International rugby league is a hard sell. The difference in the profile of the game in Australia compared to the United Kingdom, New Zealand and France is like comparing an apple to a watermelon.
Rugby league fans in Australia have a passing interest at best in any international football because of the vast differences in quality and depth.
Australia is just expected to win the Four Nations or World Cup. The NRL premiers are expected to beat the Super League champions in the World Club Challenge. Besides New Zealand and England, there is not much else in terms of countries capable of challenging Australia.
This situation has led to administrators pushing international rugby league down the list of priorities. Kangaroo tours are a thing of the past and the vested interests in clubland has certainly influenced this outcome as well.
However, there are good things happening outside of Australia and the north of England that should encourage a change in attitude and approach. There are five simple things that can be done right now to grow rugby league’s footprint.
Bring back proper tours
Yes, I can hear you say that player burnout is an issue. Yes, it is. But the players are highly paid professionals and this can be managed through a club match quota system.
Proper tours promote the game. The Kangaroos and Kiwis are brands that have always attracted big crowds when they tour Great Britain. A typical end of season tour could consist of a three match Test series in England, a Test in France, a match against the Catalan Dragons and Toulouse and matches against the top four English clubs.
A ten match tour would justify taking two squads on tour, each player playing five games.
A proper World Club Challenge
“But player burnout!”, I hear you shouting. Yes, I hear you.
However, every February the clubs play trial matches. Instead of playing meaningless trials, the top three clubs from Super League and the NRL can play a tournament over three weeks to determine the world club champion.
You could have two pools of three teams that play each other once. The winner of each pool goes to the final. The tournament should also be played every year in England to promote the game.
(Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
A mid season representative block
The NRL and Super League competition can be given a three-week recess in the middle of the season for State of Origin and for international matches involving all of the other countries.
Each year can be something different. Test matches or even Test series can be organised and played across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Fiji and North America. Players that are not representing their countries or in State of Origin can enjoy a break at this time to get over injuries.
This would give the likes of France, Fiji and Tonga an opportunity to play regular Test matches against England and New Zealand. However, there is only one way these clubs can improve.
More international professional clubs
Another club in the south of France joining the Catalan Dragons in the Super League is a no-brainer, likewise with Toronto going up into the Super League.
Recently, people have been calling for new NRL teams on the Central Coast, Brisbane and Perth. We rarely hear many calls for a team in Wellington – or for a team in Port Moresby – which would do wonders for producing more international standard players in rugby league-mad Papua New Guinea.
The same can happen down the track in Suva. Professional pathways in these countries are crucial if we want to grow the international game. We need more countries that can compete with the big three.
Give the 2025 World Cup to North America
There is talk of a bid for the 2025 World Cup tournament coming from North America. To be honest, it would be a hard sell getting big crowds. However, with people like Eric Perez involved in the sport – with all of his business and corporate contacts – it can work.
So there you have it. A plan to grow rugby league’s international footprint.
Pete
Guest
I spoke to a good friend of mine who is a mad rugby man he told me the global game generates 180 million pounds a year with a profit of 49 million pounds the Rugby World Cup in Japan is expected to bring in 1.5 billion pounds into the Japanese economy but alias the NRL and majority of Sydney and Brisbane fans could not give a dam about anything that is outside NRL or this country...he went on to tell me that IRB go tooth and nail to promote the international rugby with 1.4 million new registered players alone last year that is the big difference between the two codes.
tauranga boy
Roar Rookie
They should just amalgamate union and league. No one takes me seriously, but it's so OBVIOUS! Tinker the rules a bit. The games are already so similar. Where are the Kerry Packers of today? It'd be a much bigger sport than the present two codes.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
You've been proven incorrect before Terrence, and now it appears once again.
Big Daddy
Guest
We get this never-ending call to expand the international game but we all know what the results are going to be. The nines have been tried at club level and failed now We are going to try an international one and I believe the topliners have been told to be available. The NRL club's probably want them to be put into cotton wool and I can't blame them. Who's pushing the agenda , the RLIF or NRL. Every one is complaining the season is too long. Their definitely should be England/ Australia tours which is the big discard wether it's there or here.
