MatthewWoody

And you generate tv money from England destroying Wales and France.

England can beat the SH teams. Wales and France cannot beat England.

Wales and France aren't improving simply by playing (and losing a lot) against England.

In a World Cup...

Football can afford those rules, we can't.

Every comparison with football is delusional, as football is the most played sport of the world. In order to have more competitive teams, rl lets players switch nation if they're eligible. The right challenge for non tier 1 nations is convincing players to stay with them, as it happened with Tonga and Samoa. Changing the rules and making them stricter would make the World Cup less interesting.

Qualifying process: In the Europe Qualifying Tournament, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Serbia, Turkey and Wales will play in one group of three and one of four in 2023, with the two highest placed finishers from each group qualifying for RLWC2025. This is very interesting. Italy, with a mix of heritage and homegrown players,can make it. The pandemic stopped the local work on players and coaches but this is the chance to restart

Given the times they played recently, it's progressive

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/rl-today-new-zealand-eyeing-up-four-tests-ex-wigan-junior-handed-doping-ban/

Wonderful series. Though some would prefer the Euros.

10 would be a very big step backwards.

It'd cost a lot, as you'd have people from abroad going to live in England or Australia. And the result, their level, would take lots of time to become comparable to those already working in the NRL or SL.

I think it was successful because of the attendances (encouraging for the women's game) and because of the BBC coverage. But part of me thinks this Women's tournament went well because of the exposure (BBC coverage, etc.) due to the main World Cup. I'm not sure it'll work outside it, though we have so few Int rl in Europe that a Women's WC as a standalone event would give English and French public something to watch. Moreover, if I'm not wrong we'll have a 16 teams tournament and the only way to keep it interesting will be the involvement of heritage players from Australia, NZ and England, as in the men's game.

Might. While I'm very happy with the women's WC success, I think most of it is due to the RLWC umbrella.

How would you train and prepare referees in 3 years time?

If we could keep this thread free from spoilers, it'd very useful

Spot on. I said it because touring Europe still has something "more" for the players.

Low: embarassing crowds for some WC game in rl heartland.

Calling a sport "kick and clap" says it all about the prejudice.

It's not only the NRL. I don't think any SL or Championship club would be happy to release their players for more than a game midseason. Let's not forget some years ago the England coach had to select his team for the midseason game v Samoa with limitations. He couldn't select more than tot players from each club.

Who would pay for the women's world cup standalone tv rights?

Touring the UK and playing in Premier League stadia is still an important experience for Aus rl players. Without any international club football scene and with International scene that is very small compared to other sport, tours in France and England are still important for players.

"Again"? As an event, Origin is already the pinnacle.

Scorers: https://www.instagram.com/p/CldVkwfALs9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Some pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/CldWNChAa-3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://nrl.sportsmatemobile.com/news/118762