The World Cup goes ahead

[The Frying Scotsman]

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

[Keith989]

3 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

Was that not obvious when they couldn't sell out a world cup final against England in a modest sized stadium?

[theswanmcr]

2 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

Damn it - drawing me back in!

Based on this, my prediction is that it would be the same as this year, except we would have USA & South Africa instead of Greece and Italy.

I'm not sure what advantage that is. It would swap two countries where we would like to grow the game for another two - are we deciding we want to grow the game in N America and Africa at the expense of developing European teams? Why not just the best 16 worldwide?

Ha sorry for drawing you back in

This would ensure we’d at least get 2 from USA/Jamaica/Canada… and in the future maybe even a South American team. Also no guarantee it would be South Africa, some good things going on in the likes of Nigeria. As for Europe, well someone has got to lose out if we want to make it a global competition (and European teams have performed poorly of late so shouldn’t be rewarded with more places).

Disagree about the best 16 worldwide. No sport does that… football would have  just had teams from South America and Europe a few years back in that case. A World Cup in any sport should also be a wider celebration of the game as well as being a competition on the pitch.

And if we keep pushing up standards then of course you can include more teams and go to 20 like the Union lot.

[Smudger06]

3 hours ago, theswanmcr said:

Nah - all giddy now and excitedly looking ahead to 2025 too! So qualification (why not)…

5 Europe (France as hosts)

6 Asia/Pacific.

2 Americas. One guaranteed for NA/Caribbean and runner-up plays Latin American winner?

2 Middle East/Africa. So realistically that’s Lebanon plus one African

1 Europe vs Asia/Pacific play off

Sorted

Seems legit, no real problem with that for me. 

[Smudger06]

8 minutes ago, theswanmcr said:

Ha sorry for drawing you back in

This would ensure we’d at least get 2 from USA/Jamaica/Canada… and in the future maybe even a South American team. Also no guarantee it would be South Africa, some good things going on in the likes of Nigeria. As for Europe, well someone has got to lose out if we want to make it a global competition (and European teams have performed poorly of late so shouldn’t be rewarded with more places).

Disagree about the best 16 worldwide. No sport does that… football would have  just had teams from South America and Europe a few years back in that case. A World Cup in any sport should also be a wider celebration of the game as well as being a competition on the pitch.

And if we keep pushing up standards then of course you can include more teams and go to 20 like the Union lot.

Yeah the aim should be one nation from each populated continent at the least 

[Smudger06]

Just now, Smudger06 said:

Yeah the aim should be one nation from each populated continent at the least 

But if we've got Cook Islands could run an Antarctica team. 

[Barley Mow]

57 minutes ago, theswanmcr said:

Ha sorry for drawing you back in

This would ensure we’d at least get 2 from USA/Jamaica/Canada… and in the future maybe even a South American team. Also no guarantee it would be South Africa, some good things going on in the likes of Nigeria. As for Europe, well someone has got to lose out if we want to make it a global competition (and European teams have performed poorly of late so shouldn’t be rewarded with more places).

Disagree about the best 16 worldwide. No sport does that… football would have  just had teams from South America and Europe a few years back in that case. A World Cup in any sport should also be a wider celebration of the game as well as being a competition on the pitch.

And if we keep pushing up standards then of course you can include more teams and go to 20 like the Union lot.

To be honest I don't have a particularly strong view on which parts of the world should get more or less places, I just don't understand the rationale behind giving an extra place to the Americas when there is nothing to suggest it is deserved on playing merit. We'd simply be swapping developing teams in one part of the world for those in another.

If as you say, someone has got to lose out, I'd make it the least qualified based on playing ability, hence just having the top 16 nations.

You say no other sport does that, but the comparable sports aren't as geographically concentrated at the top level - all our full time professionals are based in 2 competitions in 4 countries and other than PNG & the Pacific Islands, those 4 countries are where the players almost all come from. 

In my opinion there is not the quality of player depth in the Americas to give your proposal any advantage over the current set up.

As you say, hopefully we can keep pushing up standards and in time make such a proposal worthwhile and include more teams.

[GeordieSaint]

1 hour ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

The WC in 2017 was a prime example of high profile games in NZ. Sadly for Australia, the biggest one involved Tonga… not them (or NZ). Maybe if he wants more high profile matches in NZ, he should help them bid for the 2025 WC (or 2029). 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 13/07/2021 at 16:09, Man of Kent said:

Thank goodness. 

I don’t think I’d ever have forgiven the Aussies if they’d have pulled out

Yep, I was beginning to feel a bit like that too. My WatchNRL subscription and NRL Jersey purchases were close to being ditched 

[Odsal Outlaw]

2 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

Absolutely mind numbing comments from him. He worked over here tho so just smacks of having an agenda.

[DI Keith Fowler]

40 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Yep, I was beginning to feel a bit like that too. My WatchNRL subscription and NRL Jersey purchases were close to being ditched 

Me too, although I mostly buy jarg NRL jerseys.

[The Rocket]

2 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

Blake Solly sees himself as a future CEO of the game down here. God f----ing help us.

Last year he came out and critcised the NRL for not getting enough bang for its` buck for the amount of money spent on grass-roots.

This was only weeks after Cody Walker had been involved in a drunken 1 a.m. street-fight, all caught on camera and plastered over the news for a week, and roughly around the same time as Latrell and his mates flaunted covid rules when they went on their end-of-season hunting and motor-bike riding jaunt. 

