European Under 19s Championship 2024 (Merged Threads)

[Gomersall]

3 hours ago, langpark said:

Not sure I agree with that. Did you see the size of some of the American lads? Most are Pacific Islanders and I would say on average their players had a 10kg weight advantage on the Serbian boys. Yes, they are new to League, but most are coming from an RU background. 

We’ll agree to disagree.

[İzmir Rugby League]

İ am at the Championship and know the USA guys a little. They are certainly athletic and have good Union experience however the game against Scotland was their first ever game of 13 aside Rugby League. They also lost their half back who could not play. 

That said, their performance against Serbia was good. 

I think given some more experience they will come ahead in leaps and bounds. 

[İzmir Rugby League]

As a side note, I don't think I have seen a single player in Super League merchandise. 

Even among the English players I see NRL merch but not Super League. 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

Scotland needs some money/investment they are playing with old World Cup kits.

[welshmagpie]

8 hours ago, İzmir Rugby League said:

As a side note, I don't think I have seen a single player in Super League merchandise. 

Even among the English players I see NRL merch but not Super League. 

It’s a British RL thing sadly, so many rugby league people here have close links to a professional club whether that be through academy, a family member or literally someone on their street - the pro clubs are in reality very touchable and us such nothing to really fantasise about.

Whereas Brisbane, Penrith etc - different story. You watch them, read about them but seldom have a lot to do with them. Think Real Madrid or Juventus in soccer terms.

[NRLandSL]

Here are some of the stars of the tournament so far

Chris Malo

5/8 for the US, this guy has been superb. 1 try in the first game against Scotland and 3 against Serbia. Very quick and agile and also very skillfull. I believe he is 2 years young for this tournament so incredible stuff. I believe he is a Union player as is most players on the US side but he could stay in League given an opportunity.

 Devan Sharp

Halfback for England one of their best, scored 2 tries against Ukraine and he has got a fair few assists in the games England have played. Very smart and skillfull half with a good running game.

Bailey Schneider

Hooker for Scotland plays for Manly U19s in Australia. Very Smart 9 always making the right choices, Scored a try against France, has been essential for Scotland.

Maxime Rostang

Only played 40 minutes or so against Scotland (got 2 assists) but Rostang is a without a doubt the best player at this tournament. He is one of France’s best wonderkids and I believe he is one of the best U19 players in the whole of Europe including Englishmen.  He has the potential to be a top quality first grader in my opinion, not long till SL or NRL club picks him up.

Aziz Stepanenko

Halfback for Ukraine, not an incredibly flashy player but he looks a great talker and organiser with a decent pass. Been very consistent and solid playing as the first receiver for Ukraine.

 

[Damien]

Later today:

[barnyia]

Rostang has just signed for Albi, that will be fun watching him and gigot in the halves, Rostang can't stick to a game plan and take risks with kicks and tony is tony and could well get annoyed with him. 

He spent a month with Halifax this summer. 

Edited July 20 by barnyia

[barnyia]

The conditions are quite testing in serbia I've heard. Very hot and no air conditioning where the players are staying. 

[NRLandSL]

20 hours ago, NRLandSL said:

Here are some of the stars of the tournament so far

Chris Malo

5/8 for the US, this guy has been superb. 1 try in the first game against Scotland and 3 against Serbia. Very quick and agile and also very skillfull. I believe he is 2 years young for this tournament so incredible stuff. I believe he is a Union player as is most players on the US side but he could stay in League given an opportunity.

 Devan Sharp

Halfback for England one of their best, scored 2 tries against Ukraine and he has got a fair few assists in the games England have played. Very smart and skillfull half with a good running game.

Bailey Schneider

Hooker for Scotland plays for Manly U19s in Australia. Very Smart 9 always making the right choices, Scored a try against France, has been essential for Scotland.

Maxime Rostang

Only played 40 minutes or so against Scotland (got 2 assists) but Rostang is a without a doubt the best player at this tournament. He is one of France’s best wonderkids and I believe he is one of the best U19 players in the whole of Europe including Englishmen.  He has the potential to be a top quality first grader in my opinion, not long till SL or NRL club picks him up.

