IN last week’s column I suggested that the next World Cup should go to New Zealand rather than coming back to England.
International Rugby League (IRL) have announced that the next tournament will instead be held on the Pacific Rim, with some American cities mentioned as possible hosts, including Hawaii.
The IRL, working hand in glove with the NRL, will try to create several ‘Magic’ rounds for the tournament.
That would mean that every game over one weekend would be played at one venue, as happens in the Magic Weekend in both the Super League and the NRL.
The tournament will also be expanded to include twelve nations rather than ten, so that would mean six games per round over the weekend.
Then of course we have the proposal to open the heritage qualification to players who have great-grandparents who originated from a particular country.
My first reaction is to say that this is a step too far.
How to help the French national team
WE all know that England got a bad deal from the World Cup organisers.
But I feel even more sorry for the French, who had a long journey to Sydney and faced Samoa while suffering seriously from jet lag, losing 78-4 before travelling across Australia to another different time zone to play England and losing 82-0.
They then had to head back to Sydney to play Lebanon and they played out a thrilling game that they were desperately unlucky to lose in golden-point time.
That was clearly their best performance in the tournament and it demonstrated that there is plenty of spirit in the French side when they play against opposition of the right standard.
England will apparently be hosting a tour by New Zealand in 2027 (although it has yet to be confirmed), and there is a possibility that France are inducted into the Celtic Cup, the competition that began this year with Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
The problem for France, however, is that they aren’t really good enough to face England, while they are far too good to play against those three Celtic nations.
But they were obviously competitive against Lebanon, while they would probably also be competitive against the Cook Islands and perhaps Papua New Guinea.
The good news is the French will go back to the southern hemisphere to play touring matches next year, possibly against those teams.
The Lebanon team would also welcome more international matches, while the French could play the Papuans and the Cook Islands on the bye weekends of the Pacific Bowl competition.
And after their thrilling encounter in the World Cup, I’m sure there would be plenty of Rugby League fans in Australia who would be happy to see another game between France and Lebanon.
