International rugby league. The most divisive three-word phrase in the greatest game of all this side of ‘Phil Gould monologue’; a concept that inevitably stirs internet trolls out of their winter slumber.
It also appears pivotal to rugby league’s evolution and survival. So why do so many people in positions of influence skewer it?
Speaking on Triple M last week, Ray Warren – the ‘voice’ of rugby league – implied the NRL’s representative stars ought to go on strike rather than front up for the Four Nations tournament due to the demand on their bodies and minds.
Mal Meninga took the decision out of the players’ hands, suggesting the amount of injuries to Australian players warranted the tournament being called off altogether.
Meanwhile, fellow Roarer Daniel Murphy opined that after a successful World Cup in 2013, international rugby league should effectively take a 24-month rest rather than bother with another meaningless tournament.
These gentlemen are as entitled to their opinions as I am to mine. Variations of them have been rinsed, repeated and re-enforced as fact since around the time rugby league dragged itself off the post-Super League canvas.
And judging by the public response to the aforementioned opinions, a lot of rugby league fans are sick and tired of having them rammed down their throats. Count me among them.
You could probably say that the people who’ve attended the past four encounters between international rugby league’s ‘big three’ – that’s crowds of 67,575, 74,468, 25,429 and 47,813 for those keeping score at home – are equally enamoured of the international game.
And you can probably mark the relative paucity of that 25,429 attendance for May’s trans-Tasman Test in Sydney down to the relentless negativity of media organisations using the autumn of their influence to attack the game that gives them so many devoted eyeballs in the first place.
Sentiment is starting to swing, though, as younger league lovers begin to find some voice.
Writing for Guardian Australia last week, Nick Tedeschi unleashed a torrent of valid points about international rugby league being an organisational shambles that was perhaps unfairly misinterpreted as more mere vitriol.
Perhaps, like myself, he’ll see Steve Mascord’s Monday revelation that the Rugby League International Federation is on the brink of unveiling a 12-year plan (!) as another false dawn. Or Saturday’s loss by Australia’s A-team to New Zealand’s B-team as the harbinger of the apocalypse.
In fact, if you delve into the machinations of the battle for control between rival factions in the USA, you’ll wonder how rugby league will ever become a truly international game at all.
You see, we lovers of international rugby league don’t have our blinkers on. The race for relevance will be a marathon, not a sprint.
The ‘big three’ are clearly several Jarryd Hayne kick returns ahead of the trailing pack, who occasionally flatter to deceive (Exhibit A: Samoa’s gutsy 32-26 loss to England on Saturday) with regards to getting closer.
Eligibility rules best described as ‘fluid’ don’t do the legitimacy of the international game any favours. State bodies dangling the carrot of State of Origin under the noses of any young star who so much as pitches a tent within their borders are also counter-productive. So too pundits who routinely bag Manly fans for not crossing the Spit Bridge, but can barely see beyond it themselves.
Nope, international rugby league is far from perfect. But it exists in the present, and to stop the game’s stars departing for that so-called ‘bigger stage’, it’s essential for the future.
It’s also got a storied past. Like this, for example, which had somehow been erased from my memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M4k6ZTh82U
Three years before the Super League war fully erupted and six years before the Melbourne Storm, 31,000 extremely noisy people crammed into an Australian Rules stadium to watch Australia get thumped by the Lions.
Yet Australian administrators have turned down the option of a Great Britain tour in 2015 on the grounds of player welfare.
If the Four Nations builds on its opening weekend goodwill, though, they’ll be nigh on impossible to turn down again.
And if the RLIF’s 12-year plan hasn’t pencilled in a returned Sam Burgess and Sonny Bill Williams squaring off for the Poms and Kiwis respectively in a rematch of the 2013 World Cup semi-final epic – officially declared the best event to happen at Wembley last year, bar none – sometime in late 2016, it better be because the Wembley stage isn’t deemed big enough.
breeze
Guest
I'm stilling waiting to see the growth??? What's wrong no league fans can handle a dose of reality!!
breeze
Guest
61,000 + capacity in CHICAGO do your homework prime time on NBC Network just under or over 1 million viewers alone in the states tuned in to watch the All Blacks vs USA Eagles!! Rugby Union continues to break down barriers & break into new markets while you ravel on about double headers to pull over 50,000 for little rugby league four nations which is nothing to rugby union on a international level should I pull out the figures for the combined crowd attendance for the Rugby championships between South Africa, Argentina, Australia & NZ which is played every year not some abomination Rugby league four nation played every couple years!!
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Crosscoder, I always enjoy reading your comments, and your stalwart support of our great game of Rugby League. In the early hours of this morning, I watched the thrilling Test Match between my England and your Australia. What a stirring advert for International Rugby League !! As I'm sure you now know, Australia ultimately prevailed. But it was so close !! A true Test Match ! Naturally, as I'm sure as you can imagine, I'm bitterly disappointed. It was desperately close. Ryan Hall came within inches of securing an English victory. But whether it's Rugby League or Rugby Union, you can only award a Try if there is sufficient downward pressure on the Rugby ball. Then you get your four-pointer in Rugby League, and your five-pointer in Rugby Union. Anyway, roll on next weekend !!
