The new extended version of the World Club Challenge is about to take place in England. With three of the best teams from the English Super League featuring, one would only think that the three best from the previous season of the NRL would also feature.
Those who assume that, would be wrong.
Instead, for this new and improved competition we have teams who finished eighth and 12th competing with last season’s premiers.
Many believe that the key to boosting worldwide popularity is through a better relationship between the NRL and the Super League, and it isn’t far from the truth. But this extended World Club Challenge isn’t the way to do it.
My proposal is a new concept for a World Club Series to take place every four years consisting of the premiers from each competition from the past four seasons. If a team wins two premierships during those four years, the runners-up from the most recent season would take their place.
This would create a kind of rugby league Champions League.
The competition would also take place at the end of the season, and would replace international rugby league for that year.
For example, if the new World Club Series were to take place at the end of the 2015 season, the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 premiers would all qualify meaning Manly, Melbourne, Sydney and South Sydney would all compete with Warrington, Wigan, St Helens and Leeds.
These eight teams can largely be debated as the best in both leagues over the past four years and would make an extremely competitive competition.
The eight teams would then be randomly divided into two groups of four, making sure two teams from each league were in each group. Each team would play the other teams in their group once before the top two would proceed to the semi-finals.
This would make a total of five weeks of rugby league, which isn’t really a huge demand on the players participating. The winners would then ultimately have the pride of being named the World Club Champions until the 2019 edition.
The 2019 series would then feature the premiers from 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
This would create a massive buzz all around the world, as the best of the best go at it every four years and would really increase popularity for the sport on a international scale. The competition could easily be hosted by both England and Australia, with both countries alternating each series.
This would also coincide with international rugby league too, with the World Cup being played two years after every World Club Series, with a Four Nations tournament held every two years in between.
The annual World Club Challenge also wouldn’t need to be abandoned as a pre-season tradition, as in actual fact, the World Club Series would most probably generate higher crowds and excitement for these matches due to the new relationship made between the two leagues.
Players wouldn’t have more stress put onto their bodies either as the competition would progress for the same amount of weeks as a Four Nations or Tri-Nations tournament would.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Adam - To expand on that and give you an idea of what the Australian sporting scene is really like, we have four really popular sports ie sports that can cut on TV week in week out.They are Rugby League, Australian Rules Football, cricket, and V8 car racing which up until a couple of years ago was limited to two models of car not manufactured anywhere else on the planet.Cricket is really our only contact with the outside world. The more international sports like football, Rugby Union,Tennis, Horse racing etc are really only niche sports, when it comes to sport Australians know nothing much about the outside world.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Adam - What you don't understand is down here in Straya, sport fans are incredibly insular and consequently have no idea just how dominant soccer is in EnglandThey realise it's the biggest game what they don't realise is for ninety percent of people it is the ONLY game. The fact that even in Yorkshire and Lancashire the so called heartland it is still more popular than Rugby League to about the power of ten.
Adam
Guest
I don't blame anyone for trying and I love my league but You can have 3 teams, 13 teams, as many or few as you like. And the teams can be from Botswana, Dubai, wherever, they can play round robin, knockout, whatever... It won't grow the game over here in the UK. Especially playing it in Feb/March. The only Brits watching are in the north, the rest of the country, including many in the north only caring about soccer both local and European.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
That's true too.
Aucklandlaurie
Guest
Itd be a better way to promote the Auckland nines.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I think having Super League teams involved in the Auckland Nines would be a great way to advertise the World Club Series.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
TV ratings, crowd attendance, media coverage, sponsorship satisfaction, player enjoyment. There are probably a few more possible indicators of success. Did you watch this morning's match Barry? I'm sure you would have liked it.
PhillNZ
Guest
Since we are discussing a “bunch or(sic) organised games” that don’t yet exist, and how they may improve the popularity of Rugby League globally, I can’t actually think of a better way to describe it. Yes NSW v Northern England and throw in a team from Queensland , pay the clubs handsomely, fly them Business class , play it in the North of England in Exhibition match format yes truly a World club series.
chibimatty
Roar Rookie
Let's get these Super League teams and some other non-NRL Australian and International teams into the Nines and get a bit more coverage of it onto free-to-air.
Walter Penninger
Roar Guru
Dragons were 11th if it matters
The Barry
Roar Guru
"Billing it as the top teams from Australia. England, NZ and France is a much better marketing pitch...." Is it??????? People aren't as gullible as you seem to think they are. Do you really think fans are going to call a competition that contains 1/1 NZ teams and 1/1 French teams and calls itself 'world club championship' a greats marketing pitch.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Who pays for all this?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Hey epiquin, I'm probably one if the knickers in a twist brigade!!! What are the markers to determine whether this 'expanded' WCC is a success or not?
JP
Guest
They should have included a game for the National Champions Northern Pride from QLD to play the fourth or fifth ranked team from the Super League.
Richard Maybury
Guest
BBA, The issue of promoting the game through tv and the media particularly in the UK goes right back to the Origins of the game and why the game came into being on that famous day in the George Hotel in Huddersfield. All the RL foundation clubs were originally Rugby Union clubs playing in the north of England and most of the players at that time were part time miners. The pits, unlike the clerical jobs and universities in the south of England, had to work on a Saturday when games were played. So a player in the north who wanted to play had to lose a days pay in order to do so, The clubs in the north wanted to compensate their players but the Rugby Union refused and hence League was born. The hatred that resulted by the union boys makes our superleague wars here look like a playground spat. The trouble was that all of the media companies and later tv companies were all in the union dominated south (London). Reinforced by edicts from the RFU meant that the breakaway sport got very little media coverage no matter what they did. This in turn starved the sport of attention and of money which is one of the key reasons why the English Rugby League has been desperately trying to get a club established in the capital for decades. It is also why key headline grabbing events like the World Cup, WCC and our teams playing in London are so vitally important for the British game. They need a leg up from the NRL badly and we need to help them all we can. We can start doing that by getting up at 7:00 and watching everyone of these games. If we smash TV viewing figures here, it will cause CH9 & fox & sky to take notice. The WCC would gain more credence and more sponsors. We can do our bit - its upto you.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
What a bizarre comment. By definition, 'concept' refers to an abstract idea, a plan or an invention to help sell or publicize a commodity. Since we are discussing a "bunch or(sic) organised games" that don't yet exist, and how they may improve the popularity of Rugby League globally, I can't actually think of a better way to describe it.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
If the USARL ever increases in quality and professionalism you could have top 2 from each league in a six way play-off. Call me a dreamer but I'm hopeful.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
My understanding was that Magic Weekend was a real crowd pleaser? Anyhow, I'm sure if marketed right there could be a market for it.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I know League isn't popular in those cities. That's exactly why I chose them. The NRL Nines are held in Auckland because it is a fringe city in terms of League popularity and they wanted to increase its profile. I don't see why the same mentality can't be used up North. Though I do concede that London is probably the on only 'fringe' city, while the other two are just plain old heathen territory.
kdiz
Guest
if they arent equipped to be there they will be beaten first round, no harm no foul. billing it as the top clubs from england, australia, nz and france is a much better marketing pitch to get outside people interested, instead of some point of pride in keeping it to the winnners of the competitions.