A few weeks ago I wrote of the farce that is the Rugby League World Cup in my “The Week That Was” column. The comments section was colourful to say the least.
The NRL and more importantly the State of Origin have to wear the blame for the state of international league.
I wrote then and still maintain that rugby league should be content with what it has, one of the greatest club competitions in the world and a pinnacle event that is the State of Origin.
The international scene is very much an afterthought, an attempt to give the game some international credibility when compared next to football and rugby.
The World Cup is an underfunded, under-promoted farce that genuinely does more damage than good to the international game in the eyes of all but the most hardened league fans.
The eligibility rules are farcical.
Players should have to nominate their national allegiances and play under those colours forever.
How can a competition be taken seriously when a player can change countries not only between World Cups but from one year to the next depending if you are selected for Australia or New Zealand.
How can a player like Junior Paulo be born in New Zealand, represent Samoa at the last Cup and yet this time be playing for the USA?
In the lead up to the 2008 World Cup, Canberra prop Brett White was named in both the Irish and Australian preliminary training squads at the same time.
Am I meant to believe that he is fully invested in playing for either country?
Petero Civoniceva is a perfect example.
No longer in contention for Australia, he is now offering his services to Fiji which is a great thing.
However now that his allegiance is with Fiji, his country of birth, it has to be asked; why wasn’t it always there?
The answer: State of Origin obviously.
How can someone like Jarryd Hayne pledge himself to play for Fiji last tournament and then with a straight face run out against them just last night?
How can I take the competition seriously when researching this article I look at the Italian team on the official World Cup website and six of the players have to have generic face outlines next to their names as no-one has bothered to source a picture?
The same goes for three of the Scottish players. How can I take the competition seriously if those organising the competition don’t?
I’m sorry rugby league but if you want me to take this joke of a tournament seriously you yourselves have to give the international game more than a passing thought once or twice a year.
One commenter on my last article asked “Are you trying to tell me that Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, French and Papua New Guinea league players don’t exist?” Well sir I’ll ask you, outside of this four week sham, do they?
Where are the Tests for Italy, Tonga, Fiji or Papua New Guinea building the game in the years between the World Cup?
When was the last time Samoa toured Australia in rugby league? Have they ever?
State of Origin has to shoulder a lot of the blame for the state of the International game.
It is the major attraction in the sport. A player cannot play in the State of Origin and not be available for Australia. So, either relax the eligibility rules for the State of Origin, or be more serious about the eligibility rules in the international game.
Of course Hayne, Akuila Uate, Petero Civoniceva and Brett White wanted to play State of Origin.
But, for all of them to have represented two countries in a short amount of time, being able to flick between the two depending on selection for Australia is making a mockery of the process.
When the Australian rugby league show countries like Fiji or Ireland that having the best players available for your biggest earner, State of Origin, is more important than a player’s national allegiance.
What is being to me as a fan, is that the representative pinnacle is State of Origin and I don’t need to tune in to representative football other than those three big Wednesday nights.
So rugby league the ball is your court. I’ll take the international game seriously when you do.
matt
Guest
there's only one world cup, and that's the one without the prefix telling you which world cup it is.
Jake
Guest
Umm their is a difference league sucks and is a laughing stock at international level the World Cup don't get me started was awful funny leagies trying to talk down the RUWC it's a massive company compared to this inferior leage garbage this RLWC made a profit of around $5m the RUWC makes each tournament at least $400-500m and is growing every World Cup
Matt_S
Guest
If RL changes its eligibility and enforces more home grown players (which most fans of the Intl game would like to see despite you thinking the opposite), I still think you'll be on these threads trying to ruin topic of conversation about everything else.
Matt_S
Guest
Just like AFL hey Nomad? Didn't they have all those /VFLAFL exhibitions in the US & Canada during the 1980-90's? And where is it now? 9 aside park footy. Show me a video of AFL Canada playing an international with more than a couple of hundred people? Go look at Canada Rugby League http://www.canadarugbyleague.com/site/eng/news/videoplayer.php?id=1000111 All Canadian-born without an expat in sight. Come on, lets see AFL USA & Canada. it's been close to 40 years there. let's see the internationals in front of crowds.
Nomad
Guest
Oikee RL is always gunna do this and gunna do that. RL All satrs toured Australia in 1953? South African RL national team? toured in 1964??
Nomad
Guest
Same as RU doesn't claim Andrew Fifita although he failed to get a Brumbies contract....
Nomad
Guest
Yes Aussie Ahmad was rushed thru because we needed a spinner...
ahmad
Guest
CJ No-one calls it gridiron - really
david
Guest
where ever there is an article about International League there are Union fans writing 6 paragraph comments on why Union is superior.
david
Guest
doesnt really make it any more legitimate In Brief LOL, and before you comment back on on Leagues eligibility, i do agree its a farce, but Craig Wing being able to play for Japan is just as farcical.
Peter
Guest
I've never been a big fan of the lax international eligibility rules in both league and union. My feeling is that if you were born in a certain country then you're only eligible to play for that country. It shouldn't matter where your parents or grandparents were born. If you were born in Australia, you represent Australia, same with England/Great Britain, NZ, Samoa, Tonga PNG etc. A big part of the problem is the success of State of Origin. Both states, especially Queensland (mainly due to a smaller player pool), dangle big carrots in front of players to play for them and drop their country of birth. Players like Adrian Lam, Brad Thorn, Tonie Carroll, Lote Tuqiri, Petero Civoniceva, Josh Papalii and James Tamou should never have been allowed to play Origin. Under the current international rules I'd be eligible for Australia, England, Wales, Scotland and Great Britain. How stupid is that? (for the record, if I was young enough, good enough and fit enough, there is only one jumper I'd ever consider - the Green and Gold).
Teal
Guest
Well if international RL is a joke for playing players from different countries , then so is State of origin , as you clearly state in your article cinoceva was born in Fiji but still played Origin - same principle
cowelly
Guest
Who? I actually can't think of any. Probably because Rugby doesn't make any superstars and they come to rugby league as nobodies, then become superstars in the NRL.. Rugby Union players? For a game that is huge internationally it lacks many superstars. But then again, it's a game of strategy and gentlemen-like playing style, isn't it?
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
no one calls it Gridion
nomad
Guest
100 posts allegedly and still you get it wrong....
nomad
Guest
Lets have another soccer/football discussion as well . Its commonly known as gridiron - in the States its called football - do you want to call it football here??? Baseball was mentioned 30 posts ago re world championships...
Finkelstein
Guest
To show how ignorant you are the RU budget is more than $10 and is a long way behind RL and way way behind AFL or EPL so what??
killaku
Guest
Russell,The same as Rugby trying to break into other sport stronghold
Nomad
Guest
In answer to to breaking the ground record. if they held the RLWC at Mt Pritchard and broke the ground record would you get excited??
Nomad
Guest
Matt_S You seem to have enormous amounts of trivia about what you consider RL major victories but seem to gloss over the fact that Serbia under 21 beat France un 21 (I assume full strength) . Fantastic - now we can have team in the next World Cup with Serbian descendants like Italy however a nice diversion about what happens to future eligibility you have a lot of inside RL knowledge - how about an answer to the eligibility question