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Shaun Wane will probably line up Ryan Hall for a last hoorah.

I can see Tonga losing all three. For all the hype around Tonga they haven't looked great in recent seasons.

Exactly. Stacey Jones never played SOO and nobody complained that SOO was devalued. What will devalue SOO is it becoming an international all star exhibition.

This is all so weird. As someone who follows Rugby Union a lot I see almost no mention in that code's media of this competition and potential targets, all just seems to be NRL news reports - as Damien has said.

Exactly this. A great concept but I don't think you could ever get the necessary intensity from the Exiles. Who is going to risk injury in an exhibition match? That being said, even the Exiles at 70% would still be light years ahead of the hapless French.

Is R360 the rugby equivalent of cricket's IPL, or is it more the equivalent of cricket's ICL - the original T20 rebel league which last a couple of season before folding as the pariah status caught up with them, it didn't make money, and the more official IPL appeared. I feel R360 is currently in the ICL category.

To me it is a conflict seeing Samoan internationals playing for Australian states. SOO is meant to determine who plays for the Kangaroos.

I would like to see the Pacific teams play during the SOO window - that way we'll see how how committed these heritage players really are and how what long term potential heritage teams like Tonga and Samoa really have.

I see Oakvale Capital are behind it. It's hard to believe that any group other than a Middle Eastern investment fund has the necessary money and resources to really get this thing off the ground.

The problem for Rugby League is when R360 is needing to fill out squads and starts signing all the decent, but not tier one star players - someone like Zac Lomax. It may be easier for RL to keep hold of many of its superstars, but it will be harder to compete when it comes to the Zac Lomax's of the world. While I doubt these 10-year bans will stand, there must be a real fear that these R360 guys won't return if/when the new competition falls over, I could see many going to French or Japanese rugby, depending on how ostracized they are from the establishment in Union. With the NRL and SL expanding, the code can hardly afford to lose 50-75 first grade players. While R360 all seems like pie in the sky stuff, if the Saudis are really behind it I wouldn't underestimate it. They have no need to make money and are willing to play the long game.

Competing with Rugby Union in South Africa feels like trying to compete with cricket in India. It would take so much money and time it really would never be worth it. For me, France should be prioritized over pie-in-the-sky stuff in Africa.

Other than France and England, the rest of the RLWC is a very small global footprint indeed.

My impression of white South Africans at least is that they have an active dislike of Rugby League. I'm not sure as to why, but there seems to be quit a large negative sentiment to get past there.

Talk about how an annual Bastille Day fixture against France will ensure a healthy English national team?

England weren't smashed by 40 points week in week out so I don't think this series will change much - honestly I'm not sure anyone much down under was paying close attention anyway. What England can't do is fall into the trap of thinking we need to copy the Australians. This will simply result in England playing an Australian style but less well. England needs to develop its own style of play that runs through the club game and age group sides - a style based on more than just grind. Of course England play so rarely and the clubs are only interested in themselves (rightly or wrongly) so I have no answers as to how a cohesive playing style is adapted throughout the game.