Ad-O
Guest
Sorry, I don't buy into the argument that rugby league needs an international game. In fact I don't buy into the argument that we should even care about the international game. IMHO the international game hurts the sport more than anything with its ridiculous mismatches and its "international" teams full of guys that grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. To be frank, there is only one major professional team sport that is truly international and that's soccer. I don't see football leagues like the AFL or the NFL invest any serious money in developing an international game. Just make rugby league the best it can be in its heartlands, and if people from overseas want to watch State of Origin, NRL or Super League then so be it. If they dont, who cares.
terrence
Roar Rookie
you can't..the sport is not attractive outside the australian eastern seaboard and northern england..
James
Guest
This subject just keeps getting funnier!
Beni Iniesta
Guest
Port Moresby? What will this team be named? Moresby Murderers perhaps?
Greg
Roar Pro
I like that there are new ideas being put out there but the problem with many of them is, as you highlighted the difference in strength of Australia and the rest of the world. Bring back proper tours. Whilst initially i agreed with this and i would like to see tours be at least more of a tour but on reflection i dont see the point of 'proper tours ' until after the international game can be grown. Is there really much point in watching the Australian team beat up on a bunch of minnows in Europe? If the game could be grown in Europe 1st then im all for this. World club challenge. Again i agree more can be done around this but does it need to be a 6 team round robin where 2 Australian teams will (most likely) compete in the final. My suggestion is 2 Australian teams go to England to play their trials (against ESL clubs). The last trial for the 2 premiers is the WCC. This to be followed by a genuine match played between the 2 Australian teams whilst overseas, there round 1 match (only its played a week before everyone elses round 1 to give time to recover after travelling home). A mid season representative block: like it. The only concern is (as this will shorten the NRL season) how much will broadcasters pay. Even though other games are being put on, how well do they rate? how much will it impact the bottom line? I know many will say we cant cower to the broadcasters but imo the reality is we have no alternative. More international professional clubs; apart from maybe NZ2 cant/wont happen. There is no corporate dollars in developing nations to exploit. Perhaps we could combine this idea with Soda's and the idea of the Hunters and Fiji being in reserve grade. NRL Clubs can 'sponsor' players to play for these clubs and be developed. If they are developed to the point they are picked as part of that clubs 30 man squad their is salary cap relief around that player. Will give such players clear professional pathways. Nth American world cup: What DB and John said
Big Daddy
Guest
Very difficult to organize an international schedule when we can't organize our own expansion. For years we have been trying to get Fiji into tier 2 and still no team. Look at the mid season tests involving Pacific island's and we have to get either England and Lebanon to make up the numbers. I agree on tours between Australia and England/ Great Britain but because both NRL and Super League comps are run simultaneously there's not much hope of that and half the English team play here.
mushi
Roar Guru
Also those overseas markets already have established sports. There's nothing particularly innovative about league to suggest it could be disruptive so basically we're taking a mature product into a mature market against entrenched brands with more capital. If it's just to spruce it up for existing league fans then fine, but the global dominance of league is as likely as Fiji declaring the next world war and winning
John
Guest
That's a start, where it goes from there and whether it's going to be moved around the world like the Rugby 7's is what I'd like to see.
Soda
Roar Rookie
Thanks Brad, I always thought that would be a good step one for expansion into any market. I think clubs are and have always been self interested if the Nrl was clever they would find ways to leverage off that self interest. With PNG players, you would think with PNG team in the q-cup, those seeds will shoot up in the QLD based and Melbourne teams more and more over the next couple of years.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
There is one in October. Bankwest Stadium.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Hi Soda, This is a good idea. I like it. I can't understand why we haven't seen more NRL players from PNG come through.
