deluded pom? Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 http://www.totalrl.com/nrl-proposes-international-shake-up/ The NRL is proposing a return of Kangaroo tours of Great Britain as part of a shakeup of the international Rugby League calendar over the next four years. And work has already begun on developing an International Nines Tournament to be held at the end of the 2019 season. ARL Chairman Peter Beattie claims it is time to give international Rugby League the platform it deserved with its own dedicated calendar of events. He says the NRL’s plan, to be presented to the Rugby League International Federation meeting in Singapore later this month, would take a huge stride in showcasing the game internationally. Consultation will also continue to take place with the RLPA, NZRL , RFL and other key stakeholders before the calendar is finalised. Beattie said the cornerstones of the proposed calendar included a return of a three-match Kangaroo tour of Great Britain beginning in 2019, together with new tournament platforms for emerging nations to compete against the tier one nations during the cycle. “Many of the biggest stars of our game will tell you that a Kangaroo tour was the highlight of their career,” he said. “With the revival of interest in international Rugby League there is no better time to revive the Kangaroo tour and reward our finest players with a three-Test series in Great Britain.” The last Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was in 2003. Beattie said the proposed calendar would provide opportunities for Pacific nations to compete on the bigger stage in tournaments, more regularly. “We saw during the World Cup how the Pacific Nations emerged as genuine rivals for the top tier nations – and thrilled fans at the same time,” he said. Other highlights of the NRL’s proposed calendar for 2019-22 include: A new Oceania Cup in 2019 featuring round robin matches between New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to be played during June and October. A Four Nations tournament held in the Southern Hemisphere in 2020 featuring Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa. Four Nations tournament held in the Northern Hemisphere in 2020 featuring England, France, PNG and Fiji. Retention of the traditional Australia v New Zealand Tests. England to tour New Zealand for a three Test series in 2022. In addition, discussions have begun on a new International Nines Tournament which would be held at the end of the 2019 season. Beattie, the former Premier of Queensland between 1998 and 2007, was the organiser of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and he took over as Chairman of the ARL in February this year. He said the NRL was a strong supporter of international Rugby League. “However, until now, there has not been enough structure around the international calendar and the game has missed some real opportunities to showcase Rugby League outside Australia,” he said. “We are presenting a four-year calendar which can be repeated and replicated in future cycles to give the international game more certainty and exposure. “Those tournaments and events will be bookended by a World Cup every four years. “A key to this proposal is that we are giving emerging nations the opportunity to become genuine competitors with the tier one nations. “But we will do it by confining international tournaments to fixed windows to ensure the wellbeing of our players.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 We don’t need a 9’s tournament of any kind, yet. We simply don’t have a good enough International presence to warrant an additional tournament at this time. A regular Oceania Cup that involves as many of Fiji, PNG, Samoa and Tonga alongside one of England, Australia or New Zealand can only be a good thing. I’m pleased there is plans in place for Australia to actually bother coming here for games because with New Zealand here what feels like annually, it’s become quite stale and boring. No mention of Scotland, Ireland or Wales, so I don’t know whether that’s a signal that we’ll definitely be considered Great Britain again or the Australians don’t care about those nations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copa Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I wonder if this is an all or nothing proposal and would it interfere with the Denver test and therefore the US World Cup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 So the Kangaroos coming here instead of Lions tour down under? Hey I love this planning well in advance thing.... No Kiwis for Denver? With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedford Roughyed Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Maybe we couldn't afford a tour down under and the Kangaroos will be a money maker up here.... With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I believe it when I see any of this..... Nice to know they’re now looking to switch the GB tour of Australia to a Kangaroo tour of UK. Is that because Aussie fans don’t turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 The NRL are proposing ways to protect the NRL by ensuring no high profile international series are played at home. Also, let's find somewhere to chuck NZ in June so we don't have any of this nonsense disrupting Origin 2. Has Nigel Wood said a single thing in defence of the RLIF since his appointment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Skipper Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Nostalgia. How I long for a return to the Kangaroo tours (is it really 15 years?). Do we get GB back as well? Opportunity for the Hearns of ever there was one... “There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.” Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man of Kent Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 It’s coming home! Ashes coming home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Skipper Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 4 minutes ago, Man of Kent said: It’s coming home! Ashes coming home! Such is the NRLs previous respect for international RL, we will probably find the ashes were scattered on some Sydney landfill as they were taking up space in the NRL HQs janitor’s closet. “There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.” Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Well that is an underwhelming read to say the least. There is just so much that is wrong with that proposal and it seems to have been scribbled down on the back of a fag packet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_57 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Complicated mess. There is no structure whatsoever and just seems to have been thrown together at random. Why are they proposing where other nations tour with no real rational behind the decisions? IF they are truely supportive of more Internationals great, but why are they trying to control the schedule and presenting a schedule that is a dog's breakfast? Say you support Internationals, let the RLIF do their job then support the structure/strategie they come up with, pretty simple process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I think it's great someone is actually proposing a plan for international rugby league (something the RLIF has inexplicably failed to deliver for years), which will give tier 2 nations meaningful opportunities to play every year, and tour regularly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_57 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Not that hard to create an uncomplicated system. Year 1 - England tour Pacific (inc. 3 game series V Aus or NZ). Full strength 6 team Pacific Cup with Australia & NZ played simultaneously. Confed Cup Qualifiers. Year 2 - Confed Cup (6 teams), EmergingNations World Cup. 9's World Cup. Year 3 - Australia or NZ tour Europe (inc. 3 games series V England/GB). Full strength 6 team Euro Cup with England playedsimultaneously. World Cup Qualifiers. Year 4 - World Cup There's a basic structure to work around that puts 8 major trophies on the table each 4 year cycle. (World Cup, Confed Cup, Pacific Cup,Euro Cup, Americas Cup, World 9's, Baskerville Shield,The Ashes). Add in a few improv tournaments/tours/games and mid-season window to fill the gaps. Wash rinse repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieSaint Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Scubby said: The NRL are proposing ways to protect the NRL by ensuring no high profile international series are played at home. Also, let's find somewhere to chuck NZ in June so we don't have any of this nonsense disrupting Origin 2. Has Nigel Wood said a single thing in defence of the RLIF since his appointment? This... nothing can stand in the way of the NRL/SOO juggernaut and I have no doubt this has been proposed to prevent the likes of NZ and England going off to do their own thing during the Jun window. It reeks of protectionism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieSaint Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, ghost crayfish said: I think it's great someone is actually proposing a plan for international rugby league (something the RLIF has inexplicably failed to deliver for years), which will give tier 2 nations meaningful opportunities to play every year, and tour regularly... The RLIF under Collier did: World Cup (2017), Tours (2018), Intercontinental Cup (2019), Tours (2020), World Cup (2021). Qualifying tournaments intermingled with that rolling calendar. It got put on the shelf... it should be lifted back off the shelf or at least the WC/IC competitions should be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, jim_57 said: Not that hard to create an uncomplicated system. Year 1 - England tour Pacific (inc. 3 game series V Aus or NZ). Full strength 6 team Pacific Cup with Australia & NZ played simultaneously. Confed Cup Qualifiers. Year 2 - Confed Cup (6 teams), EmergingNations World Cup. 9's World Cup. Year 3 - Australia or NZ tour Europe (inc. 3 games series V England/GB). Full strength 6 team Euro Cup with England playedsimultaneously. World Cup Qualifiers. Year 4 - World Cup There's a basic structure to work around that puts 8 major trophies on the table each 4 year cycle. (World Cup, Confed Cup, Pacific Cup,Euro Cup, Americas Cup, World 9's, Baskerville Shield,The Ashes). Add in a few improv tournaments/tours/games and mid-season window to fill the gaps. Wash rinse repeat. Indeed! Multiple series played concurrently featuring some of the same teams isn't complicated at all. This confed cup, whatever that is, should be a much easier sell to broadcasters, sponsors and fans than things like an 'ashes series' or an 'oceania cup'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copa Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Moore Sports International steps in to give the market something and suddenly the NRL is alert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubby Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 minutes ago, Copa said: Moore Sports International steps in to give the market something and suddenly the NRL is alert. Harsh but fair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said: The RLIF under Collier did: World Cup (2017), Tours (2018), Intercontinental Cup (2019), Tours (2020), World Cup (2021). Qualifying tournaments intermingled with that rolling calendar. It got put on the shelf... it should be lifted back off the shelf or at least the WC/IC competitions should be... How many of these 'Tours' the RLIF brilliantly put on give Fiji, Tonga or Samoa games? If this proposal came from the RLIF or the RFL you'd be cheering it! More home tests for England, more chances for France to play southern hemisphere teams, more big games between NZ and Tonga... But no, dogs breakfast! Conspiracy! The NRL ruins rugby league once again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, Copa said: Moore Sports International steps in to give the market something and suddenly the NRL is alert. Yes, that's my one issue with this proposal. Doesn't leave space for the mid-year Denver test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 While this looks like the NRL jumping (belatedly) on the international bandwagon and trying to grab the steering wheel, at least it is a pro-international proposal from the Australians at last, rather than them trying to avoid that sort of thing. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copa Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 6 minutes ago, ghost crayfish said: Yes, that's my one issue with this proposal. Doesn't leave space for the mid-year Denver test. It does show there might be the start of a competitive market for rugby league though. Competition between organisations to boost international rugby league is bound to be good. It’s only a proposal at this stage though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 So let me get this right, the NRL are proposing a tournament for England, France, Fiji and PNG? Go eff yourself you pricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_57 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 26 minutes ago, ghost crayfish said: I think it's great someone is actually proposing a plan for international rugby league (something the RLIF has inexplicably failed to deliver for years), which will give tier 2 nations meaningful opportunities to play every year, and tour regularly... I think the RLIF has been trying to get a pretty simple Tour, Confed Cup, Tour, World Cup cycle across the line for a while but have been stalled on the Confed Cup part of it. Creating tournaments that have a lasting legacy is the key. In Football people remember who wins World Cups, Euros, Copa America etc. In Rugby Union people remember who wins the 6 Nations, Rugby Championships and World Cups. Nobody remembers who won random friendlies and ad-hoc tournaments thrown together at random (if those things exist in those sports). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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