gingerjon

BUT WHAT WERE THEIR NUMBERS

There hadn't really been many opportunities to in the preceding few years, to be fair.

Wiki says they had 26 players and used squad numbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Great_Britain_Lions_tour

I hadn't heard of them but it looks genuine. Pretty low grade but genuine. 'Deal' reported here: https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/fite-tv-air-upcoming-rugby-league-world-cup-91011736.

To be fair, my understanding is that the first review is completed in 2023, then you have a season of transition of some kind (no idea), before it is properly implemented in 2025. And *after that*, it is ongoing process for each club. So whilst it starts a year earlier than you would like, the process of each club having tailored targets related to their position in the criteria does absolutely seem to already be part of it.

It's not even time, it's ability and willingness to do so. It's the difference between listening to Jonathan Davies saying again and again that every try was down to poor defence, whilst Tony Rea (as an example) explains why this pass drew out the defensive line and what the guy running there was doing.

I think we're overemphasising the importance of the numbers - although my preference would be for 1-17 in each game - because the way new fans will pick up what is important in the game and who is doing what and why will be, in the main, through the commentary. I'll give an example of what I mean. The regular BBC cricket commentary does not bother to explain why one shot might be a four and one a six. It's obvious in the main. When cricket was at the Commonwealth Games, the exact same commentators, clearly with instructions about widening access to new viewers, clearly took time out to slot in comments about why this shot to the boundary was being reviewed on the TV and what it would mean depending on where the ball bounced. This was about the only thing the RLWC in 2000 tried to get right. It had specific announcements explaining what each penalty or decision was for.

It is selling the official merch.

That would be the Wales Rugby League. It's their shirt. All the official RLWC stuff is on the RLWC website and that it is all they have responsibility for (and this is completely normal for all major tournaments across all sports).

He decided on air that a player with a foreign name was too hard to pronounce so he was going to shorten it and say it how he wanted to.

We also can't ignore that, as a sport, this is an area that we stumble in quite a lot.

These days.

Denver, Green Bay, New England, Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New Orleans, NY Jets, Tampa Bay, Washington, San Francisco, Philadelphia, LA Rams, Baltimore, Kansas City

Would be fantastic to see Leigh drawing fans from those areas - if they aren't already doing so.