John
Guest
I think another thing you could do is to expand to the international game is to have a 9s tournament similar to what Rugby has done with the 7s. Having lived in HK for the last 7 years, I gotta say even as a non rugby fan I always enjoy the 7s tournament when it comes by.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Hi Paul, Regarding your questions: 1. A quota system could be a cap on the number of matches each player can play each year for their club. To be honest, I can't see this suggestion ever getting up, but if the game really cared about player burnout, it would be an ongoing conversation. 52 players? No way! Lol. Just like the old kangaroo tours, where there would be the test team and a shadow player for each team member. 2. Both. I think both are achieved. I get that it is club football, not test football, but having the Australian brands go and play in England and possibly France promotes the international growth of the game. 3. The English and Kiwis scheduled a test in America last year (or was it 2017?) during an origin week. We already seen something similar a few weeks ago for the origin match in Perth when no club football was played and it worked really well. 4. The PNG Hunters won the QLD Cup in 2017 and there is a huge league following up there. Wellington have a history of solid rugby league crowds and they should have got their own team by now with a TV/streaming viewing audience of 840,000 for the NRL in New Zealand. Both cities have quality stadiums. It is a matter of both areas getting the green light from Todd "do nothing" Greenberg and the NRL to make this happen. What I mean by 'simple' is, you wouldn't have to promote rugby league and propogate the clubs for 20 years like the Melbourne Storm, or the Swans and Giants in the AFL. There is already an appetite. Of course there would be teething problems and growing pains but t wouldn't be a mulit-generational project like the Storm has been. 5. The north americans bid for the 2021 World Cup and won the rights for the 2025 World Cup. They have since had the rights taken off them and a new bidding process has started. However, the crowds Toronto are getting at a dilapidated ground show that this event can work if promoted right and if underwritten by people like Eric Perez. Considering what he has achieved in such a short period of time, the RLIF could do alot worse. The game needs people like him involved and encouraged.
Soda
Roar Rookie
I have an idea for promoting the game internationally as well as domestic, and it can get shot full of holes I’m sure, but my idea is the Nrl could encourage teams to develop rugby league development programs/feeder systems in places that aren’t tradional rugby league areas by exempting any products of these non-traditional development systems from the salary cap. The caveat is that the club has to prove that they have developed them through a remote feeder system rather than just spotting a talent and transplanting them back to QLD or nsw systems. It might not hold up to scrutiny and it is a little hair brained but I reckon, if the ultimate goal is building RL, a good way is to develop incentives for clubs to look beyond their traditional hunting grounds and invest in the outposts.
Paul
Roar Guru
Brad, you raise some positive suggestions about a topic that many of us would love to see more attention paid to. I just have a few questions. 1 - You talk about tours being " managed through a club match quota system." What do you mena by this? You also suggest "A ten match tour would justify taking two squads on tour, each player playing five games.". Given a typical Kangaroo squad has had 26 players for a full tour of England, are you suggesting we take 52 players? I'm also wondering who's going to pay for this? 2 - Are you trying to promote INTERNATIONAL football with this suggestion, or trying to create a mini northern versus southern hemisphere type comp? If there are only 3 sides which don't have a huge fan base, who is going to watch these games? Are you suggesting playing these games in the middle of winter in England? Why wouldn't you play these games in Canada or America? 3 - This is an idea that really needs to go places. Will this interfere with the UK comp? 4 - You suggested "There are five simple things that can be done right now to grow rugby league’s footprint". I'm not sure trying to set up a viable NRL level Club in Post Morseby or Wellington "simple". It certainly wouldn't happen for at least 3 - 5 years minimum. 5 - "Give the 2025 World Cup to North America". What would they do with it? Again, you talked about simple fixes, but as you also pointed out, trying to get decent crowds, etc would be a tough task. I appreciate the thoughts but there's a LOT of work involved in any of these getting traction.
DNZ
Guest
You don't hear calls for a team in Port Moresby because they're not a valuable media market. It's the same reason SANZAAR don't want to add pacific island teams. It has nothing to do with talent. Administrators for the NRL aren't obligated to grow the game outside Australia and are interested in obtaining the best financial position for those currently involved.