Sports Prophet

I would say the IRL do have a travel partner, it is surprising there doesnt appear to be a contra arrangement in play? Unless we are missing their branding throughout the tournament. Haven’t seen a good one of those since the glory years of Eddie Stobart.

I’ve just checked. To change my interstate flight from Adelaide next week will cost me another $140. £200 for change on UK to Australasia sounds like a bargain to me.

Where do you draw the line? Why didn’t they book the Kangaroos for after the group stage? Because the most likely event is that Kangas make the final and if the organisers do get it right, they save £200 per head. Makes sense to me.

Did the BBC cover the story when they learned the organisers had booked England’s tickets home for after the Quarter Final?

Please John, all you are doing is fueling this distrust and unhealthy paranoia of the media. If we can’t trust the ever credible journalists of “Stuff NZ” media short for “Stuffed if I Know”, then who can we trust?

I would have expected booking 30 flexible tickets would be more than £200 a head as well wouldn’t it? I hazard a guess, the organisers have avoided extortionate up front costs by estimating the knock out of each nation, or avoided prohibitive costs by booking after teams were knocked out.

£200 change per person… to book individual tickets after a team was knocked out would cost much, much, much more than that wouldn’t it? Just a nothing story as far as I am concerned.

I know they do. I was responding to one post that got the response it deserved. Development programme, we sure do. If we can create a pathway that gets a woman to referee at the WC, then the odds and history in the sport seriously suggest we should always have at least one Kiwi and one Frenchy capable for top level refereeing.

Good on ya Jacksy. Cut from a similar cloth you and I

This is a travesty. If NZ win, they can’t be expected to fly all the way home, then back to England again in time for the final. They would stand no chance and the sport would be mocked! What the hell are the organisers playing at! Forget appointing neutral referees, we need neutral organisers!

I agree this all can be overcome easily. The issue raises itself especially though when England plays Australia. There are no stand out referees of neutral nationality to appoint. In saying that, any individual who thinks a WC referee favours or disfavours their nation of birth in a match is an ignoramus. The real issue that needs addressing is where are all the Kiwi and French referees?

He doesn’t share his thoughts with me, so apologies, I can’t give you any insight on this occasion.

In this occasion, there isn’t. There are a good few English referees that could blow the whistle for this match. The ARLC aren’t appointing the referees. Stuart Cummings is I believe as acting MO Coordinator (or a title of similar standing) for the IRL.

Maybe, but not the person I was responding to. I was drawing attention to an individual poster that only made sole reference to the ARLC as if they were bullies and sole beneficiaries of such appointments.

Remind me please who refereed Eng v PNG?

If you like your interior dark, music a little on the heavy side and your women wearing short skirts with tats on display with a piercing or two that aren’t always on display, then Big Red up the road from the stadium is a must. God I miss going to the Big Red.

I think Shaun Wane is your point of difference for historical performances against the Kangaroos. He comes across like a British Bulldog type that should give the players a bit of mongrel confidence.

Actually, i don’t like the Wallabies to win anything either, but for polar opposite reasons to my rationale on wanting the Kangaroos to lose. I think it’s been over 20 years since I really enjoyed a game of Union.

I am Australian and I don’t want to see Australia beaten at any sport ever, unless it’s in RL. Actually, I don’t like losing to Kiwis. That’s the only match I care about the Kangaroos winning. If England get there, which nation do you hope England will play in the final?

I still think England are a better team and are favourites to win, but I think Samoa are capable of an upset.

I don’t mind it happening at Semi Final stage. Gives England the best chance possible to make the final and that almost needed to be a minimum requirement to maximise the success of this tournament.

I figured this thread might wanna pop back up the top to see if everyone is sure England are better than Samoa...

I’m not talking about a per game basis, I am talking about where a sport and its stars retains its high profile. That is through the leagues. The WC may get a few more eyeballs over the course of a few weeks every four years, but the leagues are where the players make their money and their names. It’s the vehicle that keeps them in the public consciousness. One even every four years and a few games at the end of a season is by no means more useful to build profile than a 30 week season of week to week activity.

Just a bit of posturing from each side. This is a non story.

St Helens has a soccer club that draws more fans than the Saints?