Aziz Stepanenko

Halfback for Ukraine, not an incredibly flashy player but he looks a great talker and organiser with a decent pass. Been very consistent and solid playing as the first receiver for Ukraine.

 

Add Drayson Moliga to that list. Winger been sensational every game, incredibly quick and athletic player.

[barnyia]

Rostang 18th man, on the team sheet on the french federation.

[NRLandSL]

3 hours ago, barnyia said:

Rostang has just signed for Albi, that will be fun watching him and gigot in the halves, Rostang can't stick to a game plan and take risks with kicks and tony is tony and could well get annoyed with him. 

He spent a month with Halifax this summer. 

Shame he’s not joining an SL side. Should be great though to watch partnering Gigot.

[welshmagpie]

3 hours ago, barnyia said:

Rostang has just signed for Albi, that will be fun watching him and gigot in the halves, Rostang can't stick to a game plan and take risks with kicks and tony is tony and could well get annoyed with him. 

He spent a month with Halifax this summer. 

That’s not the best recruitment at all. Rostang’s a good player but a smart one he isn’t, as you say coupled with Gigot you’d expect to see a wildly erratic and inconsistent Albi. Maybe they’ll place the #14 on him instead with a controller at #7

[welshmagpie]

14 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

Shame he’s not joining an SL side. Should be great though to watch partnering Gigot.

He isn’t super league ready, he’s two or three seasons in SuperXIII before that becomes reality. 
 

A move to a club like Albi is the right progress for him at this stage. He’d drown at a super league club for reasons already stated - he dislikes structure. 10/12 Super League clubs are structure heavy. The 2 that aren’t are way out of Rostang’s reach right now. 

[barnyia]

47 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

That’s not the best recruitment at all. Rostang’s a good player but a smart one he isn’t, as you say coupled with Gigot you’d expect to see a wildly erratic and inconsistent Albi. Maybe they’ll place the #14 on him instead with a controller at #7

He's a good no14, he played 9 as a young lad, and France 17s 

[NRLandSL]

59 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

He isn’t super league ready, he’s two or three seasons in SuperXIII before that becomes reality. 
 

A move to a club like Albi is the right progress for him at this stage. He’d drown at a super league club for reasons already stated - he dislikes structure. 10/12 Super League clubs are structure heavy. The 2 that aren’t are way out of Rostang’s reach right now. 

I’d have to disagree, I think he is definitely “SL ready”. If guys like Jack Charles and Kai Morgan play SL Rostang definitely can.

Sure he is an off the cusp player who dislikes structure but he has creativity and vision that very few halfbacks have. Very similar talent to Mikey Lewis and Sam Walker.

I’d hate to see he’s incredible talent wasted because coaches think he isn’t “structured” enough. He has the tools to become a quality first grade halfback. A few more years playing Elite 1 will hamper his development.

[barnyia]

He's a off the cuff player yes, but he can't control a game or lead a team around the park, if you need to win a game with 5 to go he's your man, there's a reason they started him on the bench v the academy and he only played 40 against Scotland, Avignon dropped him to the bench at the end of the season as other coaches had worked him out, yes you need to be able to play heads up rugby and take risks but the higher you go the more calculated the risks need to be and there's less chance of the risks coming off, but yes he's a very good player and will learn a lot playing next to gigot, 

[Gomersall]

https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2024/07/22/roosters-see-promise-in-debut-of-usa-youth-team/

[Gomersall]

https://europeanrugbyleague.com/articles/2426/euro-u19s-team-of-the-tournament-announc...

[welshmagpie]

2 hours ago, Gomersall said:

https://europeanrugbyleague.com/articles/2426/euro-u19s-team-of-the-tournament-announc...

In the bits I watched, Isaac Reid the prop for Scotland was superb so his selection is very much deserved. Warrington have a good one there if he continues to develop.

[Damien]

A great legacy:

 

[welshmagpie]

58 minutes ago, Damien said:

A great legacy:

 

This is the true impact. Replicate such a tournament in Africa, Americas and Asia/Pacific and suddenly there’s potential for 100-150 new coaches or referees.

[yanto]

10 hours ago, welshmagpie said:

This is the true impact. Replicate such a tournament in Africa, Americas and Asia/Pacific and suddenly there’s potential for 100-150 new coaches or referees.

