Rugby League World Cup 2021 (Merged Threads)

[thebrewxi]

I'm running over a lot of this in my head today, and I remember a summary Tony Smith made a week or so ago to the BBC. He suggested the whole thing, and how I feel vs how a fan of an NRL club feels, is massively biased by how the general public in the UK vs Aus feel about Covid. 

Here, almost everyone know someone who's had it, if not had it themselves. Most have also been double vaccinated. In my case I have had 2 jabs, I suspect I had it in March 2020, and I spent the weekend hanging around a load of 20 somethings at musical festival and I'm fine now. We've had Wimbledon, Silverstone and the Euros. Yes 130+K people have died, but we need to start coming out of this, and we understand we need to be careful, but we can't put off these big events for ever, and we've proved we can manage it ok.

Oz: No one is double jabbed. If you go to the UK as a player it is likely you will get it. We don't know anyone who has had it. It kills people. We don't understand what  massive outbreak looks like and we are scared.

 

Are we as nations juts so far apart in our heads for this to work this year, and 2022 too (I'm not sure how Aus will ever open up TBH).

 

... or is it just  coup as I originally thought?

 

[thebrewxi]

1 minute ago, londonrlfan said:

I'm not suggesting that. We got 20k in Coventry before, so why not go back? 

I was there. Great day. Great League. Rubbish atmosphere. And that was with lots and lots of northern fans in attendance.

Missed the last train home too. Had to get an expensive, ###### taxi ride all the way back to Worcestershire (with my Welsh mate berating the taxi driver for hogging the middle lane all the way there!- I still berate him for it now, the chap was just doing his job) fun times 

[Dave T]

Whilst londonrlfan is making some crazy predictions which would bankrupt every tournament we play in, the overall point is right. 

But a starting point here would be getting 10k crowds for these games, then 15k, then 20k. But we won't just hire Annfield now and get 25k. We need to avoid this fantasy stuff. 

[GeordieSaint]

5 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Whilst londonrlfan is making some crazy predictions which would bankrupt every tournament we play in, the overall point is right. 

But a starting point here would be getting 10k crowds for these games, then 15k, then 20k. But we won't just hire Annfield now and get 25k. We need to avoid this fantasy stuff. 

The correct approach is to target areas of development; a key tenet of growing the sport to link to the domestic game(s). So where are those for England (and France/Wales et al). Answers on a postcard but I don't think Leigh, Leeds or Perpignan are those types of locations).

Edited July 30, 2021 by GeordieSaint

[EastLondonMike]

Strategy, strategy, strategy. Until we have one it wont matter what stadium we pick, or whose playing, or anything else.

As a sport we have to invest to grow, and we should start with investing in the right people.

I think we need a positive thread. I'm tempted to start one. Or i might just curse the ARLC some more.

Edited July 30, 2021 by EastLondonMike

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, GeordieSaint said:

The correct approach is to target areas of development; a key tenet of growing the sport to link to the domestic game(s). So where are those for England (and France/Wales et al). Answers on a postcard but I don't think Leigh, Leeds or Perpignan are those types of locations).

I think the mix has to be there. Not every England game should be focused on expansion, there is nothing wrong with serving your markets - all sports do that. There is nowt wrong with playing in Leeds 

But we often go too far in our shell - for me a three game series should always have a game in the North West, North East (Yorkshire), and one other (London, Newcastle, Coventry etc to your point.)

[Whippet13]

25 minutes ago, thebrewxi said:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/30/nrl-clubs-stand-firm-with-australia-and-new-zealand-over-rugby-league-world-cup

"NRL clubs stand firm with Australia and New Zealand over Rugby League World Cup"

 

I love this headline! the NRL clubs are Australia and NZ. This is not new news! It is just basically the people behind the throne coming out and publicly saying what they whispered into their puppet's ear a week ago. Why is it a new thing, deserving new headlines, to give their side more credence? 

