International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:01 am  

Slightly OT for the board, but while this guy says nothing about the state of the international game that we didn't already know, he says it very well http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/oct/24/rugby-leagues-international-failure-is-spectacular For those who can't be bothered to read the full article, here's a quote that gives the short version: "Rugby league would struggle to organise a barbecue in a butcher’s shop and it is the international game that has paid the biggest price for the code’s administrative ineptitude and inertia."

Slightly OT for the board, but while this guy says nothing about the state of the international game that we didn't already know, he says it very well http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/oct/24/rugby-leagues-international-failure-is-spectacular For those who can't be bothered to read the full article, here's a quote that gives the short version: "Rugby league would struggle to organise a barbecue in a butcher’s shop and it is the international game that has paid the biggest price for the code’s administrative ineptitude and inertia."

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:03 am  

Great article. It's a crying shame the neglect the International game is shown by the Australians and the NRL's powers that be. The World Cup last year should have been a turning point but the supposed legacy has been chucked on the scrap heap.

Until we make the international game the pinnacle the game won't be taken seriously. There should be mid season tours IMO like there are in Union. Clubs may not like losing their best players for a month but as long as they're compensated for that by getting leeway on the salary cap and being allowed to carry bigger squads it shouldn't matter.

I'm not expecting any changes anytime soon though. The Aussies are happy with their lot as the game is thriving down under (although they still can't keep their best players) and the top brass at the RFL are too comfortable in their positions to rock the boat.

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:17 am  

The way the NRL treat Northern hemisphere RL is a joke. And if George Burgess goes the other way, those in charge should be ashamed of themselves...

It's fine if the NRL lose him because they've got plenty more where he came from. It's the British game these moves hurt more than anything else. We could have built a team around Sam Burgess for years to come...

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:27 am  

Sadly, international RL will always struggle for as long as the NRL continues to be the be all and end all. It must be one of the most insular organisations around.

There has been a catastrophic failure to build on the World Cup, and for as long as these failures are allowed, the game will flounder. For goodness sake, we cant even agree a universal set of rules!

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:39 am  

mikey800 wrote:

Sadly, international RL will always struggle for as long as the NRL continues to be the be all and end all. It must be one of the most insular organisations around.

There has been a catastrophic failure to build on the World Cup, and for as long as these failures are allowed, the game will flounder. For goodness sake, we cant even agree a universal set of rules!

At the end of that World Cup the international committee and big wigs from the NRL and Superleague should have been getting their heads together and arranging a mid season test at Wembley between England and Australia IMO to keep the momentum and feel good factor going. I can guarantee that every single person who attended that semi final between the English and the Kiwis would have bought a ticket and many more besides!

Instead we've been sat round wondering when the next time we'll see an international on these shores again. As it turns out it'll have been two years since that game when the Kiwis turn up next year and they'll probably send a second string team.

Not good enough.

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:49 am  

not in the habit of defending ozzies but it is also up to us to have a competitive side otherwise what is their incentive to play? think how annoyed we were by injuries to our players eg leuluai in 'pointless' exiles matches gone by. the competitiveness of international rl means ozzie fans probably feel the same about their players. that's before the money men get involved.

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:17 pm  

Great article, if depressing to read. I don't think it's all down to the Aussies either. Let's face it, most on here put Wigan above the welfare of the sport.

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 3:07 pm  

Switching to summer rugby and disbanding Great Britain as a team finished the international game for me. We aren't strong enough to support four national sides and we never will be, the switch to summer rugby ended aussie tours to here and GB tours to Aus/NZ virtually ending everyone's interest in the international arean. I used to really look forward to the aussies touring here and playing club v country along with three test matches for me it was the highlight of the year and my ambition was to go on a GB tour to Aus/NZ sadly that will now never happen. I've said it before and I will say it again, the switch to summer rugby has killed the game in this country

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 4:33 pm  

hatty wrote:

Switching to summer rugby and disbanding Great Britain as a team finished the international game for me. We aren't strong enough to support four national sides and we never will be, the switch to summer rugby ended aussie tours to here and GB tours to Aus/NZ virtually ending everyone's interest in the international arean. I used to really look forward to the aussies touring here and playing club v country along with three test matches for me it was the highlight of the year and my ambition was to go on a GB tour to Aus/NZ sadly that will now never happen. I've said it before and I will say it again, the switch to summer rugby has killed the game in this country

There's probably a convincing counter argument to be made here, particularly if attendances are considered. However, as far as the sentiment goes, I'm with you.

Re: International RL : Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:00 pm  

hatty wrote:

Switching to summer rugby and disbanding Great Britain as a team finished the international game for me. We aren't strong enough to support four national sides and we never will be, the switch to summer rugby ended aussie tours to here and GB tours to Aus/NZ virtually ending everyone's interest in the international arean. I used to really look forward to the aussies touring here and playing club v country along with three test matches for me it was the highlight of the year and my ambition was to go on a GB tour to Aus/NZ sadly that will now never happen. I've said it before and I will say it again, the switch to summer rugby has killed the game in this country

There are problems with summer rugby and the dissolution of the GB team, but consider what keeping the pre-90s structure might have produced: direct competition for TV time with not just RU but soccer as well (leaving only cricket or horse-jumping for the summer).
This would in all likelihood have led to even more dwindling revenue as satellite came on stream & the Murdoch way of fleecing supporters relegated league to mid-week games or playing out of a shed half way up a windy moorside (been to Rochdale Mayfield recently anyone?).

The image of a bunch of lard-ars*s rolling around in the mud is not something the marketing sweeties with their lattes & langoustine ciabattas would ever have spent their clients' money on & I think it likely most clubs would have gone to the wall a long time ago.
However much I loath that slimy Australian lying sleazeball Murdoch & everything he & his empire represents, there is no denying that the money Sky have put into the sport since the change has led up to what the game is now. Without it, it wouldn't exist. All this in spite of repeated failures in governance from Red Hall - imagine what we could have been had there been a professional outfit in overall charge.

Moving away from the GB team was principally to get funding from Sport England if I remember right - something that should have been resisted in my view, as I agree that we would have been stronger as GB than we will ever be as 4 separate countries.

The malaise in the international game isn't a result of any change in seasons, it's purely down to money. There isn't enough. We aren't strong enough to field 4 separate teams, and the lowest placed NRL side would give our elite squad a run for their money any day.