Rhodri Jones on the growth of international Rugby League

[Man of Kent]

7 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

   Just an amazing story that the people sitting on their backsides watching a screen will never understand.

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63236572

Don't suppose the blowout scores from yesteryear have affected the other code despite their arrogant attitude.

Yeah it’s a lovely story but I’m still not seeing how padding out the World Cup with dross enhances the credibility of international rugby league. 

[gingerjon]

19 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

 

Oh, the lack of quality! The shame!

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

8 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Yeah it’s a lovely story but I’m still not seeing how padding out the World Cup with dross enhances the credibility of international rugby league. 

I think most sports with successful world cups have, at one time or other, 'padded out their competition with dross'. The FIFA and RU world cups definitely have. The longer term benefits of padding out with dross have probably outweighed any short-term credibility issues for those comps.

[GeordieSaint]

1 minute ago, gingerjon said:

Oh, the lack of quality! The shame!

I don’t think I know another sport so insecure of itself as RL…

[The Hallucinating Goose]

6 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

I don’t think I know another sport so insecure of itself as RL…

It's shows how insecure we are as a sport that we are questioning whether we are the most insecure sport!

[Pie tries]

1 hour ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Pretend teams aren't teams. There's no valour in delusion. 

I'd be running an emerging nations comp alongside the WC to give pathway nations a goal to strive for, but having a comp for competitive(ish) sides only is a key part of us rebuilding our international game. It's a turnaround not a start-up, and turnarounds have to be even more laser focused because they can afford less mistakes. They've had their second chances already. 

Greece is a good example of a successful WC story….

[Man of Kent]

5 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

I think most sports with successful world cups have, at one time or other, 'padded out their competition with dross'. The FIFA and RU world cups definitely have. The longer term benefits of padding out with dross have probably outweighed any short-term credibility issues for those comps.

The football World Cup isn’t padded out with the sort of dross like we saw with Greece in the RLWC21. You don’t get routine 5-0 drubbings, they are the exception.

There’s a very competitive qualification process for the FIFA World Cup. Our one almost gave the impression that anyone who could cobble a team together could have a go.

It stretched the bounds of credibility to the limit. 

[Dave T]

When other sports have blowouts, they take development seriously of those nations and support them to be better. 

We just muck about, get a few lads together from Sydney every 4 years, have international teams playing 'home' games in Sydney, and then kick them out when it gets a bit challenging. 

The actual number, 10, 14, 16, whatever is a red herring, it's the underlying lack of strategy or development that is the problem. 

[Hello]

1 hour ago, GeordieSaint said:

 

To be fair that ignores all of the other matches, selective

[nadera78]

3 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Man of Kent needs new underpants now.

What if they played the game at Wimbledon?

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

2 hours ago, Pie tries said:

Greece is a good example of a successful WC story….

One swallow doesn’t make a summer. Whatever upside we have in Greece, it isn’t worth disrupting our entire World Cup structure for. I’d advocate for an emerging nations comp on the side for development teams to aim to qualify for. 

[Man of Kent]

8 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

I’d advocate for an emerging nations comp on the side for development teams to aim to qualify for. 

Wasn’t there something like that, which would put the horse before the cart, announced recently by the IRL?

[Pulga]

4 hours ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Pretend teams aren't teams. There's no valour in delusion. 

I'd be running an emerging nations comp alongside the WC to give pathway nations a goal to strive for, but having a comp for competitive(ish) sides only is a key part of us rebuilding our international game. It's a turnaround not a start-up, and turnarounds have to be even more laser focused because they can afford less mistakes. They've had their second chances already. 

"Pretend teams" don't really exist. It is an idiotic statement. Nobody gets anything out of rugby league outside of the NRL, SL, Kangaroos, England and NZ. Anyone outside of those organisations are doing it for the love.

[Pulga]

4 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Of course it will. It will enhance the product, as Jones states. 

Having countries like Greece and Jamaica (‘Ooh look, Greece & Jamaica! Oh hang on, they are just Aussies and Northerners’) as novelty acts does nothing for the credibility of international rugby league.

Do you need reminding about who made the final? The same team that lost the opening game 60 - 6.

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

2 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

The football World Cup isn’t padded out with the sort of dross like we saw with Greece in the RLWC21.

Not any more, but back in the 70s when it was a much younger competition trying to expand they definitely had dross in there. Back then it was a 16-team competition, but they've persevered with the 'dross' and now they're going to be expanding to be 48 teams for the next world cup.