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Breeze, I've come across some daft Australian twits in my time, but I think that I'll hand you the crown for being the daftest of the whole jolly bunch !! Rugby League will grow. International Rugby League will spread it's wings, and there's not a single thing you can do to stop it !!
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
If it (Rugby league Internationals) is not a legitimate part of the sport,why do Tv stations bother paying to show it.Why do Govts bother to assist in promoting it ?Did they do so for the code you mentioned? .......waiting. You see I attended a Kangaroo Tour in 2003 in England ,and if you are trying to draw comparisons with Rules and their efforts to that,you are deluded. I do not see 10,000 Rules fans attend a RLWC match in the South of France.I do not find 60% of the Tv viewing audience at the last RLWC coming from the south of England with Rules. You just showed up your ignorance once again.The fact the code had a RLWC in 2013,has engendered interest and growth in many countries.The pacific Islands in particular.Fiji is one country that has grown immensely as a result.Ditto Jamaica.The fact Italy played despite using Oz players of Italian descent except one,has encouraged that country to grow the game in a very short space of time.Ukraine just announced the formation of 4 new clubs in the West. Yep the code is lying idle ,stagnant LOL. Just because I read a comment about the world cup,by a cynic,does not therefore mean that blurb is Holy Script. I have a humble suggestion for you, please do some research ,instead of letting your obvious anti rl prejudices cloud your thinking. Tell me when Rules gets European sport Grants,England Govt Grants ,Foreign Govt recognition and Grants,early stage entry to Commonwealth Games.When it does,then you may be in a position to debate at a knowledgeable level.TBH you are treading water just . The fact you even try to draw comparisons, when rugby league has historically had 4 countries playing the game on a semi pro or pro basis with Rules who has one,shows the hollowness of your argument.Now a 5th PNG has a semi pro team in the Qld cup and a 7th Fiji is expected to have one in the NSW Cup. Yep no interest anywhere else.choke ,cough.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Tell us how you really feel breeze. FYI RLWC will be ongoing every 4 years ,get used to it. The joke of a tournament LOL, since 2008 and 2013 have made profits on both occasions. The palpable unease displayed when rugby league has the audacity to spread its wings in many places, without riding on the back of any code,is taking its toll. Global!! Hmmmm!!! Let's not get carried away when the two countries with at least 1/3 the world's population could not give a rats,in fact many others likewise.And the bulk of people with any interest via Tv or attending come from 7/8 countries. Maybe rugby league should have played another country and got a 70 something to 6 scoreline.The crowd excited at the closeness of the scores ,no doubt. You speak for die hard league supporters now.As the saying goes,"that'll do me."
Hamish
Guest
Even if it is growing in Australia, it seems to have had no effect on the international game, and while its fine to play it internationally, just like Aussie Rules, its still a joke and its delusional to think its a competitive or legitimate part of the sport. If Australia played its real team in this current tournament, there would have been no competition to speak of. So, if the only way it can be worth watching is to deliberately limit how good the team is then... Two football codes, both with passionate bases in different regions of the same country and with their main competition in the form of a domestic league both trying to expand... oh I can see the difference now. Maybe if league players all just played Union then everyone could be happy and there would be a competitive international game for people to watch. Did you read that thing about the world cup, just because it's there doesn't mean its legitimate. I'm sure everyone who turned up to those little matches in Europe had a great time but that's no proof of its growth. There are Aussie rules games in Europe as well, doesn't mean Europeans consider it popular or good to watch. Wow, not even being played in the Commonwealth games even though its 'recognized'. Puts alongside life saving, ten-pin bowling, and billiards... at least they'd be more competitive.
breeze
Guest
Rugby Union is global how many tickets did Kangaroos sell in America or State of Origin??.. Please Rugby league internationally is a joke it's no secret that league rides off Rugby Union for any recognition to grow their game!! Australian rugby has been on the decline but it has never died, how many Rugby league world cups have there been since it debut 1954 how much has it grown??.. it's an abomination of a tournament!! Just like their little four nations every 4 - 10 years or when ever it's staged what a joke!! Splitting the Nrl & Super league just to make up a tournament wow rugby league is on it way trust me even die hard league supporters can care less about international league no one cares!! Just stick to little Nrl!! & the Pinnacle of Rugby league State of Origin wow...
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The fact you were able to express that personal opinion,with your "booring' description, on a rl thread speaks volumes for freedom of expression here. I have my views on the two sports you mentioned,but do not intend to spell them out. A sport does not have to be the most popular sport in a country to be the sole determinant of its status.As it can be argued rugby league is the most popular sport in states with 55% of the country's population. Participation,growth at grassroots level,sponsorship,Tv ratings for major games,potential for further growth(the code has barely touched the surface),growth of female participation. It can be argued it is the national sport of PNG with a population of 7 million.All really are meaningingless. The facts are, whether they be unpalatable for some to accept,rugby league is growing and now being played in many more countries than ever,more so in the last 10 years ago. And you like many before you fall into the old hackneyed trap of comparing Rules attempts at Internationalism. Rugby league does not have to change the rules to play the game overseas.Rugby league has become a Tier 3 acceptance sport in the commonwealth games.Rugby league has become an official sport in many new countries of late,receiving govt grants.Rugby league now receives grants from the European Sports Commission.There are regular tests between countries in Europe being scheduled and played.There is a world cup with TV contracts and crowds. To draw a comparison with Rules and rugby league Internationally is nebulous,and clearly indicates a level of ignorance.
