What, exactly, is Great Britain and do the people inside of this resurrected institution have a unified idea of what it represents?
No, I’m not talking about the political entity of Great Britain and I won’t be boring you with Brexit and the Irish Backstop. I’m referring to the rugby league team that came out of 12 years in mothballs on Saturday night, losing 14-6 in a Hamilton international I was honoured to witness in person.
I have my own concept of what Great Britain is. Captain James Graham has his, coach Wayne Bennett has his and players like Lachlan Coote have theirs. Fans clearly have their own given the outcry over Australian-born players in the side.
I walked out of FMG Waikato Stadium a little confused as to what the people inside the organisation think Great Britain is. When I recount some of the comments that led me to this confusion, I’m not criticising those who uttered them.
But when there is a disconnect between those on the inside, those trying to communicate to the outside and those looking in, you get something that is unlikely to realise its potential.
It was quite clear from Bennett’s comments at the post-match media conference that he saw coaching Great Britain as an extension of what he is doing with England, part of the link between the 2017 World Cup and the 2021 tournament.
When I asked him what success meant on such an unusual tour – no three-match series, no midweek tour matches – he had this to say: “Success to me at the moment is – I’ve been driving it since I’ve been with them – is playing disciplined, always turning up and doing your best.
“We’ve got to get back to that.
“I noticed in the Nines last week: there were a couple of things we did in one of the games under pressure and I didn’t like that.
“Tonight we came out under pressure again and … I thought we got that out of our game last year and the year before.”
This should raise a few eyebrows. How can a team that hasn’t played in 12 years get “back” to anything? Didn’t England play in the Nines, not Great Britain? “Since I’ve been with them” … like, a week?
And, importantly, doesn’t this team represent three countries he will be trying to beat the year after next? Why is he instilling good discipline in his opposition?
This is not to have a go at Bennett. He’s a coach, nor marketer or spin doctor. His view of things is the one reflected by reality, not mine.
These are the same players he deals with in the England camp, plus three Aussies. One Welshman pulled out injured, one strong candidate missed out and the sole Irish representative played more recently for England Knights than the Wolfhounds.
Coote, while disappointed to lose, described the game as “a good little hit-out” because “Great Britain and the England team haven’t played together for more than 12 months now.”. Again, as a Scotland representative, he acknowledged England and GB were pretty much the same thing.
It is up to those outside the playing and coaching group to correct these perceptions, in my mind. It’s up to those with their minds on history and legacy to lead.
Playing for Great Britain is not building up to anything. It is an end, not a means. Losses cannot be compensated for by England winning a World Cup. The losses can only be atoned for next time this entity plays, which presumably will be in four years.
Officialdom probably didn’t do enough to underscore the distinction between Great Britain and England in this new era where they exist concurrently. When it was one or the other, there was no need to draw this line.
What is that distinction?
I put it this way: England is the prime minister and Great Britain is the Queen. The Lions are a ceremonial and ambassadorial entity, representing the grand old traditions of rugby league stretching back to 1895.
They are like a royal visiting the colonies, sitting above the crassness of humdrum everyday life. These are colours hundreds of thousands grew up on. They’re a running, passing, kicking cultural artefact.
They exist to evoke – and even recreate – the past.
To achieve this, decisions need to be made in the interests of making them unique before decisions are made in the interests of making them successful.
The three Aussies could be argued to actually tick this box in the modern age. Because Great Britain isn’t a ranked nation, the three of them can play without damaging their eligibility for Australia. It gives the whole thing a Barbarians feel.
Secondly, if the likes of USA or Tonga or whoever can “carry” domestic players in their squads for the greater good of the game, then GB should include a minimum quota of Scotsmen, Welshmen and Irishmen in their party.
Yes, even if it costs them on the field. Because GB is an ideal as much as it is a team.
I seem to be contradicting myself here: on one hand, losses should not be brushed off so easily but, on the other, players should be picked who might lose the Lions a game. Barbarians rugby union sides are not picked strictly on merit, yet when they cross the sideline they want to win and uphold a legacy.
The Great Britain Lions are supposed to be a rugby league history roadshow. How can it be that they have fewer home nations players now than back in the days when there was hardly any rugby league played outside England and Wales?
Other countries bite the bullet and include domestic players to create pathways. Great Britain shouldn’t be above doing likewise for Irishmen and Scotsmen – even if they run the water for a month or the squad has to be bigger to accommodate them – while Regan Grace probably deserved a spot on pure merits.
Perhaps a different coach, a different team manager, a different stats guy, a different media manager would help instil in the group that Britain’s next game is a long way away and that you may lie back and think of England but you’re not representing it.
Great Britain don’t play in the World Cup – so every game on these rare and precious tours should be a World Cup final.
