France v Lebanon test series (Merged Threads)

[LeytherRob]

Really hope this comes off and think it’s a big step forward in the international calendar. France need to be playing 3 or 4 games a year with as many of their better players as possible.
 

[Yorky]

10 minutes ago, LeytherRob said:

Really hope this comes off and think it’s a big step forward in the international calendar. France need to be playing 3 or 4 games a year with as many of their better players as possible.
 

A great development for both countries if this gets confirmed 

[fenster]

Hopefully it’s a 3 test series as opposed to a 2 test series.

[Barley Mow]

That's good news.

I wonder if there are any other sports where a journalist would feel the need to clarify that "Lebanon are not involved in the Pacific Cup" when writing about their national team.

[gingerjon]

You'd have probably got good odds eighteen months ago on France playing Kenya and Lebanon in Test series.

[JM2010]

This is the kind of thing that should be happening outside of the top nations. Wales vs Jamaica and now hopefully France vs Lebanon. 
Hopefully these kind of fixtures become a regular thing

[welshmagpie]

Read somewhere it’s going like this:

12th October (Test One - Pamiers)

19th October (Test Two - Albi)

22nd-26th October (WCQ)

[sam4731]

Excellent. Similar levels of countries actually playing each other. Hopefully these sort of matches build an international platform for years to come.

[Eddie]

57 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

Read somewhere it’s going like this:

12th October (Test One - Pamiers)

19th October (Test Two - Albi)

22nd-26th October (WCQ)

I had to Google Pamiers - population 16,000, looks like they’ve just moved up to Elite 2 though the ground doesn’t look much more than a field. 

[BristolDevonCharlie]

4 hours ago, LeytherRob said:

Really hope this comes off and think it’s a big step forward in the international calendar. France need to be playing 3 or 4 games a year with as many of their better players as possible.
 

It will be five games this year! 

Four last year and (if they get to the World Series and play England) likely to be four next year. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

2 hours ago, JM2010 said:

This is the kind of thing that should be happening outside of the top nations. Wales vs Jamaica and now hopefully France vs Lebanon. 
Hopefully these kind of fixtures become a regular thing

And it shouldn't be too difficult to get series like this organised considering the majority of the players are based in England and France. It's not like you have the cost of flying a team over from Jamaica or anything.

[JonM]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

I had to Google Pamiers - population 16,000, looks like they’ve just moved up to Elite 2 though the ground doesn’t look much more than a field. 

It's the largest town in the Ariège departement. The previous club Gallia Pamiers were in Elite 1 for quite a long period and had French international players like Jacques Moliner & Marc Tissyerre.

[ATLANTISMAN]

It's 1 test the other match is France B.

The fact that Lenanese sponsors in Sydney are footing the bill around 250000 is impressive.

[fenster]

10 hours ago, LeytherRob said:

Really hope this comes off and think it’s a big step forward in the international calendar. France need to be playing 3 or 4 games a year with as many of their better players as possible.
 

The fact that this needs to be said is the saddest and worrying part. International RL in a nutshell.

[fenster]

6 hours ago, Eddie said:

I had to Google Pamiers - population 16,000, looks like they’ve just moved up to Elite 2 though the ground doesn’t look much more than a field. 

Sounds about right.

[fenster]

2 hours ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

It's 1 test the other match is France B.

The fact that Lenanese sponsors in Sydney are footing the bill around 250000 is impressive.

Who are they?

[barnyia]

9 hours ago, Eddie said:

I had to Google Pamiers - population 16,000, looks like they’ve just moved up to Elite 2 though the ground doesn’t look much more than a field. 

They've a second'ground in the town which is pretty good, the France A and  b fixtures have been written into the super xiii callender, there's a game v Ukraine for the b team I think, a game for the presidents 13 v Catalan and a Saturday night  of rugby league, but i don't know if that's a type of magic weekend or a presentation evening, the 9s are to be played the same day as the grand final 2nd June, 

The 19s are touring Australiaat the end of this month (funded by each player via sponsorship) v roosters u19s, v a college team, then the schoolboys in gold coast, 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

9 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

And it shouldn't be too difficult to get series like this organised considering the majority of the players are based in England and France. It's not like you have the cost of flying a team over from Jamaica or anything.

What's funny about my comment, @Odsal Outlaw?

[JonM]

France v Lebanon tickets already on sale too - bit of a contrast to the France v England game.

• October 13, 3:00 p.m.: France vs Lebanon – Balussou Stadium in Pamiers
• October 19, 8:00 p.m.: France vs Lebanon – Albi
• October 22 France vs Ukraine – Carcassonne
• October 26 France vs Wales – Perpignan

[JonM]

7 hours ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

It's 1 test the other match is France B.

Championship final is October 19th, so Toulouse players are potentially ruled out of the Lebanon games anyway (and I suppose Catalans might make the Superleague GF on the 12th?). So all but the France v Wales World Cup game are potentially relying on domestic players anyway.

[LeytherRob]

4 hours ago, JonM said:

Championship final is October 19th, so Toulouse players are potentially ruled out of the Lebanon games anyway (and I suppose Catalans might make the Superleague GF on the 12th?). So all but the France v Wales World Cup game are potentially relying on domestic players anyway.

Should have known it was too good to be true

[Odsal Outlaw]

6 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

What's funny about my comment, @Odsal Outlaw?

Your comment on ‘it’s not like you have to fly players over from Jamaica’. I assumed you were making a joke about the fact that even Wales won’t have to do that as Jamaica will all be English based!

[The Hallucinating Goose]

42 minutes ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

Your comment on ‘it’s not like you have to fly players over from Jamaica’. I assumed you were making a joke about the fact that even Wales won’t have to do that as Jamaica will all be English based!

That is what I was saying but I didn't intend it in a joking manner, I thought it was a good point that these games wouldn't be expensive to put on because all the players and coaches of teams like Jamaica are based over here, and they wouldn't need to rent enormous stadiums for these series either so those costs wouldn't be extortionate which is surely a good thing.

[langpark]

On 04/09/2024 at 20:42, Yorky said:

A great development for both countries if this gets confirmed 

How so?

"Lebanon" (20 Aussies) will spend well over six figures to play these two matches. You could probably employ a dozen development officers in Beirut for 2 years with the amount they are blowing on these two meaningless fixtures. 

[welshmagpie]

11 minutes ago, langpark said:

How so?

"Lebanon" (20 Aussies) will spend well over six figures to play these two matches. You could probably employ a dozen development officers in Beirut for 2 years with the amount they are blowing on these two meaningless fixtures. 

Especially considering they no longer are “full members” with the IRL and thus ineligible for qualification at the next world cup*
 

*Unless they magic up a junior competition linked to their existing clubs pronto