New Zealand not coming in 2023

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

13 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

I admire your optimism, I genuinely hope that it is well placed and that you are proven to be right 

Cheers. Like a smile, it always gives you a better chance of winning!

[gingerjon]

43 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Sorting something meaningful for 2023 was always going to be impossible at this late stage

Your optimism is fine but this is entirely untrue and lets people who need to be held account off the hook.

[Damien]

6 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Your optimism is fine but this is entirely untrue and lets people who need to be held account off the hook.

Absolutely. Even with the World Cup postponement there has still been a good 18 months to organise 2023 before now.

[Harry Stottle]

44 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

It's always darkest before the dawn. The NRL has more money than ever, they've finally cottoned-on to the international game as a source of growth, 2024 will see a proper schedule as part of the build up to the World Cup, and in the northern hemisphere IMG are about to have a huge impact, and should Toulouse get promoted for 2024 that will add to how exciting that year will be internationally. Sorting something meaningful for 2023 was always going to be impossible at this late stage, we're dealing with a 2021 problem there really. Let's focus on what's next. 

The future's bright...!!

I reckon Fev are going to Piff on the Chips of Toulouse gaining promotion this year, how much will that put a dent in IMG's international plans?

OR will we be seeing a 13 team SL in '24 with IMG somehow having Toulouse fastracked- undeservedly - into the top flight?

[Harry Stottle]

9 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Your optimism is fine but this is entirely untrue and lets people who need to be held account off the hook.

 

Just now, Damien said:

Absolutely. Even with the World Cup postponement there has still been a good 18 months to organise 2023 before now.

Precisely back in 19 we had a full international programme/timetable announced for the next 6 years including GB and England tours and SH tours to the NH what was wrong with picking up the pieces of that and shoving them all back a year as was done with the World Cup.

[gingerjon]

5 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I reckon Fev are going to Piff on the Chips of Toulouse gaining promotion this year, how much will that put a dent in IMG's international plans?

OR will we be seeing a 13 team SL in '24 with IMG somehow having Toulouse fastracked- undeservedly - into the top flight?

Can we save your latest attempt at diverting a thread for the many actual threads about IMG, the structure, Toulouse etc?

[Harry Stottle]

2 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Can we save your latest attempt at diverting a thread for the many actual threads about IMG, the structure, Toulouse etc?

Oi, it was in response to the comment made by the Bronco, who brought up IMG and Toulouse not me, am I not allowed to respond?

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:

Oi, it was in response to the comment made by the Bronco, who brought up IMG and Toulouse not me, am I not allowed to respond?

Knock yourself out.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

27 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Your optimism is fine but this is entirely untrue and lets people who need to be held account off the hook.

I get what you’re saying, and yes people are accountable but the let’s be honest with ourselves: These issues are long-standing and no serious sport organises a 3-match Test series 9 months ahead of time. It was also always unrealistic, in the current context of our sport, to expect a full Southern Hemisphere tour the year after a Northern Hemisphere World Cup. 
 

If we’re truly serious about international competition then let’s focus effort now on what we can influence, which as I see it is:

1. A northern hemisphere comp in the Autumn this year, which the RFL can entirely execute without the NRL

2. Negotiating a structure for 2024, now. Ideally an Ashes tour, including Australia playing France. Perhaps with NZ also coming over to play England and France.

I’d rather our administrators spent time on that, than trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat or fight the last war 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

25 minutes ago, Damien said:

Absolutely. Even with the World Cup postponement there has still been a good 18 months to organise 2023 before now.

Yes there was. That’s why I say it’s a 2021 issue. It’s done now. 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

26 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I reckon Fev are going to Piff on the Chips of Toulouse gaining promotion this year, how much will that put a dent in IMG's international plans?

OR will we be seeing a 13 team SL in '24 with IMG somehow having Toulouse fastracked- undeservedly - into the top flight?

If they do, they do. C’est la vie. Anything else is just another figment of your oddly paranoid imagination 

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

These issues are long-standing and no serious sport organises a 3-match Test series 9 months ahead of time. It was also always unrealistic, in the current context of our sport, to expect a full Southern Hemisphere tour the year after a Northern Hemisphere World Cup. 

The RFL were claiming through friendly media that it was in the bag last summer so it's not nine months out - it's over a year and ending up with nothing is failure.

If the southern hemisphere tour was/is never going to happen then we need to see more from the RFL than what we're getting now. They need to be proactive in terms of talking up the games that England do have in the European Championship.

And, lastly, they need to hang their heads for the "Will this do?" approach they've taken to the awful double header they had complete carte-blanche in arranging.

So, no, they deserve to be hit with big sticks for this. No excuses.

[Dirkgee]

7 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

2. Negotiating a structure for 2024, now. Ideally an Ashes tour, including Australia playing France. Perhaps with NZ also coming over to play England and France.

I’d rather our administrators spent time on that, than trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat or fight the last war 

I think it's unlikely Australia will come north in 2024, when the World Cup is in France the next year. I think if they want any fixtures at all, which let's be honest would be a miracle in of itself, they would want them in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Damien]

11 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Yes there was. That’s why I say it’s a 2021 issue. It’s done now. 

