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Rugby league should expand the Four Nations

Roar Guru
12th November, 2014
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The international league calendar needs a shake up. (AP Photo/Tim Hales)
Roar Guru
12th November, 2014
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1398 Reads

With the rugby league Four Nations tournament boasting impressive crowds and ratings, the interest in the event has proven that there is an increasing appetite for international rugby league.

Recently on The Roar, attention has turned to how we may improve the international schedule, as well as the competitiveness and reach of the international game.

Yesterday, fellow Roarer code 13 argued in favour of a Bledisloe Cup-style three game series between Australia and New Zealand to take place every four years.

While this plan certainly has a lot of merit, I propose that an expanded Four Nations tournament, or perhaps even a Six Nations, might be the way to go.

Under the current format, the event is played in a host country with the four participating nations playing each other once throughout October and November with the top two sides playing off in a tournament final.

My proposed expanded Four Nations has the four teams playing each other twice in a home-and-away style, similar to the current Four Nations concept in rugby union. The expanded rugby league Four Nations could begin during the NRL season with allocated representative breaks, much like in other sports.

Under this concept, the midseason Test between Australia and New Zealand, colloquially known as the Anzac Test, could form the first round of the tournament with both countries playing two more Tests before the end of the season. The return matches could then be played after the NRL grand final, as is currently the case.

I believe there are a number of benefits to this concept.

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Firstly, and perhaps most simply, it creates more international matches each year. Secondly, it allows for the qualifiers, such as Samoa in this year’s tournament, to play more games and form more cohesive attacking play.

Third, it allows for top flight league to be played in minnow nations and this exposure could help to improve the profile of the game in these countries. Furthermore, given the impressive ratings for the tournament, Australia’s games on home soil could potentially be played on a Wednesday evening, thus providing the networks with more prime-time footy.

This could also serve to improve the excitement level of international rugby league, much like Wednesday nights has done for State of Origin.

Obviously, there are some challenges to this concept, most glaringly of which is the issue of player burnout. I must admit that for this concept to work the NRL season would most likely need to be reduced a few weeks.

For example, a conference system where each team plays their own conference twice and the other conference once would produce a 22-round season, which would allow for more international breaks. However, this topic is probably for another time.

Another issue would be the logistics of having Southern Hemisphere teams travelling North (and vice-versa) right in the middle of the season.

This is where a Six Nations concept may assist. This tournament would have both a Southern conference (Australia, New Zealand and a Pacific Island qualifier) and a Northern Conference (England, France and a European qualifier). Countries would play sides in their own conference once, with the top two sides from each conference progressing to the Four Nations playoffs.

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An expanded Six Nations has the obvious advantage of minnow nations playing more games more often, thus improving their skill and exposure, though it could be argued that international rugby league doesn’t yet have the depth to support a tournament of this size.

So what do you think Roarers? Could an expanded Four Nations capture the hearts and minds of the rugby league world? What other benefits or challenges exist with this concept?

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