JM2010

Yeah I know. It’s a shame though. Imagine if both Toulouse and Catalans were able to run elite academies in the SL Academy League made up of the best 40 or so French U19s

In an ideal situation Catalans and Toulouse U19s should sit above the French U19s league with the best 40 or so players playing for these 2. That would require them to play in the SL Academy League which would be the best but most expensive scenario

Thanks for the info. Where are the best players? The Poles or the U19 league?

How long did Lewis Murphy sign at the Roosters for? I wouldn't be surprised if Wakefield were trying to get him back for next season

How many Pole Espoirs are there? Do Catalans and Toulouse also run their own U19s?

I just think they sign too many SH players and they don’t seem to offer enough opportunities for young French players. France U19s have just beaten England but how many of them will actually progess into SL?

London were too far off an SL place to spend money this season to make up enough ground. Hopefully they can regroup in the Championship and invest in the right areas to get up to a grade A or one of the highest Bs

It pains me to say this but I’m getting less and less convinced about the pros of having French teams in the SL and Championship. From what’s being said on here they aren’t putting much into the junior pathways because they are spending all there money on travel costs and the first team squads. I know Catalans have been a success but I’m not sure if they’ve had a positive impact on the game in France or the commercial value of SL. I’m saying this as someone who would really like to see a thriving game in France and has been a fan of French teams in the British League system

I think if GB does come back then they should tour once every WC cycle and host a tour once every WC cycle. That could leave the remaining year to have a European or NH tournament with each home nation playing as individual countries

Well, they beat England so it’s a pretty good gauge

Would Wales be able to put out a good academy side next season to possibly take in England and France?

How many Welsh lads are now at SL clubs?

This is an area where Wales have more potential than France. The French junior players don’t seem to have much in the way of pathways into SL whereas the Welsh players have all the English SL clubs, especially St Helens, Warrington, Salford to develop into SL players. If a few players each year can become regular SL players with the addition of a few strong heritage players then they could become a potential opponent for England in the future

If we are to go back to GB there still needs to be opportunities for Wales, Scotland and Ireland to play regularly. Maybe a Tri nations between the 3 with a combined Celtic team created afterwards to take on England as selection for GB. This would obviously require players to declare for the Celtic Nations and, as I’ve said before, a plan to develop the domestic game in the 3 countries. The end goal would be the home nations becoming strong enough to compete with England as individual teams with GB as the carrot for the players

Could Moy be fullback with Litten on the wing?

If they do go to GB then maybe that will encourage players to declare for Ireland, Wales and Scotland as they will be playing for a spot in the GB squad. GB will have to play at least 2 of the 3 years between WCs though or the players won’t see the point in declaring for the other home nations. I think it also needs to come with a commitment to develop the domestic game in the other nations otherwise it’s just a name change

There’s also Bailey Hodgson over in Australia, although I’m not sure how he’s been going this season

Wonder if he could push himself into the England centre position in the next couple of years. Obviously Farnworth is first choice with Wardle the other centre at the moment. There’s also Lindop at Warrington who looks like he’s going to be a good player in the centre

He looks really good from what I’ve seen. Should be a regular starter in the next year or so

Welsby is a great player but there’s going to be some competition for fullback. Think he might end up playing 6 in the next few years

Will some of these young players coming through be pushing for an England shirt for the next WC?

Smithies is a tackling machine and a tough player. He probably just needs to run a bit more and pass the ball at the line rather than just handing it on for the sake of it

I agree. Grade As should be safe and if a grade B wins the Championship then they should replace the lowest placed Grade B in SL

How much domestic activity is there in South Africa at the moment?