I'm not saying that RL would definitely be in the same boat if we persevered with our 'dross' for a few tournaments, because there's a world of difference between the two games. But I don't think that drubbings against dross are as embarrassing to the wider public that many within RL circles perceive them to be.

[Man of Kent]

Just now, Pulga said:

Do you need reminding about who made the final? The same team that lost the opening game 60 - 6.

Samoa made the final.

The final.

The final.

The final.

[Pulga]

7 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Samoa made the final.

The final.

The final.

The final.

And the people who believe reducing the teams to prevent blowouts would have Samoa ejected after the opening game.

Or is there a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance involved in this type of thinking?

[Man of Kent]

Just now, Pulga said:

And the people who believe reducing the teams to prevent blowouts would have Samoa ejected after the opening game.

Or is there a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance involved in this type of thinking?

None whatsoever.

We’re talking about whether 1000/1 no-hopers should be in the World Cup to make up the (illusory) numbers.

Not the 3rd favourites (as Samoa were IIRC).

[Pulga]

56 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

One swallow doesn’t make a summer. Whatever upside we have in Greece, it isn’t worth disrupting our entire World Cup structure for. I’d advocate for an emerging nations comp on the side for development teams to aim to qualify for. 

These are PRECISELY the things we need in a WC. We want the feelgood moment. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. We had those moments AND we had games like Aus v NZ that are pure quality. The fact that people think that it's a poor reflection on the game are delusional. Nobody thinks about RL to start with.

[Pulga]

Just now, Man of Kent said:

None whatsoever.

We’re talking about whether 1000/1 no-hopers should be in the World Cup to make up the (illusory) numbers.

Not the 3rd favourites (as Samoa were IIRC).

And you'll say Australia need to play England more while England haven't won in 30 years.

The fact is we know exactly how this plays out. We've seen it in Japan, Georgia and Uruguay in RU. But we're too stupid and reactionary.

[Man of Kent]

Just now, Pulga said:

And you'll say Australia need to play England more while England haven't won in 30 years.

The fact is we know exactly how this plays out. We've seen it in Japan, Georgia and Uruguay in RU. But we're too stupid and reactionary.

I honestly couldn’t give a monkey’s testicle about RU, it makes my teeth fall asleep.

But as I understand it, rugby union is well established in these countries. I’m sure they are not merely grabbing a bunch of Aussies with Japanese grandads and saying ‘Here you go lads, have a crack at the All Blacks’

[HawkMan]

21 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Not any more, but back in the 70s when it was a much younger competition trying to expand they definitely had dross in there. Back then it was a 16-team competition, but they've persevered with the 'dross' and now they're going to be expanding to be 48 teams for the next world cup.

I'm not saying that RL would definitely be in the same boat if we persevered with our 'dross' for a few tournaments, because there's a world of difference between the two games. But I don't think that drubbings against dross are as embarrassing to the wider public that many within RL circles perceive them to be.

I'm delighted to categorically answer the question,  has the FIFA WC ever been filled with dross ?

I have laboriously gone through every finals result from 1930 to 1970 tournaments. The number of 5 goal or more winning margins is as follows.

1930 - 2

1934- 1

1938 - 2

1950 - 3

1954- 8

1958 - 1

1962- 2

1966 - 1

1970 - 0

1954 is obviously the outlier, but NO the FIFA world cup has never been full of dross. Thank you and goodnight.

[Damien]

4 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

I honestly couldn’t give a monkey’s testicle about RU, it makes my teeth fall asleep.

But as I understand it, rugby union is well established in these countries. I’m sure they are not merely grabbing a bunch of Aussies with Japanese grandads and saying ‘Here you go lads, have a crack at the All Blacks’

No, Japan just have 17 out of 33 players that are born abroad instead.

[Pulga]

3 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

I honestly couldn’t give a monkey’s testicle about RU, it makes my teeth fall asleep.

But as I understand it, rugby union is well established in these countries. I’m sure they are not merely grabbing a bunch of Aussies with Japanese grandads and saying ‘Here you go lads, have a crack at the All Blacks’

Much like every sport it's a sliding scale. But for some reason RL has the biggest fit about it. 

We deserve what we get at the end of the day.

 

[Man of Kent]

5 minutes ago, Pulga said:

Much like every sport it's a sliding scale. But for some reason RL has the biggest fit about it. 

We deserve what we get at the end of the day.

 

100% homegrown Uruguayan and 95% Georgian. Got it.

I see your point but you still haven’t established why a bunch of Aussies with Greek grannies have to be thrown together for a World Cup to be thrashed within an inch of their lives.

What’s wrong with having a super-competitive World Cup and a super-competitive ‘International Cup’ for the developing nations?