Revamping International Rugby League

[welshmagpie]

The post has done very well on Twitter - even John Bateman has had his say. Here’s the calendar: https://hecanplayfor.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/5/127590043/international_rl_2022-2029.pdf

 

 

[Damien]

Its pretty much the type of stuff that has been said for years on here.

[welshmagpie]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

Its pretty much the type of stuff that has been said for years on here.

Maybe, but now it’s out there more so than ever! The louder the voice, the better the outcome. 

[Damien]

3 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

Maybe, but now it’s out there more so than ever! The louder the voice, the better the outcome. 

Totally, I didn't mean to be negative. The solutions are blindingly obvious to everyone, apart from those in charge of the game. That's what makes it so infuriating and disheartening. 

[welshmagpie]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

Totally, I didn't mean to be negative. The solutions are blindingly obvious to everyone, apart from those in charge of the game. That's what makes it so infuriating and disheartening. 

Agree with you wholeheartedly mate. It is so infuriating that fans have better vision than those in charge.

[Smudger06]

Hosting RL Test matches in Beirut.

[Smudger06]

1 minute ago, Smudger06 said:

Hosting RL Test matches in Beirut.

Russia v Ukraine Tests held in Russia and Ukraine

A trip to Lagos?

Noble plan but no real grasp on geopolitics or team / fan safety and security. 

[Damien]

5 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

Hosting RL Test matches in Beirut.

Is that Leigh on a Thursday night again?

[Rugbyleaguesupporter]

Nice idea in places but are we saying if England lose to PNG in QF that's England out of 4 nations for following 3 years?

[langpark]

Some good ideas in there, some really bad ones too.

France being lumped in with North America, for example...

Only FOUR World Cup qualification spots available at each World Cup!?

A term I often see used on here is "meaningful fixtures".  For me, a WC qualifying match is as meaningful as it gets (aside from the WC itself).  Winning those matches are far more important that any Med Cup, Eastern Euro, Atlantic, or whatever else you want to call it.

Also, the fact that there is no costing to go with any of this (to see what % increase it is on our current costs) makes it hard to assess how feasible it actually is.

I believe we have come a long way in terms of the international calendar and the post-season plus mid-season window that we have so far is a good start.  We are very close to getting it right, I believe.

[Rugby&soccerfan]

For me i think one of the keys to playing and developing International Rugby League is use of the 7's or 9's game.

 

With so many newer and Non Elite countries playing but with plenty of Interest. Having a yearly or every two year 16 team International 7's or 9's competition four groups of four, top two go into finals. Bottom two from each group into a losers pool. Play it end of season and locations that would appeal to fans. Maybe hot islands using semi professional football grounds across Europe then eventually to other contients. So Ibiza, Salou being examples to start with. 

 

Also the smaller playing numbers means countries with smaller playing numbers could find it easier to start with and encourage more newer ones to play.

[The Rocket]

1 hour ago, Smudger06 said:

Hosting RL Test matches in Beirut.

Smudge I can understand your cynicism but I think in competitions where players are playing for peanuts or probably less and most likely just for the love of the game internationals and representing your country is a really powerful way to keep players and fans engaged, what red-blooded male or female wouldn`t love to have a national representative jersey they could show their kids or grandkids, especially in a tough sport like League.

We have to make it happen for them somehow.

[Smudger06]

8 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Smudge I can understand your cynicism but I think in competitions where players are playing for peanuts or probably less and most likely just for the love of the game internationals and representing your country is a really powerful way to keep players and fans engaged, what red-blooded male or female wouldn`t love to have a national representative jersey they could show their kids or grandkids, especially in a tough sport like League.

We have to make it happen for them somehow.

Yeah Sorry mate. 

Those games should perhaps be staged in Cyprus or somewhere. 

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

The thing is with International Rugby League is we’ve had some great tournaments. The Four Nations and The Oceania Cup, the European Championship, the problem is these are stop start tournaments played in random years. We need to play the same tournament every year for it to build a reputation with both fans and broadcasters. 

[Hela Wigmen]

I stopped paying attention at four mid season International weekends. Not only is it pie in the sky, it’s going to result in many players who could play for England being unavailable for the majority of their games through being based in the NRL, where the Australians, by the looks of it, have no proposed mid-season games and lose the Oceania Cup. 

It’s as ludicrous as some of the ideas floated around on here, someone’s just put them together half heartedly on a Word doc. 

