- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Rugby League World Cup is more Amco Cup than World Cup. Tonight, we were supposed to watch and enjoy a delayed broadcast of a semi-final of the Rugby League World Cup.
The Australian team comprised players from professional NRL teams. The Fiji team was a scratch team of mostly amateur players hailing from places such as Parkes and Wentworthville.
Further insult was to come for loyal TV viewers. Phil Gould, after 15 minutes and with the score already 20-0, screamed “This is entertainment!”
Give me a break.
At least the Amco Cup, more than 30 years go, recognised that a first grade team would do significant physical damage to amateur opponents and damage to the reputation of the competition if they fielded full strength teams.
Sensibly they opted for youngsters and second graders in the early rounds.
The RLWC 2008 lacks any semblance of such sensitivity. They even stole a player, Tupou, from one of the minnows when one of their chosen squad dropped out.
The semi-finals have showcased the fact that there are still only three nations competing. The final is likely to confirm that there is only one country capable of winning.
Promulgating this farce further damages the reputation of the code and those seeking to be trusted commentators.
It confirms that the administrators remain incapable of acting in the best interests of this once great code.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.