A solution to the mid season international?

[sam4731]

What if we revive the 4N but played the opening matches mid season between countries in their own hemisphere?

E.g. England, France, NZ, Australia

Mid season you'd have England vs France and NZ vs Australia. Post season you'd have the rest of the tournament in either hemisphere.

Obviously you'd have to have 2 from each hemisphere which at the moment would limit it to England and France but who knows in the future. If Australia or NZ didn't want to play it one year they could tag others in.

It could even supplement an Ashes series or Baskerville shield series, where the final England test was the 4N match to give it meaning if the test series had already been decided.

I know the biggest barrier would be getting the NRL to abandon the Pacific Championships or massively modify it which may be a non starter but it could make England vs France more attractive if we could make it happen.

[Damien]

How's it a solution when the NRL have scrapped mid season internationals? That's the problem that needs addressing.

[sam4731]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

How's it a solution when the NRL have scrapped mid season internationals? That's the problem that needs addressing.

Obviously the whole thing would require a lot of discussion with the NRL. It's not necessarily a solution for them but it could be something they're willing to do.

[Archie Gordon]

Internationals are so passe. We've given up on them. 

[gingerjon]

39 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Internationals are so passe. We've given up on them. 

Put V’landys keeps saying he loves the international game.

A “solution”, if you’re doing it for visibility, would be to stage a women’s standalone fixture. We’ve seen the level of media interest that can be generated.