langpark

Brilliant news, but seems an odd place to start a team. As someone who knows very little about Scotland, it just seems a town with just 5,900 residents will be a pretty tough sell.

It is good to see Sheffield has been given an England match for the World Cup. Hopefully the Eagles can channel that interest into gaining some new long-term fans.

When did Belize appear? Do they have any teams yet? Population just 400k according to wiki, not the easiest of tasks I would say, good luck to those involved!

The youtube videos in Spanish is a great idea too! Well done on all fronts mate!

Excellent production! I think there is plenty of potential in Albania!

Regarding your last question: No chance. Regarding your other question, it is also a NO. Given that England and France are a massive class above the other competing sides, they do not play their pro players in the U19 and U20s matches. France to be fair, as it will be off-season, could have some playing. Whether or not they will be in the open age side by the following year is another issue, but in theory could happen.

Fair point. Though those to me, are respectable scorelines, not "hammerings" as you describe them. 54-12 is the only one getting into the category of a "hammering". Anyway, let me ask you this then. How does NSW Cup compare to SL in your opinion?

I am convinced some people here have never seen a Qld Cup match in their lives, or even highlights. I highly recommend it, they have great highlight videos on the QRL website.

He is indeed a great guy, but that is irrelevant to its success. I do wish them well, but..... This is more far-fetched than any Canada/USA idea ever floated and any comparison to the PNG bid is way off target. PNG ticks all the boxes. A population of 8.6 million, a world class RL stadium, 15,000 registered players in the country. Sure, they are not the wealthiest nation, but by sheer weight of numbers, 8.6 million in a country where RL is a religion means they get good numbers at their matches and are a viable entity. They are a good, competitive side in the Qld Cup. Pacifique XIII on the other hand, ticks NONE of those boxes. Small population and no RL activity on the island since 2006 means that the only way this can possibly work is if there is a sugar daddy behind it and a 100% imported squad, for at least their first 5 years. Qld Cup is a very strong competition. A lot of Aussies indeed claim it is better than SL, I don't agree with that, but there is really not a lot in it. I believe if SL teams and Qld Cup teams met, the home team would win every time. Matches would be so close, that whether the match is played in tropical Qld or freezing English conditions would likely be the deciding factor. And finally, anyone thinking this will somehow strengthen the French team I think will be very disappointed.

I think that's a really good decision. Postponing was a no-brainer, but making it an U20 instead of U19 for next year only, then returning to being U19 in 2022 is great and ensures no player that in line to play, will miss out as a result of postponing.

Just to get you started, the 750 they are charging for the hoodie (without the zip) works out to: £26 / €29 / $44AUD. Not sure how much gets added on for postage though.

Saw this one today, Czech club Mad Squirrels released a whole bunch of gear, some really nice looking stuff in there. http://www.rugby-vrchlabi.cz/klubove-obleceni/

The new Dutch jersey is just superb!