is the part that worries me. The developments in Scotland, Wales and Ireland have not produced instant success, certainly in terms of giving the third best team in the world decent opposition, so let's chuck the whole thing in the bin. Like the withdrawal of support for outlying development areas in England, I fear this is just a cost-cutting exercise (bizarre, seeing as the RFL's finances have never been healthier).

Let's withdraw to the comfort zone of the traditional areas - Lancs/Yorks/Cumbria - put out a tri-county rep team, and try and pretend that it is Great Britain. No need, then, to put in all the effort and hard work into spreading the game.

[Johnoco]

. So, how would that work? Who would we have played at International level between say Jan 1st 2012 and the start of the world cup?

And what about 9th November 1985 when 15, 506 turned out at Central Park to watch GB v NZ, or 15th Nov 1980 when 8,210 turned out at Headingley to watch GB V NZ?

or 1st Dec. 1973 when 10, 019 turned out to watch GB v Aus at Wilderspool, or 3rd Nov 1973 when 9,874 turned out to watch GB v Aus at Wembley?

0r 16th Feb 1991 when 5,284 turned out at Headinley to watch GB v France, or 18th March 1964 when 4,750 turned out to watch GB v France at Hilton Park.

Ah! If only we could get back to those days!

That can't be true. I'm told the whole of the British Isles were on tenterhooks either watching on TV or fighting for a ticket.

I'm not trying to disparage our history but am fed up of being told a load of cobblers just to try and disparage everything today. It makes me laugh to hear people banging on about being realistic and telling it how it really is. Yet seem incapable of admitting that the premier RL players are all English at this point in time and labelling the team GB is incorrect. I hope in a few years we can put out a GB team with Celtic players instead of fly by night merchants.

[EastLondonMike]

if the GB option was there maybe we wouldn't have players who have represented the likes of Scotland, Wales and Ireland jumping ship to play for England.. Individual nations have to stay.. but a GB team to tour every four years should be reinstated.

[Johnoco]

if the GB option was there maybe we wouldn't have players who have represented the likes of Scotland, Wales and Ireland jumping ship to play for England.. Individual nations have to stay.. but a GB team to tour every four years should be reinstated.

If they jump ship, then how strongly did they feel about playing for that nation anyway? Unless its a split thing due to parents, we have too many people picking whatever they think is going to get them a few bigger games. You pick a nation, you stay there.

[roughyedspud]

i floated the idea a few months ago that the welsh,scots and irish should band together to form a "touring team" called the celtic tigers....to entice players into sticking with the celtic nation....

wales,scotland & ireland would still play in the european cup,4nations (should they qualify) & world cups...but when permitting they join together and tour as the celtic tigers....

that would help the celtic nations keep its player more than wheeling out the england team and putting a GB jumper on them..

[bird]

The money in Australia all goes to the clubs and origin and filters into the Oz team. No Pacific nation can advance.

The money in Europe all goes to the clubs and England. No European nation can advance.

Not that it was much better in GB days when the GB coach was the England coach and poached anyone with talent but all the scrapping of GB has done is to remove Celtic support from the national team.