londonrlfan

Hmm this article is also calling for a Four Nations with England, France, Wales and Jamaica! https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/world-cup-the-show-must-go-on/

England v Scotland drew 20k in Coventry. Why wouldn't matches with France and Wales (who to a non RL fan would be considered 'better' than Scotland) do the same if not better? England v France in London would sell very well imo. I'd try the Olympic Stadium and go for 30-35k.

Why not take England v France, Wales etc games to Coventry, London, Sheffield, Newcastle etc? The RFL don't show any ambition and use Leigh and Hull KR, which is what makes these matches seem small time. New audiences have shown appetite for International RL.

I agree a qualifying tournament to get into the 4 Nations would be good and create more meaningful matches for the rest of the NH. It also opens up the opportunity for freshening up the tournament, rather than having a closed shop with the same nations every year. We saw different nations every 4 Nations tournament.

Exactly why we need to create meaningful events. Stop playing hidden away on Thursday nights in Leigh, so we get no coverage. Show some ambition and it'll get rewarded.

I'm not saying we should play 3 test series v the USA for example, I'm just saying we can't we play the odd mid-season game against them every so often. The Eagles are playing the All Blacks. They know they have no chance of winning, but it's about the opportunity and event. A Four Nations tournament involving England, France, Wales and Jamaica would definitely gain sponsors and tv coverage. The BBC showed the half assed tri-nations in 2012 with England, France and Wales played at Hull KR and Leigh. When was the last time England weren't shown in a tournament on either BBC or Sky?

England v Ireland in 2013 got 24k sell out and 1m viewers on BBC, England v Scotland in 2016 got 20k and 1.6m viewers on BBC. Why do some RL fans still believe fans only want to watch NZ and Australia?

When was the last time a tournament involving England wasn't shown on TV?

Combined Nations All Stars obviously!

I haven't said England should play a team of amateurs. I said no reason why we can't play France, Wales, Jamaica, Scotland and Ireland. These are all made up of SL players, so none of them are amateurs and we don't need the NRL's permission to play them. Plus it makes a nice change to add some variety to the fixture list. 3 test series against NZ all the time are boring and over saturated. RL fans are definitely afraid of one sided score lines. But why is it ok for England to take a hammering but not Wales or France? My point about San Marino is they are happy to face the best players in the world, even though they have no chance of winning. I'm sure the USA for example would love to play against England RL, even though they wouldn't win. It gives them an opportunity to play against the best RL players in the world. I'm sure GB's table tennis players would love to face China at the Olympics. Same with British tennis players playing Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon. They won't win, but it's all about the experience. The opportunity has to be there.

Me too.

GB lost 64-12 to Australia in 2002. Did we stop playing the Aussies after that? Nope. We haven't beat them since 2006, yet we still want to play them all the time. Yet France and Wales shouldn't be allowed to play England? Double standards much?

Why is RL the only sport obsessed with having every international match decided by golden point? Yes you get hammerings, but they happen in all sports. Spain beat Germany 6-0 in the Nations League, China win the Table Tennis at every Olympics. San Marino have no chance of winning a football match but for them it's an event and an opportunity to play world class players, they're not bothered about losing 13-0. What reason would Welsh players want to play RL if there's no opportunity for them to represent their country? Give them meaningful games against the best players in front of big crowds.

I don't think so. TV companies want cheap content that won't cost too much and want to keep audiences away from streaming. Live sport is more important than ever. Even if it wasn't on FTA, Sky would definitely want more live content.

I thought bi-annual as you don't want overkill, but if there is a different 4th nation every year (like we had with the 4 Nations), it opens up more opportunity for other nations.

Yep. People who have no interest in RL would tune into internationals just because England are playing. Why is RL the only sport who don't understand that?

England, France, Wales and one another (Jamaica, Scotland, Ireland?) in a knockout tournament every two years. You can put that in the calendar for the next ten years and the sponsors and broadcasters will know in advance and you can organise and plan venues well in advance. But in true RL style, we'll do it once and then moan that England won it too easily and never do it again.

Interesting how the Americans were always seen as being insular, when in reality it's the Aussies. At least the NFL, NBA, NHL etc are trying to grow the product globally, the NRL just want to keep it in house.

I agree it would take 20 years, but you have to start from somewhere. If we do nothing, then international RL will just be Australia v England in front of a half empty Campbelltown every 5 years or so, if we're lucky.

The things is though, any tournaments played in the NH can be planned for years in advance. We're not afforded the same luxury with Aus/NZ. It would just be a half assed last minute test in Wollongong at best.

I think there is great potential for a 'rivalry' between England and Jamaica. Yes, England will run in a big score line to start with, but just imagine England v Jamaica live on the BBC with a big crowd. It would do wonders for the sport's image, especially for the Jamaican heritage people in the country and promote the sport. Plus Jamaica are a genuine team, so the funds would go to help their development. And we wouldn't have to worry about the NRL preventing it from going ahead, as the players would come from SL. But unfortunately that requires vision and ambition, which RL lacks. We'd rather not bother playing than play Jamaica sadly.

True, but games against France are always half assed. Instead of playing on Thursday nights in Leigh with no tv coverage, play France in Toulouse in front of 20k live on BBC. I think RL is too obsessed with score lines at international level rather than the event. The RFU get 80k through the turnstiles regardless of who England play. I'm sure the crowd aren't bothered about thrashing Tonga or Japan, they're there because it's an event and they'll be watching England.

It won't happen overnight, obviously. But put effort into helping them develop and then see the growth in 10/15 years. At the moment, England could have decent games v France, Wales and then the likes of Jamaica and Nigeria (with heritage players) without needing the NRL.

True. But the NRL has no interest in International competition. They will just extend NRL/SOO in the usual international slot. IRL needs to move on without them. Put some time into France, USA, Canada, Jamaica, Balkans, Nigeria, Latin America etc.

If IRL break away from the NRL, then we should be looking to Canada/USA, as that's where the money is. But we fcked that up already by booting out Toronto to shrink back to the M62.