[welshmagpie]

1 hour ago, Hela Wigmen said:

I stopped paying attention at four mid season International weekends. Not only is it pie in the sky, it’s going to result in many players who could play for England being unavailable for the majority of their games through being based in the NRL, where the Australians, by the looks of it, have no proposed mid-season games and lose the Oceania Cup. 

It’s as ludicrous as some of the ideas floated around on here, someone’s just put them together half heartedly on a Word doc. 

The Australians are definitely part of the June fixtures. I think you may want to go back and have another read. 

[jroyales]

I feel that Rugby Union only survives due to the regular revenue it takes from its internationals. According to one top club coach he reputedly said "Take away the money we get from internationals and we would have to go back to being semi-professional"

We need regular internationals, as Sir Kev has said, for our great game to survive.

[Big Picture]

17 hours ago, langpark said:

Some good ideas in there, some really bad ones too.

France being lumped in with North America, for example...

Only FOUR World Cup qualification spots available at each World Cup!?

A term I often see used on here is "meaningful fixtures".  For me, a WC qualifying match is as meaningful as it gets (aside from the WC itself).  Winning those matches are far more important that any Med Cup, Eastern Euro, Atlantic, or whatever else you want to call it.

Also, the fact that there is no costing to go with any of this (to see what % increase it is on our current costs) makes it hard to assess how feasible it actually is.

I believe we have come a long way in terms of the international calendar and the post-season plus mid-season window that we have so far is a good start.  We are very close to getting it right, I believe.

He naively thinks that double headers would be seen as "events" when in fact they're very Mickey Mouse.

[Mr Plow]

Interesting, obviously the sport needs to play international fixtures more regularly. A 4 nations with England, aus, NZ and Tonga seems like a no brainer. I do like the current European cup format where teams and promoted and relegated between divisions like the UEFA nations league 

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

3 minutes ago, Mr Plow said:

Interesting, obviously the sport needs to play international fixtures more regularly. A 4 nations with England, aus, NZ and Tonga seems like a no brainer. I do like the current European cup format where teams and promoted and relegated between divisions like the UEFA nations league 

I think the Oceania Cup looks set to be a regular annual event. It’s great for Southern Hemisphere International Rugby League but will leave England short on options for sides to play.

[GUBRATS]

2 consecutive contestants on WWTBAM stating that they only watch the Union International game

Tells us what we need to provide 

[Big Picture]

2 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

2 consecutive contestants on WWTBAM stating that they only watch the International game

Tells us what we need to provide 

Yes it does: a league where the teams play half (or more) or their matches against opponents from other countries, which will be the next step in the evolution of team sports.

[zylya]

Some interesting concepts, some other stuff not really workable. However, if it pushes the IRL into some discussion and they actually start doing some of this stuff then great.

[The Frying Scotsman]

7 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

Interesting, obviously the sport needs to play international fixtures more regularly. A 4 nations with England, aus, NZ and Tonga seems like a no brainer. I do like the current European cup format where teams and promoted and relegated between divisions like the UEFA nations league 

From a financial point of view - Yes. You are right.

From a playing/performance point of view? Probably AUS, NZ, Tonga and PNG would be fairer (going by the most recent results).

Could we do it with England playing as the 4th team when it is played in the Northern Hemisphere (Year 1) and PNG playing as the 4th team in the Southern Hemisphere (Year 2) etc?

This would leave the Big 3 unchanged, and hopefully help England/PNG get up to speed and become more competitive. I think we can all agree that the game needs cash desperately and having England involved (hopefully permanently, eventually) is better for the sport in the long run.

[Mr Plow]

7 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

From a financial point of view - Yes. You are right.

From a playing/performance point of view? Probably AUS, NZ, Tonga and PNG would be fairer (going by the most recent results).

Could we do it with England playing as the 4th team when it is played in the Northern Hemisphere (Year 1) and PNG playing as the 4th team in the Southern Hemisphere (Year 2) etc?

This would leave the Big 3 unchanged, and hopefully help England/PNG get up to speed and become more competitive. I think we can all agree that the game needs cash desperately and having England involved (hopefully permanently, eventually) is better for the sport in the long run.

I’d just have England play in a 4 nations regardless, they should be playing high profile internationals every year no matter what hemisphere they are on. You improve by playing top teams.

Id love to see PNG become the 5th nation, but again they need regular internationals against good opponents