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The NRL and the Asia Pacific Rugby League Federation deserve enormous credit for the recent international activity – and for the plans reportedly underway for a two-tiered Pacific competition headed by an all-southern hemisphere Tri-Nations.
It’s a curious situation for northern hemisphere-based critics of the NRL’s approach to the international game, of which I have been one.
For some time we have accused them of doing too little – be it sabotaging Denver, telling Great Britain to stay home or refusing to play them.
Now the source of frustration might be them doing too much.
England is so isolated as a rugby league power that they have currently sent their B team to Papua New Guinea at a loss of many tens of thousands of pounds.
Their top team went to Campbelltown, played Samoa and then turned around and came back last year. This year the met the Kiwis roughly halfway; the Kiwis won’t be doing that again. They’re like desperate and dateless attendees at the school dance.
There are two competing narratives regarding this situation.
One is that Australia is like the NBA and has a responsibility to the code globally, not just in its own backyard.
Some people in England seem to think the Australians are actually scared of England and GB after only winning the World Cup final by six points last year.
Gareth Widdop of England at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup (NRLPhotos/Gregg Porteous)
There are also theories of personal vendettas within the international rugby league community.
The competing narrative is that the Rugby Football League should have done much, much more to develop the game in the their region and this impending mess is of their own making.
Also, the Rugby League International Federation has a stated ambition to target G20 nations. The thinking is the the Pacific, Central America and Africa might bring us good athletes – but no fans with any money.
The ARLC’s strategy is at odds with this.
Either way, there’s a showdown looming – one that other sports have had their share of – between the northern and southern hemispheres.
I am writing this column from Belgrade. On Saturday I saw Serbia beat Spain in a World Cup qualifier here.
The crowd was tiny but the Rugby League European Federation has done an amazing job in spreading the DNA of the sport – the way it’s played, coached and refereed, to so many countries over the past 15 years.
You see kids play here and their basic skills are good. You could be in Wynnum or Westmead.
Really, when you talk about the rise of Tonga you are talking about professional players filling the Tongan team and winning the support of a massive expatriate community.
That’s a different approach to the RLEF, whose focus has been on grassroots.
A lone Australian flag is seen in a sea of Tonga fans during the Rugby League Test match between the Australia Kangaroos and the Tonga Mate Ma’a (AAP Image/David Rowland)
A key part of finding England opponents closer to home is not just a strong team but a strong team with good support that resonates with someone.
From what I gather there has just been a palace coup in Ireland after the administration there wanted to give more opportunities to locally produced players.
Wales has some tremendous talent but sometimes encounters problems getting Super League players released. Their squad for the upcoming European Championships has a host of true home grown stars.
Scotland has a very small domestic competition and relied on players from elsewhere. Like Wales, their RFL funding has been slashed in recent years.
Where are there players and support? Which territory is the best bet? France. But here’s another one for you: the Toronto Wolfpack players will eventually qualify for Canada on residential grounds.
If England and Great Britain are looking for a northern hemisphere team to give them meaningful opposition, helping France secure releases for their best players and making matches between the cross-channel rivals an event are a must.
And Canada need to be fast-tracked with the Wolfpack’s support base utilised. The West Indies rugby league team could also achieve some cut-through in the UK market while a North American combination playing in Canada would make more sense as English opponents than the Exiles, who no-one supported.
Of course, the West Indies and North America would be “selections”, not Test-playing nations.
But if you’re going to organise your open opposition, you want someone to cheer for them.
Regardless of which of the above narratives you subscribe to, the problem’s not going to be solved by playing an understrength France on a Wednesday night in Leigh.