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Rugby League World Cup 2021 (Merged Threads)


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Troy Grant (IRL chief) believes there’s a chance of a U-turn, it’s “highly unlikely” other nations will pull out, ‘rebel’ Aus vs NZ tests won’t happen unless the World Cup is postponed/cancelled, Indigenous & Maori sides are a genuine possibility and seemingly first in line as replacements, failing that USA, Spain and South Africa are next. 


https://www.totalrl.com/crucial-world-cup-decision-to-be-made-on-monday/

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37 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

He blocks anyone who has a different view than him. Says a lot about the man

He’s got a tag line on his Twitter which reads

”Silence is the only answer to a fool”

Or something like that, I tweeted a few times to him with a very adult, factual and sensible argument to the points he makes and he became quite abusive. So I quoted him another famous saying

“Tis better to be silent and thought of as a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt!”

He blocked me, he certainly doesn’t like his bigoted view challenged and likes it even less when he gets his arris handed to him by someone who knows the facts.

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Sorry if this has been covered however my 2 main concerns for me if rescheduled to next year is that... 1) The opening game of the Football World Cup is 21st November 2022. Currently on the current schedule RLWC would be at semi-final stage then. Massive clash concerns and only one winner there with several group games at that stage by the following weekend when the RLWC final would be due to be on live BBC will they give it the air time? 

2) The renegotiation of free dates for multi use stadia. With the Football World Cup presumably they would be having an international break so Elland Road, Emirates and Old Trafford shouldn't be affected. However we have St James Park, Newcastle, Hull KCOM, Bolton, Bramall Lane Sheffield and Anfield Liverpool who are all scheduled for games for a Saturday where we would have to to ensure that we don't clash with their football fixtures, which could open logistical nightmares or rescheduling games to Friday or Sunday 

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18 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Troy Grant (IRL chief) believes there’s a chance of a U-turn, it’s “highly unlikely” other nations will pull out, ‘rebel’ Aus vs NZ tests won’t happen unless the World Cup is postponed/cancelled, Indigenous & Maori sides are a genuine possibility and seemingly first in line as replacements, failing that USA, Spain and South Africa are next. 

https://www.totalrl.com/crucial-world-cup-decision-to-be-made-on-monday/ . 

Indigenous teams would be very competitive and bad press for the defectors but I'd rather see nations that would benefit from the exposure instead. I see the USA an the most obvious but would have thought Serbia would have been in the mix. RL in Spain seems to be in an inactive state. 

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My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

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7 hours ago, DoubleD said:

Costo, Mascord and some others are mentioning that it might be to do with tv rights for the tournament. If anyone watched the Murdoch Dynasties docu series on BBC, you’ll be aware of huge influence the Murdochs have - if it wasn’t for Ruport Murdoch, the UK would have joined the Euro and hence there would be no Brexit. All related to his support of Blair 

Back to the point at hand, if this is the case, the web goes deeper and it’ll require Boris to get involved with uncle Rupert. Gets very murky but these political machinations usually are

"Costo, Mascord and some others are mentioning that it might be to do with tv rights for the tournament. "

But in what way?

I'd say it's because the tv rights for the tournament are owned by the IRL, thus the NRL can't profit from international football, thus the NRL has staged a coup to grab international football and thus the NRL will in future profit from the TV rights.

is there any other conclusion possible re TV rights?

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1 minute ago, Jim from Oz said:

"Costo, Mascord and some others are mentioning that it might be to do with tv rights for the tournament. "

But in what way?

I'd say it's because the tv rights for the tournament are owned by the IRL, thus the NRL can't profit from international football, thus the NRL has staged a coup to grab international football and thus the NRL will in future profit from the TV rights.

is there any other conclusion possible re TV rights?

It could be that or could be that Fox hasn’t been awarded the rights for the World Cup and so have spat their dummy out. I’ve not seen an announcement of who secured the tv rights in OZ for the tournament though so unclear on my side

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12 minutes ago, RayCee said:

Indigenous teams would be very competitive and bad press for the defectors but I'd rather see nations that would benefit from the exposure instead. I see the USA an the most obvious but would have thought Serbia would have been in the mix. RL in Spain seems to be in an inactive state. 

Normally of course I'd oppose teams based on race (having NZ and NZ Maori in the 2000 RLWC was one of many ridiculous things about that event) but I feel this is our only real chance to salvage the 2021 RLWC and could indeed make the whole event a celebration of culture + provide HUGE media news/coverage

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To all the NRL commentators who think we should just delay for a year, here are a few points to consider?