Because it's an article from Australian Associated Press, which the Guardian have picked up and either lazily or maliciously (it's a pro-RU broadsheet) run with.

[GeordieSaint]

Just now, Dave T said:

I think the mix has to be there. Not every England game should be focused on expansion, there is nothing wrong with serving your markets - all sports do that. There is nowt wrong with playing in Leeds 

But we often go too far in our shell - for me a three game series should always have a game in the North West, North East (Yorkshire), and one other (London, Newcastle, Coventry etc to your point.)

Absolutely agree on both parts in bold. The mix for me would be when our SH "friends" come over... (and they will as there is money to be made on a nation vs nation Test Series). Then your NW, NE & ANO is a perfect fit.

France et al... I'd be a little bit bolder and take it to those development areas, where ever they may be.

[Devon Ram]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

The lower crowd for England v Australia at the Olympic Stadium was a direct result of the woeful set up of the previous game v New Zealand. I don’t think words can express how dire it was.

Yep i agree i traveled up from Devon it was wet i like many others had to go up to the stadium early to get my ticket due not being posted plus  inside was rubbish plus bloody stewards telling fans to remove flags & banners, they didn't do anything to help Rugby League to return to the Olympic Stadium. Saying all that got a great pic of me in my Dewsbury top thanks to a kind steward that day.

[thebrewxi]

25 minutes ago, Whippet13 said:

Because it's an article from Australian Associated Press, which the Guardian have picked up and either lazily or maliciously (it's a pro-RU broadsheet) run with.

It never used to be a pro-onion paper. Not sure what happened. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

20 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

France et al... I'd be a little bit bolder and take it to those development areas, where ever they may be.

I think you're right here, seen as we don't get massive attendances against the other European nations anyway, we might as well take those games to development areas. If we're only going to get 5,000 for France in Leigh on a Thursday night we might as well take that game to a different area, play it at a more accommodating time and I wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to get more than we would in Leigh.

I think I would be tempted to always play Wales in Wales for example. Seen as at home they tend to only get about 1,000 anyway, we might as well take an England game there and have a real go at getting maybe even 10,000 with fans travelling from the heartland and locals who just hate the English! In terms of Wales playing other European teams, I wouldn't have thought it would take too much effort to get more than 1,000. Even consistently getting, say 3,000 for those games would show progress. 

[Gerrumonside ref]

I know it's over - still I cling 
I don't know where else I can go 
Oh... 

… Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head 

[Wellsy4HullFC]

1 hour ago, londonrlfan said:

Sometimes you have to make a loss to start something. No one immediately starts out with a huge profit. Advertising and sponsorship would help cover the shortfall. 

This is where your strategy for international success falls down miserably.

There is absolutely no one to bankroll the costs it would take to make such an event engaging to fans and interesting to a wider audience. The losses you are talking about are counter-productive if they prevent development in other areas and gain very little (if anything) in return.

I think you're living in utter fantasy land if you think it's so simple to just hire out a big ground, advertise a bit and expect people to turn up. 

[langpark]

Sorry I am a bit late to the party. It has probably already been mentioned. ERL make a pretty strongly-worded statement in favour of the RLWC:

https://europeanrugbyleague.com/articles/2001/erl-board-statement-in-support-of-rlwc-2...

I wonder when the Asia-Pacific confederation will make a statement

[EastLondonMike]

If you haven’t yet I strongly recommend taking a listen to the Chasing Kagaroos podcast of the recent RLWC press conference (Sorry to try and take it back in thread!).

some interesting snippets of info.

One that caught my attention was that ARLC chairman Peter V’landys hadn’t spoken at all to Jon Dutton since the announcement of the ARLC turning snide. And that Jon Dutton had only spoken to NRL chairman Andrew Abdo.

What a low life. Hadn’t even got the courtesy to speak to Jon Dutton.

