gingerjon

Link: https://europeanrugbyleague.com/media/file/7698/2023+Annual+Report.pdf It's for 2023, so already feels a bit out of date. The number of registered players and matches held per country makes interesting, and sobering, reading. Especially France - EDIT: which has a low number though higher than I wrote at first.

BARLA won the Emerging Nations in 2000. There is a reason why we all cringe whenever international RL in 2000 is mentioned.

I believe that, in their entire history, San Marino have now won three matches. And all three against Liechtenstein. Nations League is really proving its worth. Would anyone really care about, say, Scotland getting late results against Croatia and Poland in friendlies?

One of the things that stuck with me when I was young was an interview with a photographer (I think Lord Snowdon) who responded to a question about how anyone good take a great photo by saying, yes, anyone can take a great photo once. Being a great photographer is knowing how you did it and replicating that, or amending it, next time. The NRL are keen to tell us they've done a bang up job bringing on Tonga and Samoa, like there was some kind of process that they followed and it worked. Okay. If you knew what you were doing, what does the plan look like for the next countries on your list?

The RLEF had a whole tiered set up ready to go - not dissimilar to the Nations League idea and not a million miles away from the tiered internationals that have been pointed to in ice hockey and others have as well. Then, because qualification for the next World Cup was removed from the top tier, all the funding available seemed to evaporate and all we're left with is some nations with enough volunteers and money organising occasional matches, and the rest ... I'm sure there's a plan. So it doesn't even need to be a specific tournament but there does need to be something. We do have about four threads covering similar issues right now so this answer could go in any of them.

We shouldn’t be in a joint federation. Especially not one that apparently also include Gaelic Football and Aussie rules.

It's a 3-4 match season so pretty much identical to what they are offering now.

But then straightforward P&R between the tiers doesn't work. Suppose the winner of Tier B is NH but the relegated side from A is Australia.

My rationale is that, for better or worse, a chunk of the players will come from Australia or England so you may as well not group. It's not real though so happy to consider it.

In soccer, for the first time in history, commentators have been able to say, "England are promoted" as they rise from the second level of the UEFA Nations League back to the first. Having been somewhat sceptical of the Nations League concept, I think it really has worked and seems to give a decent framework for teams of similar standards to play each other in meaningful games. So, based entirely on the current men's international rankings, here's a musing for what a Rugby League Nations League could look like. Think of it as what was proposed about ten years ago but never happened ... I actually don't think it's too shocking an idea. Rugby League Nations League A 1: Australia, England, Tonga, PNG 2: New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, France B 1: Lebanon, Serbia, Italy, Malta 2: Cook Islands, Netherlands, Greece, Ireland C 1: Wales, Scotland, Czech Republic, Chile 2: Jamaica, Ukraine, Germany, Poland D 1: Norway, Philippines, Nigeria, USA 2: Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Montenegro Format Each tier hosted in one country. (So, for example, A and B could be in Australia at the same time, C and D in the UK). Every one plays each opponent once, after which: Tier A: Group winners play off to determine Nations League Champion; bottom sides play off, loser relegated. Tiers B-D: Group winners play off to determine Tier Winners and promotion; bottom sides play off, loser relegated. You could also, like UEFA do with the women's version, run some tiers as the qualifier for the World Cup (Euros for them) to give extra motivation.

Write up in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/nov/17/rugby-codes-unite-in-fight-against-motor-neurone-disease

Indeed. But the concept was revived in 2000 and again in 2018. So there's really no reason it can't be done again, at any time.

Six years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Emerging_Nations_World_Championship

Indeed - I think it makes sense to do it the way they're doing it.

They've been asked quite a bit on the socials and just said it isn't being. There doesn't seem to be a reason.

The Ashes tests next year include the week before Christmas and Boxing Day.

I was standing in front of 1,337 people in Hastings - I was on club photography duties - for a not great game that the visitors won 1-0. Just starting my regular evening check up of scores of my teams.

Futbology has 14 games listed for 'within 50km' of my house. I am off to the nearest: Hastings United v Cray Valley PM.

We've had a hearing. What seems to be unsettled is what form the Appeal will take.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B4c9X82YIs

Turkey v Wales has English commentary but you may need to find it on the iPlayer. The Sgorio or S4C accounts has links.

You saw The Truth and knew it was nothing but Hype for Sheeple. And yet you got up and watched it? Each to their own.

Back when I were a lad, it was considered by 'real' football fans, to be something of an oddity if you ever prioritised the national side over your club. It was just a weird thing to do. But then, maybe, the 80s were a bit strange. Football, though, as ever, operates in a completely different world to every other sport in England.

My personal view, which may be wrong, is that it's more likely to be over caution with regards to GDPR. The Subject Access Request will be interesting. Especially as you still need to redact other people out of those.

- Mrs Caligula, AD 40.