Will the UK government stump up the same cash next year - I imagine some of the funds allocated by the government have already been spent on various lead up events & promotions. Also with inflation it may end up being more? I'm sure it will. When is something ever cheaper when you delay?
Will the BBC also show the same number of matches live as this year? I doubt considering it clashes with the soccer world cup. Then will the media even talk about it with the soccer lead up & games being played. Remember they only showed back page sport coverage when Aus/NZ pulled out.
Will the same grounds be available next year? I doubt it. What compensation will they have to pay the grounds now if they cancel - considering some grounds may have already booked catering/ticket collectors/parking attendants/security etc.
Will the same sponsors stick around? I doubt it. Will you still want to promote something just cancelled so far out from starting. Some companies may have already allocated marketing/advertising budgets for 2022 already so some of the current sponsorships may have been signed years ago.
Will the same players be available? Some players may have played 1 more year just so they could represent there country & retire. Many have done that before.
Will even the same country's be available next year? How will Jamaica or Greece for that matter with no money for 12 months from profits incoming survive. Remember these mainly run on volunteers to keep going.
Lastly will the British public have the patience to wait another 12 months after first having the ashes cancelled then maybe world cup 2021 postponed. Wouldn't it be ironic if some of those people having bought tickets end up watching the Wallabies or All Blacks instead. Mainly as a show of support for them coming over. Yes a lot of rusted ones will but for the casual person who bought a ticket just for the carnival event wouldn't know nathan cleary or cameron munster if they bumped into them on the street. However, they might forever if they came over.

Remember we are not the Olympics or Fifa or international Rugby Union.

We cant turn on/off a switch and delay for 12 months for all the reasons outlined above.

By all reports this year we had the perfect window to play with little competition in other sports.

As I said in another post i fear this short term decision may have long term effects moving forward.

I thought rugby league was better than this & if you call the NRL Big Brother then they should of gone out of there way to help there little cousin over on the other side of the world.

I'm afraid our reputation has been damaged now & will take a long time to repair.

To those people saying AFL is the enemy and we need to look after our own backward - well i'm sure if you asked someone in AFL land they would give anything to showcase what we have now on the international stage. Don't be fooled by some hybrid game played in Ireland between Australia. In twenty years they may have a good foothold in Africa & other countries & host there own world cup.

Then we can reflect and say remember 2021 that was our year to shine & suddenly be recognized on the world stage but we blew it because the NRL decided not to come & participate.

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This is more like what I am wanting to hear from the Kangaroo players and coming from the captain carries a lot of weight:

And RLPA President, Daly Cherry-Evans, who is also the incumbent Australian captain, has added his voice to those objecting to the ARLC decision and especially the lack of consultation with the players.
“The players wanted to go and the game probably knew that, which is probably why they didn’t want to consult us,” said Cherry-Evans.
“So, of course we would have loved to have been given a bit more of a heads up on it but we do understand the game’s acting within the best interests at heart.
“There obviously is definitely an element of disappointment for sure, it’s a World Cup and I’m not getting any younger.
“So it’d be nice to hopefully have been involved.
“I can completely understand if they’re going to continue the competition but I wouldn’t begrudge the people who were making those decisions to continue on.
“Because there’s a lot more at stake than just Australia and New Zealand.”

https://www.totalrl.com/crucial-world-cup-decision-to-be-made-on-monday/

Edited by Damien
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This seems pretty detailed to me, contrary to the NRL and NZRL claims. Another excuse debunked:

RUGBY League World Cup players would be banned from shaving in certain places, sharing boots, shampoo and strapping, spitting, chewing gum or going to a gym.

But Australia and New Zealand still said no, citing a lack of detail.

Covid-19 vaccinations would NOT be compulsory but tournament bosses would have paid for Australia-based players to quarantine on their return in facilities to state government standard after charter flights to and from Down Under.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/15688531/lengths-rugby-league-world-cup-officials-would-go-to-for-players-revealed/

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11 minutes ago, Damien said:

This is more like what I am wanting to hear from the Kangaroo players and coming from the captain carries a lot of weight:

And RLPA President, Daly Cherry-Evans, who is also the incumbent Australian captain, has added his voice to those objecting to the ARLC decision and especially the lack of consultation with the players.
“The players wanted to go and the game probably knew that, which is probably why they didn’t want to consult us,” said Cherry-Evans.
“So, of course we would have loved to have been given a bit more of a heads up on it but we do understand the game’s acting within the best interests at heart.
“There obviously is definitely an element of disappointment for sure, it’s a World Cup and I’m not getting any younger.
“So it’d be nice to hopefully have been involved.
“I can completely understand if they’re going to continue the competition but I wouldn’t begrudge the people who were making those decisions to continue on.
“Because there’s a lot more at stake than just Australia and New Zealand.”

https://www.totalrl.com/crucial-world-cup-decision-to-be-made-on-monday/

The NRL are so paranoid about not being able to fulfill their side of the broadcast deal because they know that it is all the broadcasters need to withhold payment and ask for another downgrade, then were talking 10xs of millions of dollars, even a whisper of strike action by the players could bring the whole edifice crashing down.

