Eddie

Thanks. Good to see five teams this season, with potentially Aberdeen to be added next year as they’re reforming.

I live in England and can observe what it’s like here.

I couldn’t care less what they do, but it’s evident that they don’t have the same mass attachment to Scotland as Tongan heritage people in Australia and NZ have.

There is a Tongan diaspora in Aus and NZ that the Tongan national team clearly represent, as evidenced by their fanatical support when Tonga play in those countries. The same can’t be said of people with Scottish grandparents living in England. The two situations are different.

There’s a massive difference as far as I can see, but happy to agree to differ.

I don’t know where they were all born, or even who they all are, but I think a fair few of the Fijians and possibly Samoan team are born there. However as I said they are choosing to play for Tonga, they feel Tongan. I really doubt many, if any, of the Scottish team feel like that, or would choose Scotland over England.

No, firstly a fair number of their international teams are born on the islands, and secondly they’re choosing to play for the island of their heritage ahead of Australia.

Kings Lynn?

13 of them. While I’d love to see the game grow in a Scotland I can’t get excited about 13 English blokes with Scottish parents or grandparents making a team for a WC.

I like this one, it’s got a touch of the Borussia Dortmund about it, and the Monseraptors is the coolest name too.

I love your optimism that an Aussie who plays football for Scotland can persuade loads of Scots to come to England for the RLWC, but it’s worth a go. Playing one of their games in Edinburgh might have been a good idea too.

Just don’t drive until it is out of your system then.

Ah I assumed it meant he was under the include at that time.

Driving coked up on the way to collect your kids is a bizarre thing to do, he must be seriously troubled. Obviously he has to face the legal consequences but I hope he can also sort himself out.

If Saints had a spare £100m to chuck at it I still wouldn’t advise them to try to crack Liverpool.

There’s been a few podcasts about that, details hazy in my mind but there was some sort of schism between the federation and clubs (classic rugby league) which halted things for a while. The recent disaster can’t have helped either.

I guess for kids and their families that’s a fair trek for a game though, and are most of your games North of Worksop too?

I use an app on my phone but it looks like they can be found here - Jan 26th https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/13-pro-am-community-rl-show-13-pro-am-CLXx-9ZHwi3/#episodes They make an interesting point that it’s not difficult to get kids in Nottingham along, but finding local teams to play against which is the issue.

Great news. Is there a men’s team in the Worksop area for these lads to progress onto when they get older @Northern Eel?

The Pro-Am Community RL show podcast a couple of weeks ago was all about them, worth a listen if you’re interested.

What do you suggest, RL being banned in Lebanon because their economy isn’t strong enough or their population big enough? Yes the national team is dominated by Aussies but there is a growing domestic set up too, and having a Lebanese diaspora playing professionally in Australia must help with the profile of that.

Do you think enough people in Glasgow would be interested? It’s not like the Union team get big crowds?

It puzzles me how Italy remain eligible.

I’ve often thought that the majority of Scotland is more culturally suited to RL than it is Union, I’d love to see the game grow there.

Have they got many people in the group?