The Rugby League International Federation and the NRL have come under fire in recent days over their handling of international rugby league, as well as rugby league internationally.
It’s time the game’s governing bodies made a decision about what direction the game is heading, and put a plan in place to achieve that goal.
Rugby league couldn’t survive as a professional game without Australia and the north of England. This leaves administrators with two options to ensure the survival of rugby league.
Do we want to change this, promote the game in other developing league nations, and make international league more appealing and competitive for other countries? Or do we want to consolidate what we have, the interests and rivalries that have made rugby league great for over 100 years as a professional sport?
The NRL website seems to suggest the latter, which is fine if that’s the direction the game of rugby league as a whole wants to take. But the current international schedule and attempts to promote the game in countries not traditionally associated with league suggests this is not the chosen direction.
Not being able to view NRL or State of Origin matches in developing league nations is a huge blow to a game that relies upon entertainment as its product. The NRL website blocks match centre content and match streaming content to many places based on TV deals, and others in the hope of subscriptions being paid. Subscriptions might work for Aussie expats, but it’s unlikely any new international fans will be signing up.
For example a friend was in Portugal for Origin 2 and created interest within his international tour group members by showing them highlights on YouTube. They were excited to see a rugby league match for the first time. The NRL website said it was available to stream in Portugal, but when the time came it was blocked and potential new, international fans to the game were lost.
Another problem with the international game is eligibility. If the RLIF is serious about development, World Cup teams can’t be loaded with Aussies who qualify through parents or grandparents. Americans and Italians would be much more interested if their mate, local team member, or someone they have seen play in their domestic competition is representing them, rather than an Australian with a half-Italian or American parent, in some cases who has never been to the country they are representing.
The farcical nature of the World Cup last year further highlighted the problems with international rugby league. Despite the brave efforts of the USA it wasn’t enjoyable watching them get predictably thrashed in the quarter-finals by the Kangaroos. The combined score of the quarter-finals involving the big three was 136-10, with an average winning margin of 42. This hardly showcased league at its entertaining best and is unlikely to win new fans in the nations on the receiving end of those score lines.
Adding weight to this argument is the fact that as an Australian league fan, I’m happy there is a game between Czech Republic and Greece. But I’m not bothered by the result, entertainment-wise I know no players involved and see better quality league in most country NSW and Queensland competitions. Even if I did want to watch the game, I wouldn’t be able to.
Scheduling also needs to be addressed, as evidenced by the amount of Australia’s World Cup squad unavailable for the Four Nations this year. If internationals were all world-class matches involving the best players for each country, more interest would be created.
If the game of rugby league is to grow internationally then every effort has to be made to make it relevant and accessible. You win by scoring tries, the collisions are harder, and the ball is in play more than its main rival, rugby. The sheer athleticism and toughness of the players is world class. Entertainment wise it has everything truly global sports have, but the administration is a long way from world class.
The current administration must decide on the direction the international game and promotion is going to take, then find the balance between keeping the existing fans happy and attracting new ones with entertaining and available rugby league for anyone who wants it.
PhillNZ
Guest
Nothing will change because SOO is RL Holy Grail followed by the NRL GF then a distant 3rd is SL GF and then the big 3 in Internationals. Also its a toss up between RL and AFL and if you read the world wide phenomenal growth by writers on the roar , there is no other sport in the world say for petanque!
Shouts Chen
Guest
Australia, NZ and English Rugby League are the three main teams in the International Rugby League. But what about Ireland?
Sam Bright
Roar Rookie
Superstar the point I'm making is it is the game of league suffers more as a result of the eligibility than it gets benefit. America were slaughtered anyway when they played the Aussies, and while they had some great wins before that they aren't a true reflection of the strength of American Rugby League. Agree also with the island teams not being competitive without NRL players not selected for Aussies or Kiwis, but at the end of the day most of those listed still choose Australia if selected, then fall back to the island teams. Also the island teams would be very competitive against those outside the big 3, probably the strongest teams. As mentioned above I'd rather a big 3 tournament for the world cup, then a tier 2 competition run simultaneously for the rest with some sort of quota system that encourages and rewards domestic competitions and bodies for developing their own players, or getting big names to play in the local competitions. This would mean there is less floggings because of pros playing amateurs, plus each team has more chance of taking out the tournament, as opposed to the world cup when all bar 3 are making up the numbers with no chance of a tournament victory, and the majority of the games the results go as predicted.
Sam Bright
Roar Rookie
I agree with some of the points above from BBT and Boris, especially the rise in standard given to the US based players by playing and training with NRL players which can only be beneficial for their domestic competition standard, as well as their national team in future. In terms of mockery score lines, I don't think the RLIF can justify that as a reason when the score lines were so massive anyway. I'd rather watch the big 3 play close (most of the time) games for the world cup, then maybe a tier 2 world cup with the rest of the world to try and even it out. The games would be closer, more enjoyable to watch and more beneficial for players playing a game/tournament they have a chance of winning. To go with this some sort of quota for NRL players, but exemptions for players who play in overseas domestic leagues. This might be difficult timing wise for some countries but encourages players and National Bodies recruiting players to lift the standard of league in the country they are representing for a slightly longer time, across a broader player base than with a few domestic players selected in the national team. It's also worth noting that not all Australian players at the world cup representing developing league nations were from the NRL, some from NSW and QLD Cup, and some NSW country players.
