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The World Cup final for 2017 was about as intense a game of Test match rugby league as I have ever seen. It was…
After years of waiting, Lady Luck has finally given England a most desperate reprieve. Nobody who witnessed it can ever forget the agonising game…
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I think the only thing that needs to be ‘tightened’ is the down time between nations. I think 100 days (just over 3 months) is a practical period of time.
But I would like to add that there should be no limit on the number of times a player can switch provided that they are eligibile for the nation.
Tribalism and the diaspora: Rugby league's toxic paradox
Regarding player payments, I would be surprised if the RLPA didn’t increase payments for any NRL contracted player selected for international duty, irrespective of nation.
The RLF could adopt a similar protocol with players contracted to play in that league.
This could leave the RLIF to spend its player payment budget on a smaller pool of players who are not contracted to the NRL or RFL, thereby increasing their payments to something approaching parity with the other league’s players.
How future Rugby League World Cups can be improved
Incriminate? How cute.
There are no locals because the Wolfpack just started and the locals in the domestic league are not yet advanced enough to play professional rugby league in the RFL.
And somehow there is something sinister in all of that?
It’s been a while but here goes… rolls eyes.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
The Wolfpack have acknowledged the necessity of homegrown talent through home grown systems. Canada has a homegrown system but it is not yet advanced enough to supply players for the professional level of the RFL.
Western Australia has a decent home grown rugby league competition and community that never had the chance to take the next step up to the professional level once the Reds were forced to fold as a result of the ARL & Super League peace deal.
Hope that helps…
A Rugby League World Cup solution
That’s the joke?
What is more amusing is that a person would latch onto a remote possibility lying on the absolute extremities of chance and use that to pass judgement on the whole.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
Yes, everything does happen in the future when you are learning as you go.
Nothing starts off perfect and if you expect as such, more’s the pity.
You give no allowance for experience, learning or change and you expect ‘answers’ to your demands?
Nice.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
Actually, I mention that with other sports you can’t switch nations at will all the time.
Yes, you could play for 7 nations if you were eligible and those nations had domestic leagues approved by the RLIF.
But that is quite unlikely to happen and if that scenario was your concern, you are merely looking for something to complain about.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
It was indeed one for the ages.
It was energy sapping just watching it. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was plie playing it.
Afte the match, Cameron Smith’s on-field interview saw him quite clearly shaking, as if the pressure of the match, the mental stress of it was finally seeping through that normally calm exterior of his.
He had clearly been in a match, that’s for sure.
A world cup final for the ages
Yes, you’re right, rugby league’s use of heritage players is unprecedented.
But it is not that much of a problem as you think. The fans turned out to see them, the same fans got behind their teams, often in stunning ways, so to consider it a problem is clearly overstating it.
ALL nations competing in the World Cup have domestic competitions. Don’t go pulling that claim. A nation can’t even try to qualify for a World Cup if there were no domestic competition.
Having said that, Scotland is in some serious bother with their domestic league, no doubt about that. And having drawn with New Zealand last year, it probably would have been a brave administrator to not allow them to compete.
Remember what happened with Lebanon in 2000? They had no domestic league and participating in the 2000 World Cup was conditional on them setting up one. They have done that.
As for what heritage means, it means having a grandparent born in the country in question. That’s all it means and as it is the same meaning as all other sports’ international eligibility.
Rugby league has shown itself to be creative and flexible in how it can goes about things. Sometimes it doesn’t work, sometimes it is not given enough of a chance to work and sometimes it works well.
That creativity and flexibility is not a negative and should be something fans can be proud of, not feel ashamed of.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
I’m happy for players to change nations as many times as they want.
I still don’t understand why that is a problem.
I mean, I appreciate the logistics against it. After all, coaches need to be able to prepare their squads and tactics based on the players they have and you can’t really do that well on short notice. Obviously the current two week limit is a bit rough.
If you had something like one switch every six months then coaches could plan their campaigns a bit better. Of course, you would need to know who and when you are playing which highlights the importance of having a 2-4 year international calendar all sorted out.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
I read somewhere that England needed one more game to properly peak.
Would you agree with that?
An ode to lady luck - England miss out again
That’s right.
But you know, the Dugan-Watkins ankle tap kind of reflected the feeling of ‘not again’ that I was trying to get across with my article.
As for McGillvary’s last play… oh the possibilities!
An ode to lady luck - England miss out again
No, because it was part of a conspiracy to help England win.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
All sports can make use of grandchildren.