No one cares because all the money, the media, the 'razzamatazz' for representative RL is dominated by State of Origin. As a Kiwi, I couldn't give a rats backside about State of O, but as Aussie is the bedrock of RL where all the media and money in the game is, then while State of O dominates, then International RL will always take a backseat.
deucer
Roar Rookie
Have to agree, don't know what the point of these tours is now. Back in the 50's and 60's the Lions used to sell out stadiums over several months and include regional areas - this time they're just going to NZ to play four matches which will struggle to get 10k, with a team that's really just England. How is all this being funded? It would've been much better to use this money to try and build up what remnants are left in Wales and try and stop the continual decline in England instead of trying to pretend this is a representative side along the lines of RU. Fine if you've got a sponsor with deep pockets like the wolfpack, so it doesn't siphon money that could've gone elsewhere or that the heartland is strong so it doesn't matter if you take exhibition games overseas, even if they are a waste of money (like the China AFL folly). Worse still, they are going to persevere in a 4 year cycle. There was a reason it was discontinued before, just seems strange to try and get it going again.
Short Memory
Guest
Tell that to Samoa and PNG. In person, preferably. And let us know when you do so we can film the reaction. PS: where would you like your ashes scattered / remains posted to?
Knocka
Roar Rookie
Here’s why the Great Britain team is all wrong: they don’t know what Great Britain is. Great Britain is the island of Britain which includes only England, Scotland and Wales. It does not include Ireland or Northern Ireland. If Northern Ireland is to be included, that should be referred to as the United Kingdom or the British and Irish Lions if Ireland is include. It’s why in the rugby union Lions are called the British and Irish Lions. But In the end I don’t think anyone actually noticed....or cared.
Walter White
Guest
"The problem with international League is that nobody cares" This attitude is primarily an Aussie one. The Poms, Kiwis, Tongans, PNG and probably a whole lot more would strongly disagree with this. Unfortunately, many Aussies are very inward looking and cannot see past what their own team is doing. How many times have we heard so called fans stating that they won't watch the Grand Final cos there are no Sydney teams in it ? Contrast that with the Challenge Cup in the UK where you will see fans of every SL club represented whether they are playing or not. If the World Cup is played outside of Australia, you won't see many Aussies travelling to watch it but the Poms will be there in droves.
Ad-O
Guest
Don't agree, sorry. The problem with international League is that nobody cares. Not even in the heartlands. So if the idea is to make people care about the game they are watching, you can hardly pick players that aren't the best in their position. Because if the teams aren't doing everything they can to win (like picking the best players) then its impossible to sell it to the public as a game that matters. More like a pre-season friendly without the benefit of an ensuing competitive season. And if you want to make a Rugby comparison, I'll raise you Super Rugby. Nobody knows whether its meant to be a developmental pathway, or if it's meant to be a premier competition. So nobody truly buys into it 100%. At the end of the day, League should concentrate on being the best club game it can be. Its no bad thing. Some of the biggest, best, most dramatic sports in the world are club sports first and foremost. NFL, AFL, NBA, and despite its global popularity and owning an excellent world cup, Soccer to is primarily a club sport first.
Walter White
Guest
Look this is simple England = English players British Lions includes Welsh, Scottish and Norther Ireland player. The problem is that Wales, Scotland and Northern Island teams are so weak that GBL ends up be England. RL in the UK has long been in a media strangle hold. Largely controlled by union loving southern based media, they have been denied the oxygen of proper tv and newspaper coverage. It is pretty amazing that the UK has a professional game at all. That is why the Toronto / New York bids are so important because they could at last break the media strangle hold and give the game the exposure it so richly deserves.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Rugby league in the United Kingdom have far bigger problems to worry about than whether their test team plays as 'England' or under the 'Great Britain Lions' brand. Their clubs are struggling for supporters, the Challenge Cup is irrelevant, not enough kids in Northern England are playing the game and the game is being trumped by rugby. A starting point would be to choose which brand to play as and stick to it, so they can actually built brand recognition! Imagine if the All Blacks changed their name around every few years?
Steve Mascord
Expert
mascordbrownz.com.au . We will restock before the weekend.
Christov
Guest
I love GB RL Lions and remember the 90s tours as a kid - Australia playing GB and England et al. It was great. It is a shame the gulf between Australia has grown so much between not only GB but also NZ. RL in GB needs to get this right - they need to select only GB nationals and not as you said turn it into a Barbarians RU kind of thing. On a side note the GB jersey is awesome but I can't find anywhere (in store or online) to purchase it - i guess the demand is not there to sell them outside the UK
scrum
Roar Rookie
Seriously who cares? What a disjointed article- Rugby League desperate to be seen as a global sport but in reality why? And when you can represent any number of nations on not much more than a whim who could be bothered to take any real interest.
Hanrahan
Guest
Stone the crows and starve the flamin' lizards! - I've never heard so many Poms with Aussie accents. What a joke. Then again, if RU can have the British and Irish Lions I suppose we can have the GB Lions and Marsupials.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The big mistake was to abandon Great Britain and its a mistake to have an English team. The North of England does not like to identify with England and there was lot of immigration into the North of England from other parts of Great Britain but not from the South of England. Players were drawn from Wales in particular because of the money being working class but they didn't have the money to form teams in Wales. Great Britain would sit better and they would maintain their Welsh following .
Craig Feild
Guest
Steve you were the only one that petitioned to have them back. Now that nobody is interested they have it all wrong. Why have Welsh, Scots and Irish when they aren't good enough let alone care?