I think you`d see a Kangaroo squad assembled pretty quickly, whom on returning from the WC could spend their quarantine very comfortably in the Olympic Park quarantine hub, all completely expense free for the NRL.

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8 hours ago, Cheshire Setter said:

Well, if the current steep downward trend of cases continues some people are going to look very silly come October. Not that those people will care. 

The ARLC/NZRL pullout with 4 minutes' notice has nothing to do with covid/player safety, it is a NRL/V'landys coup to grab control of – and profit from the TV rights from – international RL

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7 hours ago, Devon Ram said:

 Sorry if this has already been posted, but he makes the point about lack of take up for the Covid Vaccination down under so my question is why & have the players been offered it. I understand for personnel reasons some players will say no plus he talks about the union teams touring England have they had the Covid jab? 

Does make you wonder if the powers in charge where ever going to come & the question should be why if not weren't the players who where likely to come over offered the Covid jab?

In Support of Rugby League World Cup Withdrawals - YouTube

The RLWC is 100 days away, plenty of time for the players to be vaccinated … the covid thing is all just a smokescreen

Sorry to keep repeating this, but he ARLC/NZRL pullout with 4 minutes' notice has nothing to do with covid/player safety, it is a NRL/V'landys coup to grab control of – and profit from the TV rights from – international RL.
 

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5 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

A few posters have interestingly likened this to the Superleague war, and how Ironic it is that Phil Gould, who played such a prominent role for the ARL, seems to be very vocal in supporting the ARLC decision and what could be viewed as an action akin to that of News Corp back in 1994/95.

Spot on

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The clubs continuing to spin the Covid angle/lie (note: this story is in a Murdoch rag; the Murdochs, through Fox Sports, are of course closely tied to the NRL) :

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/rugby-league-world-cup-2021-nrl-clubs-headed-for-world-cup-showdown-australia-nz-withdraw/news-story/4dfcc41de0c6604a044590c679ed7014
 

Concerns among NRL clubs about staging the end-of-season Rugby League World Cup have further heightened after two more English Super League matches were postponed as clubs struggle to deal the impact of the Covid crisis in the UK.

St Helens’ game against Huddersfield and Castleford’s clash with Leigh are the latest casualties, taking the total number of Super League matches postponed so far this year to 17.

At St Helens there are said to be eight positive cases among the players and staff while Castleford also have a significant amount of positive cases. The two teams have not played since meeting in the Challenge Cup final on July 17.

 

It comes as NRL clubs hope crisis talks in the coming days will make a decision to postpone the tournament and avert a potentially explosive showdown with some of the NRL’s biggest names.

There are growing fears that the push to send an Australian Indigenous and New Zealand Maori team to the end of season tournament could come at a huge cost to clubs if players suffer injury or contract Covid while away.

The fact the tournament is no longer being endorsed by the Australian and New Zealand governing bodies means it would be up to individual clubs as employers to make the call on whether or not players will be given permission to take part.

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3 hours ago, JohnM said:

Phil Gould has blocked me on Twitter.  He can dish it out but he cant take it. Can't handle the truth, I guess.  All I was going to do this time was to ask him to read Ozimandias by Shelley.

He comes across as so thick he probably read it as "Aussie man dies" and blocked you for issuing a personal threat.

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1 minute ago, Jim from Oz said:

The clubs continuing to spin the Covid angle/lie (note: this story is in a Murdoch rag; the Murdochs, through Fox Sports, are of course closely tied to the NRL) :

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/rugby-league-world-cup-2021-nrl-clubs-headed-for-world-cup-showdown-australia-nz-withdraw/news-story/4dfcc41de0c6604a044590c679ed7014
 

Concerns among NRL clubs about staging the end-of-season Rugby League World Cup have further heightened after two more English Super League matches were postponed as clubs struggle to deal the impact of the Covid crisis in the UK.

St Helens’ game against Huddersfield and Castleford’s clash with Leigh are the latest casualties, taking the total number of Super League matches postponed so far this year to 17.