[Damien]

A good read from the guy behind Brazil RL:

 

[Spotty Herbert]

I have taken 24 hours away from the topic to try and calm down. Unsuccessfully. I can't escape the belief that a few jumped up autocrats believe it is more important to pander to the whims of the clubs who play on the eastern seaboard of an underdeveloped country at the a*se end of the world over the needs of the rest of the world and the desires of its own players. They would rather compete with AFL in Queensland and NSW than other sports across the world because of their insularity and pig headedness.

About 30 or 40 pages ago I suggested that the NRL players should sue the NRL for restraint of trade and / or breach of their human right to represent their nation at the highest level. The only way to change the attitude of the NRL is to have them defeated in court by the people they dishonestly claim to be trying to protect.

[Henson Park Old Firm]

So is it still on or not?

[wiganermike]

6 minutes ago, Damien said:

A good read from the guy behind Brazil RL:

That is a good read and a real eye opener, and we think the RFL/SLE are bad at supporting the wider sport and its growth. Well done to him for speaking up and good luck to Brazil RL in their continuing development.

[Spotty Herbert]

9 minutes ago, wiganermike said:

That is a good read and a real eye opener, and we think the RFL/SLE are bad at supporting the wider sport and its growth. Well done to him for speaking up and good luck to Brazil RL in their continuing development.

And Phil Gould thinks the NRL should run the IRL? The arrogance is breathtaking.

[graveyard johnny]

turned off the roosters v eels game at half time- very scrappy affair - littered with mistakes, billed as 2 of the "heavyweights" but in reality when the commentators hype etc were taken away it was poor quality rugby league - no wonder the aussies are scared after watching that 40 mins of rl to be honest, loads of ageing players, journeymen and over hyped, overrated aussies propped up and bulked out  by other nation players who looked  better value for money.

[Big Picture]

24 minutes ago, Damien said:

A good read from the guy behind Brazil RL:

 

This is nothing new unfortunately, Mike Mayer had similar problems dealing with the ARL when Ken Arthurson ran it.

[DC77]

2 hours ago, thebrewxi said:

I'm running over a lot of this in my head today, and I remember a summary Tony Smith made a week or so ago to the BBC. He suggested the whole thing, and how I feel vs how a fan of an NRL club feels, is massively biased by how the general public in the UK vs Aus feel about Covid. 

Here, almost everyone know someone who's had it, if not had it themselves. Most have also been double vaccinated. In my case I have had 2 jabs, I suspect I had it in March 2020, and I spent the weekend hanging around a load of 20 somethings at musical festival and I'm fine now. We've had Wimbledon, Silverstone and the Euros. Yes 130+K people have died, but we need to start coming out of this, and we understand we need to be careful, but we can't put off these big events for ever, and we've proved we can manage it ok.

Oz: No one is double jabbed. If you go to the UK as a player it is likely you will get it. We don't know anyone who has had it. It kills people. We don't understand what  massive outbreak looks like and we are scared.

 

That’s the gist of what I heard on another BBC podcast. Panic mode. The way the Aussies are reacting is similar to how it was here at the beginning (March 2020). Talks of leagues being cancelled (from a Liverpool FC fan perspective, being 25 points clear at the top, only 10 games left (30 points available), we had the league all but wrapped up, the first in my lifetime, and the general talk was “cancel the league, health comes first”...a view from rival fans of course). Since then we’ve got more accustomed to the virus and there isn’t the same panic. The vaccine programme has helped enormously with that but the Aussies haven’t gone through this. 

[Chris22]

Several pages ago, there was an interesting discussion about England v France etc. Whilst predictions of 35K crowds for England v France in London are wildly optimistic (even though the city consistently gets the highest international crowds), I'd wager non-heartland venues could attract more than 5K - 7K that Leigh has drawn for the same fixture, previously.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Chris22

[Liverpool Rover]

I’ve seen that the NRL Womens comp is going from October to the beginning of November. The NRL really are doing all they can to try and sabotage everything aren’t they?