Sam Bright
Roar Rookie
Not sure as I haven't tried to watch it in the US, but this is the link my friend was using in Portugal. on the NRL website it said it could be streamed, but when he actually tried it was blocked.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
I think your take on international eligibility is more farcical than the "farcical 2013 World Cup". Why should players not be allowed to represent the country of their parents or grandparents origin? I agree that America and Italy may have abused the heritage rule a bit, but they would've been absolutely slaughtered if they didn't. The simple fact is that with modern-day immigration trends, the island nations will never be competitive without heritage players, and you only have to look at Fiji to see that. They don't stack their team full of Aussies. There are a few, like the Sims brothers, but you have the likes of Tuqiri, Uate, Koribete, Waqa and Radradra, all of whom are genuine born and raised Fijians. There's nothing farcical about the Fiji team. You're right about scheduling though, that needs to improve big-time.
Steve
Guest
There is no Fox Soccet any more I'm pretty sure.
bbt
Guest
Thanks - I'll forward that to my friends.They said that NRL was only available on the Soccer channel (?) on cable.
Rugby League Development Fund
Roar Rookie
Are you sure they don't stream NRL into the US? I'm pretty sure it is. This is just one link I found from a quick google. https://new.livestream.com/nrl
code 13
Roar Guru
You have to have key marquee pro players in those sides, the amateurs benefit from the experience long after the tournament has ended. International growth is intrinsically linked to the NRL's growth. The NRL has put minimal investment into finding and developing talent in its own nearby backyard of PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga etc yet they've been able to benefit from the amazing talent that they've been lucky to encounter. Imagine if the search was actually organised and well funded. With more effort those nations could have entire test teams of players born in those countries but playing in the NRL and that talent can be spread out across the league in order to fulfill the requirements of the new expansion sides. We need to take a 'whole-of-the-game' approach on this.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I agree with Boris and bbt above. Would you rather watch an Italian side with "imports" putting on an exciting, close game of League, or a team of amateurs getting trounced by 100+ points? I don't think the latter is doing the code any favours. I think the next step in solving the eligibility puzzle will be a quota system. At the next World Cup we should introduce a rule stating that at least 2 players who are eligible must be registered in that country's domestic competition (for example). This can slowly get raised until it is no longer required. It might also help to have a slightly longer international break during the season so that Australian based internationals can have a chance to represent their country. It will do wonders for players from lower tiered nations to play alongside experienced NRL players more regularly.
Pickett
Guest
Also, didn't SOO start the same way? After being constantly thrashed every year, they decided to recruit 7/8 players who played in the NSW comp. And the rest as they say is history.
wascally wabbit
Guest
Perhaps having NRL/SL players who are not quite up to Test standard representing other countries and playing against Australia/NZ/England will also help make them better players.
Pickett
Guest
@ bbt and Boris. Agree with you both re eligibility. Other sports have similar loopholes to make them competetive. The RL fraternity shouldn't listen to other code lovers who try to shame us by saying the RLWC eligibility rules are a joke etc We have to start somewhere and if it means having say 6/7 out of the 13 being from the NRL or Superleague, I've got no problem with that whatsoever.
Boris
Guest
BBT I'd be inclined to agree regarding world cup eligibility. On first glance it appears to make a mockery of the tournament that most players are from Australia or Britain but without this it would be more of a mockery as the scorelines would be massive. Ryan O'Connell wrote a good article about this during the World Cup last year and viewed the current eligibility to be a necessary evil of getting the game out there for the world to see. All being equal you would see an increased proportion of local players representing their country in the future. At present we would see many thrashings without the inclusion of Aussies and Brits in the other teams. Or have situations like with the test against USA a few years ago where the field was about half as wide as a normal field to help the yanks compete.
bbt
Guest
Since reading articles such as this, and the 2013 RLWC, I have become interested in International RL - I also have friends overseas, mainly in the USA, who have become interested through visiting Australia and YouTube. The number one issue, I see, as mentioned here, is the lack of availability of NRL and SOO games via media internationally. In an era of the internet, this is a disgrace. The miserable few dollars that a cable TV operator pays the NRL, is not worth the growth potential that making the games accessible, would bring. I am certain that making the games available via Apple TV, for a token charge, or even free would grow the interest. Forget the old paradigms of the media, the future is here and we have the game to take advantage of it. As to the World Cup eligibility, I disagree with the writer. There was definitely some interest and pride amongst aware friends in the USA regarding their team. Of course having locals in the teams is preferable, but the interaction of NRL players with home grown is a benefit. Until the home grown product can compete, let them pepper their squads with NRL and Super League players.