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Joined June 2023
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Great article, very astute observations.
One thing I would add is that RL is very bad at sticking with anything, particularly where internationals are concerned. Pre 1995 and the England summer switch, there was at least the four-year Ashes tour cycle. And the same cycle for Kangaroos-Kiwis series.
Since then, it’s become more haphazard. The Tri and Four Nations was annual for a while, then whenever anyone could be bothered. There’s no longer a regular Anzac fixture. England can’t be bothered to play France, although we criticise Australia for not being bothered to play us. The World Cup is trying to be on a four-year cycle, but will that slip too, with France pulling out of 2025?
Let’s put in place a structure and stick with it. Then at least fans will get used to it being in the schedule.
England’s rugby league failures are killing the international game
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And there you have problem with domestic rugby competitions the world over. The national union treats the domestic comp as a feeder to the national team, the players treat the games as warm ups for the internationals and just go through the motions, as you put it. So if the results of these games don’t really matter, then you can forgive the fans for walking away. It’s only really in France that the domestic rugby competition is treated seriously, and guess what – France is the richest rugby country on earth.
Rugby Australia needs to target the NRL and AFL's best talent - but not on the field