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International rugby league has slowly been over shadowed by State of Origin and fallen into the darkness of irrelevancy.
Last Saturday night we saw two fantastic games of footy that displayed as much passion and emotion that it did talent and skill.
The RLIF needs to implement a proper yearly schedule and one that showcases much of the Pacific Nations as well as the European countries.
For international rugby league to be considered the top level of rugby league, more Tests need to be played by nations other than Australia, New Zealand and England.
Many have criticised Semi Radradra’s eligibility and his decision to play for Australia instead of Fiji, but the fact is there is no incentive to play for these kind of nations when they play just one Test in the middle of the year.
The way to increase interest is to increase the amount of international games.
For this to happen, I would suggest the NRL to decrease their season to 22 or 23 games. This is something the Players Association is trying to introduce also.
A shorter season would also encourage players to actually compete in these games at the end of the year rather than making themselves unavailable like we see so often.
My proposal includes a simple three-year schedule. The mid-year rep weekend would be scrapped and saved for the end of the year (which makes sense in regards to Origin).
With the World Cup happening next year that seems like a good time to start this cycle.
The schedule will cycle through the World Cup, Test series and then a Six Nations tournament.
At the moment, the World Cup is the only real ‘competition’ between the nations and the only real time where international rugby league gets global publicity. This is why I would have it every three years instead.
This would increase awareness, and hopefully popularity in the junior ranks around the world. Many players would have a higher chance to actually compete in a World Cup also, by having it three times a decade.
So for example, in 2018, there would be a five-game Australia versus New Zealand series played over five weeks. While this is happening, there would the Pacific Cup played between Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa and also a European Cup played between France, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. For this to work though, networks would have to be on board to broadcast these games.
The winners of these tournaments will qualify for the Six Nations alongside the Big Three, while the last spot being deciding between the two finalists of the Pacific and European Cup before the competition. This Six Nations will be held in 2019 and will alternate between Australia, New Zealand and England for hosting rights every three years.
Then in 2020, the next World Cup will commence.
What are your thoughts on my idea? Would it work, or is it just wishful thinking?
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