langpark

Welsh team Scottish team No Irish team? Sad to see no Irish teams this year. They had been competing in recent years. Anyone know what happened? Financial burden became too great?

As a RL nerd, I obviously prefer that the figures do get published. I suppose I also see each game as an historical event that should be as well-documented as possible for future generations.

Some really great figures being announced there! Though I do find it amusing seeing how creative some clubs are getting at beating around the bush, as they avoid giving an actual figure. "The CEO is delighted to announce that season ticket sales in the Western stand have tripled compared to the same time in 2015!!!" Just tell us the figure if it is that positive FFS!

I saw the game. Big, strong girls! Would love to see them take on France at some point!

Brilliant content!

Great idea! International RL is my favourite part of rugby league! I just started a new topic in there. Let's get that forum buzzing again!

Was doing a bit of brainstorming yesterday and had an idea I wanted to share. With the success of guys like Russell Crowe, Ryan Reynolds (Wrexham FC), plus the popularity of football manager type video games, I was wondering if the idea of buying an amateur club would appeal to some of the more regular folk. Let's say for example, a club in Poland is for 'sale'. They says, you can become the owner, on the condition that commit to investing €3000 per year (for example) in the club. Or even a group of friends could form a mini 'consortium' and take over a club, though that could get a bit more complicated compared to a sole owner. As with many sports, even professional clubs, you go into it knowing that you will likely never see a financial return on the money you invest, however, watching your 'baby' grow over time is something that might appeal to some. I know countless examples of clubs in Europe, where there are some solid foundations in place, however the main thing holding them back is finance. And with that extra little boost, could be achieving so much more. One of the more 'out there' ideas, I know, but thought it was one worth exploring.

Thanks. 3-4 of them it seems.

Wow. Someone always gets touchy when the word heritage gets mentioned. And no, it does not depend on what I consider heritage, there are clear rules around this. The essence of which is quite simply: where did you learn to play RL? In the country itself or abroad? So a heritage player, for example, is not a product of the local Dutch RL system. Not rocket science. This is a great first step, I hope we see more of them from now on!

Does anyone know how many heritage players Netherlands used? I initially thought there would be none, but then I saw this earlier today...

Not ideal. But still puts them miles ahead of those "nations" operating exclusively out of Sydney.

Not too much work, it is simply that they have no resource. Here all they are doing is simply putting out a notice that may be able to connect people who may be interested in starting something. For all we know, there could be a dozen people right now in Portugal wanting to do something, but never made a start because "I am only one person". Something like this could help bring people like that together and join forces. Or, nothing could come from it, at which point, we are back right where we are now, and have lost nothing. I see nothing wrong with them doing this and should possibly do it more often.

Nothing more annoying than seeing "European" in a thread title, only for it to be about Wales, Ireland, Scotland.

1:53 in the video. Did he say "here in Nashville"? Has he left Cleveland?

Potential! my favourite buzzword! No it was quite a brief existence, 2014-17 as I recall. And they (Gorillas) played a season in the Dutch League, which would have been '15 or '16. But have not really done anything since then.

Agree with you on the Cumbria idea. And I almost agree with you on this. Except for one minor (major) detail. Why must it be Scotland A? Give these homegrown lads full international honours and their moment in the spotlight that they deserve. There is absolutely no shame in playing against those minnow nations you mention (and even possibly losing to some), the important thing is that it will kickstart some excitement back in Scotland. These players will no longer feel like they are the "background characters", but the main stars, and the momentum will build from there. Case in point. Greece do this regularly and the game is steadily on the rise over there. 2019 they beat Serbia 82-6 as they had a majority heritage team. Now, in May 2023, they fielded an all-domestic team and lost to Serbia 40-6. They probably know full well that that would happen but there was no talk of "Greece A" or anything like that. It will was full international. It also attracted 1000+ spectators. So my opinion is, keep treating them as 2nd class citizens and they will likely treat you the same way, and give priority to their local union team over their local RL team.

They are known for announcing "tough" new quota policies, only to backflip on them right away. Here's an example: https://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/2016/09/29/rugby-league-ireland-announces-new-selection-policy-to-ensure-more-domestic-players-in-international-squads/

This!

I see no need given their close proximity to England, better (and cheaper) to harness that. Teams entering the Challenge Cup, and Edinburgh playing in the N.E. League is a good start that needs to be further built upon.

The lack of internationals by those three is not the worrying part, their lack of domestic activity however, is. Luke Keary wearing an Ireland shirt and Lachlan Coote for Scotland, just so we can tick some boxes, achieves nothing.

9 mens (across 2 divisions) and 4 womens

Yes i fact I think I saw Joran made the Elite 1 team of the round last week too! Fantastic to see!

The top tier, yes. The bottom tier nations though, seem to be playing more games than ever before! I take a lot of encouragement from that.