England 21 & France 25 article

[iangidds]

4 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Exactly my point. In the last World Cup out of a potential six different matchups of the top four ranked nations we got just one, Australia v NZ. A whole World Cup went by with just one top 4 matchup! That’s ridiculous.

My format sees the top six nations all play each other once for sixteen high quality fixtures.

Thats the only format I can see that really shows what RL is about , the Aus NZ game was talked about as the best international game ever ! Sorry to me that sells the game better than minnows getting a flogging in from of a few thousand supporters. 

Packed stadia , with the real teams going toe to toe will create huge interest in the game .

[eal]

It is a travesty that we just had a World Cup and didn't see England v Australia or England v New Zealand. We don't have enough top teams and regular tournaments to have a World Cup without these fixtures. I like the idea of a top six round-robin, or what I have previously suggested of two pools of five.

[Sports Prophet]

7 hours ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Another issue would be the tournament finishing 2 weeks later in order to accommodate your preliminary knockout phase, which would have a knock-on effect for the start of pre-season - are NRL clubs going to want their players playing 8 international games after a long club season (which could be the case for Samoa, Tonga or Fiji), and starting pre-season 2 weeks' later than they would with the current WC format? The current WC format requires the finalists to play 6 games. But these aren't 6 ultra-high intensity games as they would be with your suggestion. With your idea, my guess would be that the injury rates would be much higher due to the increased intensity of the games, and therefore it would run the risk of the final being the lowest quality game of the tournament due to player fatigue and the toll taken on the playing squads.

You have come up with an idea that seems good at first glance (i.e. 16 high intensity games), but it is riddled with as many if not more flaws as the other formats that you're not keen on. Teams competing in the preliminary knockout may be required to travel across the world for just 1 game. Or they may be away from home for over 2 months and be required to play 8 games - this will carry lots of logistical issues. Also, why are you handicapping what will already be the 2 weakest teams in the pool of 6 by making them play an additional 3 sudden death games before the main tournament starts? Their players will be battered and they'll struggle to get anything like a competitive team on the pitch by game 8, thus undermining your concept of high-intensity games.

Your idea is no less flawed or convoluted than any others that have been suggested. As a sport, we need to accept that there isn't going to be a perfect format for a WC, and that whatever format is chosen will have flaws with it. Your idea is just swapping the flaws associated with the current format for a different set of flaws.

One of the things I love about the world cup is seeing new nations playing the game on the big stage. Your format doesn't have that (unless you are including the preliminary qualifying knockout phase as part of your world cup, in which case the format is just as convoluted as the ones that you are deriding).

There are draw benefits for seeds and non seeds in all sports tournaments. Same as in every event that has taken place to date and every other one suggested. That’s a really strange hill you have chosen to fight for.

We just saw cricket 20/20 with a qualifier round. Tennis has Grand Slams qualifiers a week prior. Why am I handicapping the weaker teams? It’s a strange question to ask, when that’s what happens in all sports including League. 

If you think that the likely qualifiers will be battered after playing the likes of USA, Canada, Jamaica, Scotland, Wales, Serbia, Malta or Ireland, I think you’re having a tremendous pull of yourself. They are not high intensity fixtures, but they will be significantly less of a blowout than if the Kangas were to play them. Travel around the world for one game and get knocked out. That’s sport for you. The NRL plays well over 8 weeks in a row. I am sure these players can handle a few qualifiers against also rans with an increased squad.

You say you love watching new nations compete, so do I. Of course I am including the qualifiers as part of my 20 team World Cup, why on earth wouldn’t I include them? I think you need to open the old Collins or Oxford and look up “convoluted”. There is nothing convoluted about this.

 

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

45 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Of course I am including the qualifiers as part of my 20 team World Cup, why on earth wouldn’t I include them? I think you need to open the old Collins or Oxford and look up “convoluted”. There is nothing convoluted about this.

So your simple format involves 3 weeks of knockouts to get down to a final 2, and then adding these 2 in to a group of 6 with 4 seeded teams who weren't in the knockouts, and they then play a round robin format before the 2 highest scoring teams play in a final. And that's not convoluted??!! I'll have some of whatever you're smoking!

[Sports Prophet]

10 hours ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

So your simple format involves 3 weeks of knockouts to get down to a final 2, and then adding these 2 in to a group of 6 with 4 seeded teams who weren't in the knockouts, and they then play a round robin format before the 2 highest scoring teams play in a final. And that's not convoluted??!! I'll have some of whatever you're smoking!

LOL! The fact you could succinctly explain the proposed structure in one sentence with less than 50 words well and truly demonstrates it is not convoluted  

Cmon mate, just cause it’s my idea, doesn’t mean you have to move to a default stance of disdain. You know it’s a good idea. Send your support to IRL  

Edited December 5, 2022 by Sports Prophet

[Jim from Oz]

https://www.totalrl.com/france-anticipating-government-support-for-2025-rugby-league-world-cup/

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

8 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

LOL! The fact you could succinctly explain the proposed structure in one sentence with less than 50 words well and truly demonstrates it is not convoluted  

If you say so...

8 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Cmon mate, just cause it’s my idea, doesn’t mean you have to move to a default stance of disdain. You know it’s a good idea. Send your support to IRL  

Or.... Maybe, just maybe it isn't as good an idea as you think it is...

[Sports Prophet]

2 hours ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

 

Or.... Maybe, just maybe it isn't as good an idea as you think it is...

Impossible  

[Sports Prophet]

10 hours ago, Jim from Oz said:

https://www.totalrl.com/france-anticipating-government-support-for-2025-rugby-league-world-cup/

Thanks Jim. 

“Without disrespecting anyone or any club, you need to have big cities playing the game, spread all over the country, not just in a couple of regions.“

The French get it, I wonder if the RFL will ever get it?

Great to see another example of the NRL supporting the needs of the international game. They probably could have dug their heels in and pushed for a SH WC, but have gotten behind the French WC idea as well.