Potential yes ...reality very different. 

100/150 new coaches in new areas sounds great but who do they coach or referee?

I have witnessed this in Europe where 30 or 40 people yearly in developing nations get coaching certificates then do nothing.

What's the point of spending money like this when before (or alongside) the coaches you need players and administrators to set up teams/ clubs for these coaches to coach. 

Maybe courses on that aspect would be a truer legacy.

People go back with a vision and plan of what it takes to set a club up from scratch. 

In Holland 90% of the people who sit on these courses do not use their qualifications  because there are no team's to coach. 

They don't want the work or maybe dont have the knowledge and enthusiasm to set up new clubs. Even getting into schools or setting up youth teams just hasn't happened.

Same as the referees.

Not knocking what they are doing but it just seems from my experience to be numbers exercise. 

Edited July 23 by yanto

[welshmagpie]

9 hours ago, yanto said:

Potential yes ...reality very different. 

100/150 new coaches in new areas sounds great but who do they coach or referee?

I have witnessed this in Europe where 30 or 40 people yearly in developing nations get coaching certificates then do nothing.

What's the point of spending money like this when before (or alongside) the coaches you need players and administrators to set up teams/ clubs for these coaches to coach. 

Maybe courses on that aspect would be a truer legacy.

People go back with a vision and plan of what it takes to set a club up from scratch. 

In Holland 90% of the people who sit on these courses do not use their qualifications  because there are no team's to coach. 

They don't want the work or maybe dont have the knowledge and enthusiasm to set up new clubs. Even getting into schools or setting up youth teams just hasn't happened.

Same as the referees.

Not knocking what they are doing but it just seems from my experience to be numbers exercise. 

An interesting point you make mate. For those in areas with existing teams or teams near enough you’d hope it would encourage them to begin junior development with their newly qualified coaches. I know of one Greek team sending 2 people over for that exact reason - so they can spearhead an U16s team next year. 

[fighting irish]

12 hours ago, yanto said:

Potential yes ...reality very different. 

100/150 new coaches in new areas sounds great but who do they coach or referee?

I have witnessed this in Europe where 30 or 40 people yearly in developing nations get coaching certificates then do nothing.

What's the point of spending money like this when before (or alongside) the coaches you need players and administrators to set up teams/ clubs for these coaches to coach. 

Maybe courses on that aspect would be a truer legacy.

People go back with a vision and plan of what it takes to set a club up from scratch. 

In Holland 90% of the people who sit on these courses do not use their qualifications  because there are no team's to coach. 

They don't want the work or maybe dont have the knowledge and enthusiasm to set up new clubs. Even getting into schools or setting up youth teams just hasn't happened.

Same as the referees.

Not knocking what they are doing but it just seems from my experience to be numbers exercise. 

This is a very insightful post. I agree wholeheartedly with your point of view.

Almost all of the games historical development,  in new areas, involves a rugby league nut (in the nicest possible sense) gathering together a group of mates and trying to organise a few games.

These people are the vital mystical ''philosophers stone'', capable of turning the base metal of passive interest, which I know exists, into the gold of real-life RL activity.

From there, the potential exists to establish roots, create a following, develop a club and a movement which becomes intergenerational.

Nothing happens, till these people surface and decide to get involved.

They are usually dogged self starters, for whom nothing seems impossible in the pursuit of their goal and they are often prepared to move mountains to bring their dreams to fruition. They simply will not take ''NO'' for an answer. You might say they have an entrepreneurial bent. They can be grandiose in their claims, they usually make a lot of mistakes, but they don't give up at the first sign of failure, they tend to learn from them and (if they have the energy), and a bit of good fortune, tend to succeed in the end.

The saddest thing, for me, is that when they do lift their heads above the parapet they tend to become the object of derision, especially on this forum. Ridiculed by people, who have no real idea, how to grow the game, who just expect it (development) to happen by magic, or drat the RFL for not being able to ''do it'', from a hundred miles away by ''marketing the game better''. 

So if I just step down from my soap box for a moment, the (first) question becomes, ''how do we identify these people (self starter, rugby league nuts) and make contact with them''? That's the real challenge for the marketing guru's out there. The next question is ''what can we do, to encourage you to get going''?

Edited July 24 by fighting irish