Hela Wigmen

You mustn’t get to watch much rugby then if you’re more bothered about the towns and cities games are played in than the product on the pitch. I’ll look forward to watching Australia, PNG, Tonga and Fiji while you look at libraries and bus stations.

Don’t worry, Judith Chalmers and Wish You Were Here won’t be reviewing the cities.

Hopefully there’s not too much hassle with the rearranging of the tournament in terms of dates, venues and the like. As for what happens internationally in the northern hemisphere, there should be games. There should be every year, mind, so that’s not a big statement to make. I do fear though that the apathy towards the game and the crowds we’ve seen since the return of fans combined could mean we see relatively poor crowds if there are games.

Let it go, it’s over. World Cup off this year. We might get it next year, probably not, there’ll be something else to blame, a new calendar, the wrong shaped clouds etc.

Didn’t he “buy” Bath or Bristol and somehow link them to Spain?

Yes, it is double standards. Our feet stamping about the Australians is laughable when we play Combined Nations over an actual nation in a World Cup year, for example.

I’ve not seen anything that suggests that Australia and New Zealand won’t play international games or games against England. I read it as they will play, on their terms. Once the coup d’état gets more traction behind it, it’s then up to England to decide whether they follow suit and pander to the two of them in the hope they get some games against the two or go off on their own, becoming a huge fish in a tiny pond, relatively speaking, in which their biggest test will be Combined Nations. Ultimately, the cards are stacked in the favour of Australia and New Zealand.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/kangaroos/international-rugby-league-in-line-for-huge-boost-with-kangaroos-tour-and-pacific-tests-in-2019/news-story/3155632df64806de390f0869f72bd1d1 I knew the NRL had proposed things in the past and this is as good as I can find in relation to what they were proposing in 2018. Now, it’s not terrible, IMO. There’s a few tweaks we’d all make, I imagine but that wouldn’t have been a disaster of a schedule. Obviously that doesn’t account for pandemics or a change in ARL chairman, who is likely to have his own ideas. I’m certainly not advocating the coup d’état but I can see a proposal coming in the next six months or so, so we’re going to have to listen.

NRL now saying talks have started with Maori and Indigenous sides. Stick a fork in it, the World Cup is done.

Exactly, this.

Yes. There’s nothing there that’s suggesting what you are.

There’s been absolutely zero suggestion of that at the minute, so it’s a bit pointless discussing it.

We just need to really focus on making the remaining Southern Hemisphere nations comfortable and happy to travel and replace the two with actual nations to save the tournament. Postponing/cancelling would be devastating on a number of levels.

There’s some fair and valid concerns in that statement from the NRL clubs in relation to a few things. That said, its a convenient deflection to use for what is yet to come.

Ultimately, this. I was debating going to Newcastle for the opening game of England v Samoa because I felt there was a genuine threat to England on that day and felt I’d see a close game. Sheffield happens to be one of my favourite cities for a day out but I had no interest in going to England v Greece as I don’t really fancy seeing a 70-0 game.