At St Helens there are said to be eight positive cases among the players and staff while Castleford also have a significant amount of positive cases. The two teams have not played since meeting in the Challenge Cup final on July 17.

 

It comes as NRL clubs hope crisis talks in the coming days will make a decision to postpone the tournament and avert a potentially explosive showdown with some of the NRL’s biggest names.

There are growing fears that the push to send an Australian Indigenous and New Zealand Maori team to the end of season tournament could come at a huge cost to clubs if players suffer injury or contract Covid while away.

The fact the tournament is no longer being endorsed by the Australian and New Zealand governing bodies means it would be up to individual clubs as employers to make the call on whether or not players will be given permission to take part.

The one sided reporting of all this beggars belief. James Graham's comments removed from Fox Sports and one sided articles with barely a mention of any opposition when there are so many against this decision. It's all pure propaganda. 

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If hypothetically the NRL had booked a 3 match series of State Of Origin at Wembly, Old Trafford & Millinenium stadium for the same time this year instead of the world cup being on - do you really think they'd be cancelling this far out using player welfare as an excuse.

Follow the money here - or in the case of the NRL's position, no incoming revenue for the tournament.

I've seen less of a tantrum from a baby in a cot who has had there toys removed.

I've only heard about the French rugby league getting done over during the war years. This may be talked about in the same breath as an act of selfish, self centered, insular, up yours attitude from a sporting body to its national body in due course.

 

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"Concerns among NRL clubs about staging the end-of-season Rugby League World Cup have further heightened after two more English Super League matches were postponed as clubs struggle to deal the impact of the Covid crisis in the UK."

I presume the UK Super League teams are NOT in a covid bubble and thus the "Concerns among NRL clubs" is just more rubbish ??

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1 hour ago, Damien said:

This is more like what I am wanting to hear from the Kangaroo players and coming from the captain carries a lot of weight:

And RLPA President, Daly Cherry-Evans, who is also the incumbent Australian captain, has added his voice to those objecting to the ARLC decision and especially the lack of consultation with the players.
“The players wanted to go and the game probably knew that, which is probably why they didn’t want to consult us,” said Cherry-Evans.
“So, of course we would have loved to have been given a bit more of a heads up on it but we do understand the game’s acting within the best interests at heart.
“There obviously is definitely an element of disappointment for sure, it’s a World Cup and I’m not getting any younger.
“So it’d be nice to hopefully have been involved.
“I can completely understand if they’re going to continue the competition but I wouldn’t begrudge the people who were making those decisions to continue on.
“Because there’s a lot more at stake than just Australia and New Zealand.”

https://www.totalrl.com/crucial-world-cup-decision-to-be-made-on-monday/

Yes this is better, but he still believes the Covid lie.

The players have been had … it's a coup by the NRL clubs to take over  international RL and provide the clubs (and not the global RL community) with the $$$ flowing from selling TV rights to international RL matches.

Is anyone here on twitter? If so, can someone please let Daly Cherry-Evans know he and his fellow players have been had? Thanks

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21 minutes ago, Jim from Oz said:

"Concerns among NRL clubs about staging the end-of-season Rugby League World Cup have further heightened after two more English Super League matches were postponed as clubs struggle to deal the impact of the Covid crisis in the UK."

I presume the UK Super League teams are NOT in a covid bubble and thus the "Concerns among NRL clubs" is just more rubbish ??

As I understand it they aren't in bubbles and are living at home with family who will be mixing with the general population. 

I believe players are largely training in small groups to restrict any spread.

But what's happening is that if 1 player (or coach) tests positive (and in most cases it seems to have been entirely asymptomatic), then those who have been in close contact with them are also stood down.

We don't have loads (indeed any) Super League players ill in hospital. 

SL rules for this year mean that if a club has 7 of the senior squad stood down for COVID, they can postpone the match - however that could mean they have a single member of the coaching staff with a positive test, but 7 players stood down from being in contact with them.

As a club, if you have 7 players unavailable, you're going to take the postponement. But the whole scenario doesn't help convince the ARLC or NZRL that they should be here for the world cup. It doesn't have any resemblance to the set up put it place by the WC organisers.

Edited by Barley Mow
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37 minutes ago, Damien said:

The one sided reporting of all this beggars belief. James Graham's comments removed from Fox Sports and one sided articles with barely a mention of any opposition when there are so many against this decision. It's all pure propaganda. 

Those who control the information control the people. Mind you with the Internet, that's getting harder to do. But it does show Fox are part of what's going on. 

My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

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