Damien

But they aren't. Even if they were it's stupid and dumbing things down even more.

Because they are 2 different divisions. They are not 2 conferences in the same division. And yes it is pointless, boring and repetitive and that's why many are against it.

I've asked you this before, and you never answer, but have you a source for this? It seems very, very unlikely to me.

Just seen this on Twitter, what an inspiration this lad has been since fighting for his life after collapsing after a Rugby match in 2015:

2 failing clubs is no reason to say no to others, providing they meet the criteria in place. Developing players and the game in their area should be part of that for all professional clubs. A well funded club can absolutely find players.

That's not an argument against more teams. London is a huge place and is in effect made up of many individual areas, each with their own identity and people that don't particularly travel out of their own area. Other parts of London could easily have teams if there were people with the money to back them. The main issue with both London Broncos and Skolars is they have no money and few fans. That shouldn't be used as a stick against others.

Nice Warrington kit.

NARL announced a few days ago that they were making an announcement about their future plans on Monday. I did think that New York were a key player with the whole NARL setup so this doesn't seem to bode well.

This is great to see from Salford Roosters and it's great to see RLWC funding being given to infrastructure projects like this that will make a difference for decades to come. A stronger community game in the Salford area can only benefit Salford Red Devils as a club:

Sky pay for a set amount of games each year and Newcastle Council pay for the event.

I know, I genuinely laughed out loud when I read that.

Move it to the Friday then honeymoon in Newcastle. Job done.

It's probably never been needed before as I'm guessing no one ever contemplated a governing body trying to sabotage the game: Every team competing in the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cup have signed legally-binding participation agreements, tournament chief executive Jon Dutton has confirmed. Australia and New Zealand pulled out of the tournament going ahead last year due to Covid concerns. As a result, the World Cup was pushed back a year until 2022. Dutton says the World Cup will definitely go ahead in 2022, with all sides reconciled. In addition, he plans to fly to Australia in the New Year for more talks with NRL clubs who were thought to be behind the withdrawal decision. He said: “We’ve had what I would describe as positive, conciliatory conversations. “They did not want to play this year but they want to play next year. They appreciate how significant this is for international rugby league. “We have 32 legally binding, signed agreements and we didn’t have that before. “The main difference right now is having those levels of execution in place in terms of the agreements. “They’re as legally binding an agreement as any other contract we have. I genuinely believe that everyone, not just Australia and New Zealand, are behind this. https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/nations-sign-participation-agreements-for-world-cup/

Hmm derby format but Catalans and Toulouse don't play each other....

Looking at how bad the Saints kits are maybe that was a conscious decision

I complete agree. I do think the wider public think these PI nations are worth watching. Everyone knows how good Tonga is and everyone saw the amazing 2017 World Cup semi final for example. It's our administrators that need to show more confidence in the product and their abilities as promoters to sell the event. Keep playing NZ is just a very lazy, and frankly boring, safe option.

I'd love to get to some of the wheelchair matches too now. Watching the England v France games has really wetted my appetite for that format of the sport.

Did they ignore it when France won the Wheelchair World Cup in 2017?

That would be a really good day. I may well try and do that.

That's fantastic.

That reminds me of all the US logos and writing that you see in any 1980s film.

You are not in a minority of one because I agree and imagine many more will too. I understand the romanticism of it being at the George but the cold reality is that for many it is just not an attractive venue and isn't and attractive location. I would say the same for most RL towns. As I said previously Manchester ticks all the boxes to me and ties in with the RFL moving there and the new facility. Failing that Leeds. I just don't see anywhere else being either an attractive enough place to visit for the majority of people or commercially viable.

I never even noticed that. The shirt is littered with quality sponsors when you look. Well done London Skolars.

Rescheduled fixtures. Its actually really good I think that all 3 finals are now in Manchester: Manchester will host all three finals of the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup - with Old Trafford hosting the men's and women's finals. Both finals will take place back to back on 19 November 2022, with the wheelchair final to be staged a day earlier at the Manchester Central convention centre. The five-week tournament in England, set to start last month, was postponed for a year after Australia and New Zealand withdrew because of "safety concerns" related to Covid-19. It will now take place between 15 October and 19 November next year. Old Trafford was already scheduled to host the men's and women's finals, but the wheelchair final had originally been set to take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool - which is unavailable to stage the rearranged match. That is one of five games to have moved venues as a result of the year-long postponement. In the men's tournament, the match between holders Australia and Fiji on the opening day will now take place at Headingley, Leeds, as a result of a clash with another event in Hull. In return, the MKM Stadium, Hull, will host New Zealand v Jamaica in Group C on 22 October - a fixture that was scheduled to be played in Leeds. Anfield, which was set to stage a women's match between England and Canada and a men's quarter-final, is no longer available as a result of expansion work at Liverpool FC's stadium. Those matches will now be held at Wigan's DW Stadium on 5 November. Rugby League - BBC Sport