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With the World Cup coming up, and the understandable talk about its legitimacy, I’ve put together a few ideas for some representative tournaments or games that can be played after the NRL and Super League seasons.
The first proposal is for a World Club Championship.
No, not the one-off trial match that’s played in England every year, but instead, to make the finals race more exciting, why not have the top teams that make the top four or five of the NRL and the Super League play off in a World Cup-style tournament.
The second idea is for a three match series between the best players in the NRL up against the best of the Super League.
This wouldn’t be a hypothetical Australia versus England, but rather the NRL All Stars would involve Australians and well as the Kiwis and any other nationality that was good enough to make the side.
Likewise, the same would apply to the Super League side.
Next, there could be a World Origin.
Australia is so dominant in rugby league that I think it justifies splitting us up.
Instead, have five teams made up of NSW, QLD, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Emerging Nations (which is a euphemism for ‘rest of the world’).
This would be a much more even competition than the Tests and would certainly have a huge amount of interest in Australia – more so than the Internationals.
The Tri-Nations?
Of course, Australians will want to represent their country, so the Tri-Nations would remain.
At around the same time, I’d propose having another tournament between all other league nations, a ‘minnows’ World Cup for want of a better word featuring PNG, France, Tonga, and maybe even a Maori and Aboriginal side.
If rugby league still feels it needs a World Cup, then go for it. Maybe there should also be a play-off for the bowl and plate like there is in Rugby 7s, and give the smaller nations another shot at some silverware.
So a five year representative cycle would be
Year one: World Club Championship
Year two: NRL All Stars v Super League All Stars
Year three: World Origin; New South Wales, Queensland, NZ, Great Britain and Emerging Nations
Year four: Tri-Nations; Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia (and all other teams in another tournament)
Year five: World Cup
What do other Roar readers think?
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