There is still plenty of time even now. To say it is too late just isn't true. The lack of appetite is the issue.

[Harry Stottle]

27 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Knock yourself out.

Soft Lad.

[dealwithit]

2 hours ago, Oxford said:

Whose fault is it that neither the 'roos nor the Kiwis can be bothered to come to England ?

I'll let you be the judge on that case.

Travel to England for a month of ###### weather and an easy win. I’ll stay home thanks

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

I get what you’re saying, and yes people are accountable but the let’s be honest with ourselves: These issues are long-standing and no serious sport organises a 3-match Test series 9 months ahead of time. It was also always unrealistic, in the current context of our sport, to expect a full Southern Hemisphere tour the year after a Northern Hemisphere World Cup. 
 

If we’re truly serious about international competition then let’s focus effort now on what we can influence, which as I see it is:

1. A northern hemisphere comp in the Autumn this year, which the RFL can entirely execute without the NRL

2. Negotiating a structure for 2024, now. Ideally an Ashes tour, including Australia playing France. Perhaps with NZ also coming over to play England and France.

I’d rather our administrators spent time on that, than trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat or fight the last war 

The problem is, northern hemisphere RL doesn't have either the money or the players to make a northern hemisphere comp sufficiently appealing, that's why those are always done on the cheap.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

The RFL were claiming through friendly media that it was in the bag last summer so it's not nine months out - it's over a year and ending up with nothing is failure.

If the southern hemisphere tour was/is never going to happen then we need to see more from the RFL than what we're getting now. They need to be proactive in terms of talking up the games that England do have in the European Championship.

And, lastly, they need to hang their heads for the "Will this do?" approach they've taken to the awful double header they had complete carte-blanche in arranging.

So, no, they deserve to be hit with big sticks for this. No excuses.

I think it's possible for what you say to be true, and for my optimism for 2024 to be valid. The muppet Rimmer has gone, let's see what IMG can now do with the relationship with the NRL and the international game. They've already called it out as a growth engine. I'm leaving the old regime in a box to hopefully gather dust. 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 minute ago, Big Picture said:

The problem is, northern hemisphere RL doesn't have either the money or the players to make a northern hemisphere comp sufficiently appealing, that's why those are always done on the cheap.

To some extent I can see the NRL's point of view on the northern hemisphere. We're always looking at them to provide every solution to our problems. They'll be over in 2024, if we pull our fingers out now (and I mean now, not in 3 months or 6 months' time).

The inherent limitations you describe don't stop a 3-match England-France Test series at the end of the season for example, or at least two home and away games. Imagine if we did that every year, or alternate years? Who cares if France lose for the first 3 plus years, the consistency will help them develop. Or we can sit on our hands and moan about the NRL. Focus on the things we can control in order to deliver at least some structure, and accept that with Southern Hemisphere we need to work harder because we only have influence, not decision-making power, and we need to get better at influencing.  

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

There is still plenty of time even now. To say it is too late just isn't true. The lack of appetite is the issue.

No, our lack of control is the issue. We only have influence, and not enough of that, so can't rely on Southern Hemisphere for all of our solutions. A New Zealand, or Samoa, tour would have been brilliant. But this situation was foreseeable so who's now executing plan B?   

[Hello]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

I reckon Fev are going to Piff on the Chips of Toulouse gaining promotion this year, how much will that put a dent in IMG's international plans?

OR will we be seeing a 13 team SL in '24 with IMG somehow having Toulouse fastracked- undeservedly - into the top flight?

For "reckon" read "hope" in your case. Don't spread the game to other countries, especially not big cities, keep the game tiny, and then certain teams from small places can be a big fish in a little puddle, ideal.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Hello

[Damien]

34 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

No, our lack of control is the issue. We only have influence, and not enough of that, so can't rely on Southern Hemisphere for all of our solutions. A New Zealand, or Samoa, tour would have been brilliant. But this situation was foreseeable so who's now executing plan B?   

No national body should have control.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Damien

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

37 minutes ago, Damien said:

No national body should have control.

Fair point. Let's say "huge ability to do something yourself" instead then. If the RFL wanted a French home & away series, they're far more likely to be able to execute that than one involving a Southern Hemisphere side. 

[Blind side johnny]

What role does the International RL Federation, or whatever it is now called, now have in organising or approving such matches?

A genuine question as I don't know the answer.

[Madrileño]

6 hours ago, Oxford said:

Whose fault is it that neither the 'roos nor the Kiwis can be bothered to come to England ?

I'll let you be the judge on that case.

Why on earth should they come to England?

Do England's supporters turn out in big numbers to see them?

Does their visit make big profits for them? 

What is attractive about the visit? 

Do you expect them to come for 1 game only? 

They can play Test rugby league against teams drawn from the NRL while only travelling to NZ (or Australia) and have a choice of opposition (Samoa, Kiwis, Roos, Tonga etc...) England's strongest team also contains a nucleus of NRL guys, so surely best to play down there, no?