Rugby league’s international depth is lacking compared to other sports so it makes more use of the heritage rule.
Get over it.
As to the forward pass and HIA assessments, they were missed.
It happens.
Get over it.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
Yes, I know. But in terms of international influence, prior to the recent run of World Cups, Canada counted for nothing.
I noticed that nobody responded to the Socceroos scenario too. It’s a red herring of a question.
It’s like asking if I had a million dollars would I buy a golden necklace for Taylor Swift to get her attention given that Taylor Swift and I have less than zero to do with each other and I don’t have a million dollars.
Rugby league does use heritage teams and the fans who turned up or watched on TV didn’t seem to mind.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
It was part of Bennett’s ‘peaking’ plan, hehe
But seriously, it seemed that having worn them down, England were starting to open up Australia and when Lomax came on, I thought, wow, Bennett has worked this to a T.
Of course, he probably didn’t have to wait until so late in the game….
An ode to lady luck - England miss out again
I thought that the marketing was poor too.
That is most definitely a valid criticism.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
You can add this one too:
International rugby league is rubbish. International rugby league, in the way that most would appreciate it, only really began in 1995-2000. Prior to that, league was Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, France and sometimes PNG. Since 2000, specifically 2008, international rugby league has grown tremendously. Depending on which year you start, it has only been 23 years (or 10 years if you start from 2008). What are people expecting in such a short time?
A Rugby League World Cup solution
Which legitimate criticisms are you referring to?
Overuse of heritage players? Sure, the code needs more domestic players chosen for their respective nations but the depth (and fear of blowouts detracting from the ratings) doesn’t allow that.
Eligibility rules that are a joke? They are the same rules as other sports except in down time between changing nations. As yet, other than logistical issues, nobody has yet come up with a posted why a players who are eligible should not be allowed to change nations.
Poor stadium scheduling? Sure, but the rationale behind the staging of the matches had an explicit reason (to maximise guaranteed bid revenue from host cities). The RLIF was motivated by income since the World Cup is its only significant revenue stream.
The RLIF is a joke? With only one fulltime staff, yes, it is pretty much a joke worthy. Yet they still managed to harness the desire of fans to act as volunteers etc to hold another successful World Cup tournament.
Crowds were terrible? No they weren’t. Matches in New Zealand, Port Moresby, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, North Queensland were all well attended. The New Zealand v Fiji match was a low point and a properly sold out final would have been more than very nice but otherwise, crowds reflected the averages of Test match rugby league for those stadiums.
All those empty seats look bad. Yes, it looks bad. But large stadiums can cater for larger sponsorship helping to drive some support from international business. 21,000 turned up for Australia v Lebanon at the SFS yet people thought it should have been held at Belmore, a stadium with a current capacity of less than 20,000 and a few corporate boxes for the local pizza restaurant and plumbing business.
The format was rigged. Yes, it was. It was designed, like the format in 2013, to ensure that the top three teams also met later in the tournament to ensure good matches. But as is the case with sport, things don’t always go according to plan. The organisers, going solely of pre-tournament world rankings, never expected Samoa to play so poorly or for Lebanon and Ireland to play so well. It’s not the best format but if you are only going to allow 14 teams to qualify that is pretty much the best you can do. Future World Cups will feature 16 teams and the more agreeable 4×4 format.
If there are any other legitimate criticisms that I’ve missed do let me know. (seriously)
A Rugby League World Cup solution
I don’t think there is any real issue concerning blowouts or weaker nations participating in a World Cup.
It happens in all sports, both large and small.
For me, that issue is more a matter of how the sport is presented and marketed – if at all.
Rugby league rarely takes on the critics, takes a timid approach and lets them have their way and eventually their influence.
What the code could benefit from is a leader with some charisma, a sharp wit and good relations with the media. Rugby league has absolutely nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.
The last few weeks has seen numerous … types… criticise the World Cup not to improve it (which would be acceptable) but simply for the sake of belittling the code.
And every single time they have been shot down for the inanity that they sprout.
Their arguments lack any substance and their only saving grace is their persistence.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
The solution to every single Test match rugby league ‘problem’ is to play Test matches.
Other than that, there may be merit in the idea of the respective players’ associations for the NRL and RFL (I know, the RFL actually need to get one first….) to negotiate the payment rights for players who are called up for Test match duty irrespective of nation.
A Rugby League World Cup solution
So? He is eligible. Nothing else matters.
Tribalism and the diaspora: Rugby league's toxic paradox