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Posted
1 hour ago, sam4731 said:

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole and I don't think I'm gonna beat this:

https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/world-cup-european-qualifiers-2006/game-1/georgia-vs-the-netherlands.html

 

Georgia vs The Netherlands in Tbilisi

Attendance: 10,935

To put that into context, England just 5 months later, got an attendance of 16,633... a combined attendance across 4 matches against France, Samoa and Tonga twice. Three of which were played at traditional RL stadiums.

This was when Georgia were going through a rift with the IRB. They came to RL en masse. RLEF officials were painting pitch markings the morning of the game.

Georgia subsequently resolved their issues with IRB, and RL was effectively used to get better terms with Union. 


Posted
On 17/11/2024 at 19:26, RayCee said:

Remember this in '95? Can't be done now as the sport cannot afford it I guess but what a great idea it was. Moldova and Morocco? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Rugby_League_Emerging_Nations_Tournament

I hear this sport can't afford it line a lot. How did the sport have more money in 1995 than now? Ditto some of the touring teams and rep sides I saw in the 80s and 90s too. This was before the big TV deals we see now but we still managed it.

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Posted (edited)

RLWC 2030

Rd 1 - RLWC Continental Cup March - June: nations ranked outside top 16 to play KO continental qualifiers to get a continental champion of Asia/Oceania, Europe, MENA and America’s. All held locally.

Rd 2 - RLWC Super 6s Qualifiers in RLWC host country or same continent as host. This would be a similar opportunity to an emerging nations championships.

- Rd 1 Sept: Continental Cup winners and nations ranked 13 - 16 in KO games.

- Rd 2 Sept: Winners Rd 1 vs nations ranked 9 - 12 in KO games.

- Rd 3 Sept: Winners Rd 2 vs nations ranked 5 - 8 in KO games

- Rd 4 Oct: Qualifier Finals winners of Rd 3 playoff to join nations ranked 1 - 4 in RLWC Super 6

Rd 3 - RLWC Super 6s in RLWC host country

- Oct/Nov six week, six nation RLWC consisting 5 week round Robin and final.

There’s a WC plan which incorporates every country playing a meaningful WC fixture in the year of the WC. Emerging nations all get their shot and qualifying to the next Rd for most would be a major achievement to be celebrated.

 

Edited by Sports Prophet
Posted
1 hour ago, Damien said:

I hear this sport can't afford it line a lot. How did the sport have more money in 1995 than now? Ditto some of the touring teams and rep sides I saw in the 80s and 90s too. This was before the big TV deals we see now but we still managed it.

When I said can't afford it, they could find the money to do it. They tried it before because they thought it was worth it to develop the game in new countries. The impact in those countries was not as much as hoped for and it lost money too. So it's not a successful use of resources in terms of cost and benefit. 

 

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My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

Posted

I don't know much about Ice Hockey but it does a tiered international tournament system and it works. I believe even the best players haven't usually attended either unless that's changed recently. Here are their 2025 tournaments:

https://www.iihf.com/en/tournaments

I know there are differences in the game that may make this work better for IH. However, even the lower divisions presumably get good media coverage and support from their fans. If Norway were playing in a RL world tournament third division, how many Norwegians would know about it or care? A handful of clubs playing to family and friends doesn't do enough for the game's profile.

I'm probably opening a can of worms here as I confess to knowing nothing of Ice Hockey and others here will know much more. The point is if RL cannot do more to lift the profile of the code in 'emerging' markets, tournaments like the 1995 one and a couple since will not be of much use, as much as I enjoyed them being held. 

My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

Posted
21 minutes ago, RayCee said:

I'm probably opening a can of worms here as I confess to knowing nothing of Ice Hockey and others here will know much more. The point is if RL cannot do more to lift the profile of the code in 'emerging' markets, tournaments like the 1995 one and a couple since will not be of much use, as much as I enjoyed them being held. 

This is key. What is the objective? For mine, in the suggested option above for a full year WC including emerging nations, the objective of the first round would be to give existing grassroots players an opportunity to participate “in the World Cup”, demonstrating pathway opportunities for locals players and talented sportspeople of other sports.

I think for the lowest ranked, fledgling nations, the objective has to be to attract more players to the local sport. Beyond that, anything is a bonus.

If nations can progress to the next stage, well then this is where you would hope the objective starts to include some sort of media coverage, small or more.

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Posted
4 hours ago, RayCee said:

When I said can't afford it, they could find the money to do it. They tried it before because they thought it was worth it to develop the game in new countries. The impact in those countries was not as much as hoped for and it lost money too. So it's not a successful use of resources in terms of cost and benefit. 

It's obvious why they tried it and my recollections are certainly that it was successful and got some great crowds. It's one of those rare things in RL that pretty much everyone saw as a great idea.

I'd certainly say that the impact was good too. Any failing to kick on was due to events beyond the scope of this tournament and events in those countries. How much money did it lose? It certainly should be no more expensive than any other sort of tournament where teams get together.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Damien said:

It's obvious why they tried it and my recollections are certainly that it was successful and got some great crowds. It's one of those rare things in RL that pretty much everyone saw as a great idea.

I'd certainly say that the impact was good too. Any failing to kick on was due to events beyond the scope of this tournament and events in those countries. How much money did it lose? It certainly should be no more expensive than any other sort of tournament where teams get together.

The RLEF had a whole tiered set up ready to go - not dissimilar to the Nations League idea and not a million miles away from the tiered internationals that have been pointed to in ice hockey and others have as well.

Then, because qualification for the next World Cup was removed from the top tier, all the funding available seemed to evaporate and all we're left with is some nations with enough volunteers and money organising occasional matches, and the rest ... I'm sure there's a plan.

So it doesn't even need to be a specific tournament but there does need to be something.

We do have about four threads covering similar issues right now so this answer could go in any of them.

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Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

Posted

Other sports have been increasing the number of teams participating in their World Cups while the 2026 RLWC will feature fewer sides than the last to reduce costs and improve the chance of profitability. If that's the case at the top of RL, to run emerging tournaments is a wonderful idea that I'd be surprised if ever it sees the light of day again. 

My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

Posted

The 1995 version is far better than the 2018 version.

1995 had genuine local "emerging" players in it.  2018 was essentially a Harmony Cup event put on in Sydney.

How viable the 1995 version could be today though, is obviously a whole other discussion.

Posted
1 minute ago, langpark said:

The 1995 version is far better than the 2018 version.

1995 had genuine local "emerging" players in it.  2018 was essentially a Harmony Cup event put on in Sydney.

How viable the 1995 version could be today though, is obviously a whole other discussion.

I agree the 1995 was the best, run in conjunction with the main WC. The post was a nostalgic reflection of what we'd like, the sport to be able to put on at each WC. 

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My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

Posted
1 minute ago, marklaspalmas said:

Which was the Emerging Nations World Cup that was won by...... BARLA?

Vintage Rugby League.

The 1995 tournament was won by the Cook Is, defeating Ireland in the final 22-6. 

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My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

Posted
22 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

So, not the 1995 comp. Thanks for that. I'll google it later.

BARLA won the Emerging Nations in 2000.

There is a reason why we all cringe whenever international RL in 2000 is mentioned.

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Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

Posted
2 minutes ago, marklaspalmas said:

Because it rained at Twickenham?

Yes. Just that.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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