Hamish
Guest
Okay, then here's objective, three nations have won the rugby league world cup, Australia 10 of those 14 times. In the last tournament, Australia won 64-0 against Fiji in the Semi-Final and 34-2 against New Zealand in the final, which is supposed to be the only other team that can challenge Australia. It's as ludicrous as Australian rules' attempts to become an international sport! And you're right, the fact I think that rugby is a boring sport is my opinion, but the fact that its not even the most popular sport in Australia,a nation of but 23 million, is not a bad indication of its status.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
That explains the bubble mentality then Hamish.You view is just another subjective one,to be treated as such.
Hamish
Guest
Haha well done Sherlock, your deductions are almost as good as International rugby league. Too bad Sherlock isn't from Devon because that would have been a huge coincidence. I think Rugby League and Union are both pretty boring sports and have no where near the worldwide appeal of football or Basketball. So, I'm sure all twenty people who care will be tracking rugby league's meteoric rise past the dying sport of rugby union. By the way, I'm from Melbourne, Australia. Deduct away...
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Johnno, Rugby League is going to get a lot bigger than it currently is. You might be happy with the limited size of the International game, but plenty of others are not. The Australians are responsible for holding the game back. Rugby League will grow in spite of the Australians,not because of them. Which country pours most scorn on the International game ? Only one solitary nation: Australia. And the greatest scorn seems to come from so-called Rugby League writers, like Phil Rothfield. Who I'd never heard of until he started putting the boot into last year's successful Rugby League World Cup. Why is it , that this negativity to the International game, can only be found in Australia ? Is it just part of their make-up ? Happily, I'm not Australian and have absolutely no intention of ever visiting the joint !! One can dismiss all the rubbish spouted by Rugby Union trolls on Rugby League threads, because that's the only fun they have in their lives. But when this claptrap comes from so-called Rugby League writers, then things have reached a sorry state of affairs. I can't think of a single English Rugby League writer, who would put the boot into International Rugby League, as many Australians habitually do. Australians !!!! Honestly, even if I live to be a 100, I don't think I'll ever understand them !!
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Hamish, with your Scottish first name, I would guess that you're a New Zealander. The Scotland of the southern hemisphere, but with a sillier, and less understandable accent. Yes,we know that Rugby Union is the national game of New Zealand. We also know that you are just one of many paid-up members of the hordes of Rugby Union trolls on Rugby League threads. Consequently, nobody takes you seriously. I see you manage to have a pop at both Rugby League AND Netball. We're really pushing the boat out here !! Both sports are certainly of the international persuasion. Rugby League will certainly spread and grow, there's no question about that. It's assured !! It's too good a game not to !! And this is the fact that Rugby Union is absolutely terrified of. Tell me that I'm wrong !! By the way, Hamish, how come I can't listen to NewstalkZB on the Internet anymore, and enjoy that New Zealand accent ? HH. EXETER, DEVON.
HARRY HOPWORTHY
Guest
Observer, you're a Rugby Union troll. What are you doing on a Rugby League thread ? Trolling, obviously. You've deliberately put those crowd figures the wrong way around. A typically sneaky Rugby Union tactic. The following are the true figures for the respective matches in question : RUGBY LEAGUE: 47,813. RUGBY UNION: 45,186. But please, feel perfectly free to give vent to your prejudicial instincts !!
Jo
Roar Rookie
RL fans who do not understand how RLIF and the international side of RL work are the most dangerous fans to the game. They offer opinions that help no one and they would rather our game continue to be small biscuits instead of the large future we have. The dye is cast. We are doing this so sit back and pipe down.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Nearly 48,000 rl fans in attendance,that's all you have to worry about.They could have stayed home and watched it on FTA/Gem if they were that way inclined.
PhillNZ
Guest
Was there 47k for one game or 47k for 2 games and why wasn't it sold out?
PhillNZ
Guest
You are intelligent Cathar , fledgling NRC game as a curtain raiser v England RL 3rd best team in rugby loigue world v Samoa 4th best team in a 4 competition tournament. I guess with your statement the NRL GF should be divided by the same equation??
hamish
Guest
Rugby league status as an international sport is as ridiculous as netball's claim to be an international sport. Seriously, while it is technically international, the silly little tournament they have every four years or so, which is just a bunch of scratch matches before New Zealand and Australia finally realize that no one else comes near them, is simply laughable. Why not just play a game between them every four years? Less time and money wasted and everyone in the media can stop pretending to take it seriously.