League struggles to penetrate into the middle classes despite how much money thrown at it, and that chucklehead blames the NRL and says he knows better.

Incident like the two from high profile players from his club only continue to make the job akin to pushing you-know-what up-hill, and that buffoon was too stupid to see it. And he wants to run the game.

 

[Man of Kent]

‘Surely a greater priority for international rugby league at the end of this season is to play some matches in New Zealand.’

Blake Solly can suck a dog’s lolly.

[Jim from Oz]

5 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

That would have to be the most stupid comment I have ever heard ever in RL, and that is saying something.

Beyond stupid  in its stupidity.

[Jim from Oz]

5 hours ago, Keith989 said:

Was that not obvious when they couldn't sell out a world cup final against England in a modest sized stadium?

True, but the problem was, the organisation of the 2017 RLWC was pretty poor, and the promotion of it was pathetic.

[Jim from Oz]

5 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

Blake Solly today saying that "playing some high profile matches in New Zealand" should now be more of a priority than the World Cup.

It really shows the mindset down in Australia. The World Cup is nowhere near the showpiece event of the game for these people.

I mean, it's basically this: some/all NRL clubs (and we now know for sure South Sydney is one of them, if Solly is saying this) want the RLWC postponed, so they ###### on about quarantine, returning players, 2022 trials etc.

When the 2021 RLWC organising committee work non-stop to accommodate those concerns, Solly responds by saying there is ANOTHER problem – playing some high profile matches in New Zealand – and thus we need to postpone the 2021 RLWC anyway.

It's all just beyond staggering in its stupidity, short-sightedness and self-serving ignorance.

[Jim from Oz]

I hate to post anything from the crappy right-wing Daily Mail, and I'd take everything it says with a grain of salt, but here goes:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/article-9789443/Australia-send-RESERVE-team-2021-Rugby-League-World-Cup.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Note this part:

 

The Australian Rugby League have signed a Participation Agreement committing to taking part in the tournament, but it does not stipulate that they must send their strongest team. 

The prospect of Australian fielding a team comprised entirely of players based in England has even been discussed, which would severely dent the integrity of the competition.

[frank]

1 hour ago, Jim from Oz said:

I hate to post anything from the crappy right-wing Daily Mail, and I'd take everything it says with a grain of salt, but here goes:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/article-9789443/Australia-send-RESERVE-team-2021-Rugby-League-World-Cup.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Note this part:

 

The Australian Rugby League have signed a Participation Agreement committing to taking part in the tournament, but it does not stipulate that they must send their strongest team. 

The prospect of Australian fielding a team comprised entirely of players based in England has even been discussed, which would severely dent the integrity of the competition.

Seriously, that must not be allowed to happen. Strongest team or no team at all. They stuffed up the last on e and we  want this to be a success.

[Jim from Oz]

3 hours ago, frank said:

Seriously, that must not be allowed to happen. Strongest team or no team at all. They stuffed up the last on e and we  want this to be a success.

One would hope Oz-based players who want to play in the tournament will make a big enough fuss to ensure this idiocy doesn't happen …

And again, this is the Daily Mail, take what it "reports" with a grain of salt.

[Scubby]

5 hours ago, Jim from Oz said:

I hate to post anything from the crappy right-wing Daily Mail, and I'd take everything it says with a grain of salt, but here goes:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/article-9789443/Australia-send-RESERVE-team-2021-Rugby-League-World-Cup.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Note this part:

 

The Australian Rugby League have signed a Participation Agreement committing to taking part in the tournament, but it does not stipulate that they must send their strongest team. 

The prospect of Australian fielding a team comprised entirely of players based in England has even been discussed, which would severely dent the integrity of the competition.

This reminds me of this façade they create around Origin. If Australia don't send their best team then how many players from this year's State of Origin will actually go and play for other countries - Papalii, Coates, To'o, Luia, Fa'asuamaleaui, Kafusi, Koroisau, Sims, Moses, Molo. Then you have all the world's best players who don't qualify for Origin like Taumalolo, Asofa Solomona, Manu, Johnson etc. 

There will be 100+ NRL players playing for other countries. Australia (Kangaroos) is not the NRL anymore - it is the minority in the NRL.

[Dunbar]

The 'The World Cup goes ahead' or the 'World Cup in Doubt…Again' topic alternate at the top of my page depending on which was last updated.

It is all too stressful and I am turning into a paranoid schizophrenic!

[Spidey]

 

“To mark the 100-day countdown to the opening match of the tournament between hosts England and Samoa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, all remaining tickets will go on saleat 10am BST today. Fans are also able to purchase hospitality experiences and travel packages which remain on sale.”

General Sale back on today

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

1 minute ago, Spidey said:

“To mark the 100-day countdown to the opening match of the tournament between hosts England and Samoa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, all remaining tickets will go on saleat 10am BST today. Fans are also able to purchase hospitality experiences and travel packages which remain on sale.”

General Sale back on today

Just got the email as I was reading this, on sale in 2 hours, so must be at 10:00 a.m.

[Smudger06]

20 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

The 'The World Cup goes ahead' or the 'World Cup in Doubt…Again' topic alternate at the top of my page depending on which was last updated.

It is all too stressful and I am turning into a paranoid schizophrenic!

Noticed that just now aswell and was chuckling 

[Rage]

13 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

Just got the email as I was reading this, on sale in 2 hours, so must be at 10:00