Lions captain attacks RLIF over World Cup

[DIEHARD]

World Cup waste
by Paul Sculthorpe, Liverpool Echo

SHOULD rugby league even bother with a World Cup?

You have to have your doubts.

Let?s be honest, there are really only three teams with a sniff of winning the trophy ? Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain (or England as it will be in 2008 ? don?t even get me started on that one!)

Most of the other teams are a million miles behind.

It?s the nature of the game ? there?s no hiding place and these days it?s very difficult to employ spoiling tactics to even things up.

These are the reasons the groups for the 2008 tournament have been concocted the way they are.

Australia, New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea in one group with three going through to the semis! You have to admit, it looks a bit strange.

No wonder PNG are up in arms about it ? talk about drawing the short straw.

Rugby league is the national game there and they are looking at this as a slap in the face.

They won?t have the chance to show they are better than many other nations and are threatening to boycott the tournament.

You can hardly blame them for being upset.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0...name_page.html

[DIEHARD]

While I agree with Scully on some points, especially in respects to complete opposition to the dissolution of the Home Nations, we need to keep a united front as a sporting code to make this World Cup work.

Some of rugby leagues greatest and most savage critics sadly come from within our own ranks.

Yes, this World Cup isn't a perfect World Cup, but we need to start somewhere and build towards one. After the last World Cup, we are lucky to have one at all. But we are giving it another go, so let's all close ranks and focus on this event and make it a success.

We have it within our power to make it a success.

What bothers me both is Scully is throwing this opinion out there, but the media will use it as a precident to rip chunks of flesh out of the World Cup and international rugby league. They need no encouragement to do that, so we shouldn't be putting any more blood in the water to lure the sharks.

They must think "Well the English captain thinks it is a joke, so why should we have any respect for the tournament?"

That said, I see an urgent need to make it up to PNG. We can't throw them in to be slaughtered by the BIG THREE, we need to offer them every resource to aide them. Quality fixtures, coaching, health and fitness expertise.

[~lee~]

I admire his honest opinion and rather agree with it. Although i am happy to see a World Cup, if it turns out to be a shambles it could be disasterious for international league.
If Aussies, NZ and GB get to the semi's then one of them virtually has a bye into the final.

[quins rl]

Agree with Scully,the formats a joke,but now everyone in the rugby league community must put that aside and unite to make this world cup a success.RL needs a strong international game,its probably the only reason we lose players to yawnion is the strength of their world game.
Article should read ex-lions captain,but i really hope he is fit for the cup,hes a quality player.

[Go_The_Doggies]

TBH I don't really care about the Rugby League World Cup, I mean there is truely only rally 3 countries in it.

I call it an extended Tri Nations lol.

[DIEHARD]

TBH I don't really care about the Rugby League World Cup, I mean there is truely only rally 3 countries in it.

I call it an extended Tri Nations lol.

Yea not like you would want to be patriotic or anything.

[Steve]

First thing first is they need to stiffen the laws governing who you can play for.
The country you're born in.

Grandparents, great aunts, uncle jack's dog, etc, should only be used for players who aren't selected for their country, but have a heritage in one of the developing nations.

If Australia, NZ and GB aren't all in the same pool, then noone gets to win any of the other pools. Although the idea of 3 finalists coming from the one pool seems a bit odd.
Maybe we need to follow in the footsteps of the cricketers, rather than an Australia A side, include a Qld and NSW side, players who didn't make the Kangaroos.
That will probably never see the light of day, won't look good for the selectors if the Kangaroos get beaten by one of those sides, which is very likely.

The idea of a World Cup is a good one. The developing nations need the opportunity to compete against the giants of the rugby league world.
On the other hand, I consider it a bit of a farce when a player scores a points scoring record from half a dozen tries and two dozen goals because they were playing amateurs from Russia. I think there needs to be an annual competition involving the developing nations, and perhaps some lower grade rep sides. QLD Cup, Premier League, and rep sides from all the other states. This is where the idea of an aborigine side or other experimental teams could come into play.

The World Cup may not be what it should be this year, but killing it off isn't going to fix that.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Yea not like you would want to be patriotic or anything.

Excuse me?

Don't accuse me not being patriotic when you don't even know me, just because I say it doesnt worry me if we win the RLWC or lose it, doesnt make me un-patriotic.

But I mean its not like the RLWC is the be all and end all of International Rugby League. I class the Tri Nations higher.

[travop]

they should have another exhibtion game in the usa and maybe exhibition games around europe to spread rugby leauge and if itr takes off in round 10 yrs we will have comps goin on round the place

[Steve]

they should have another exhibtion game in the usa and maybe exhibition games around europe to spread rugby leauge and if itr takes off in round 10 yrs we will have comps goin on round the place

Not a bad idea. They don't know league at all in the states, only union. And I think league would have more of an appeal, being a faster game.

Of course, big problem is, who's going to play in it?
People want to to cut out trials, City/Country, and cut back on rep football in general because players get injured. We're probably never going to see any sort of exhibition game again because players are too precious.

[Dakink]

A team of young up and comers would be a good start. Give them the chance to represent their country - not to disimiliar to what they did with PNG not long ago.

[quins rl]

Not a bad idea. They don't know league at all in the states, only union. And I think league would have more of an appeal, being a faster game.

Of course, big problem is, who's going to play in it?
People want to to cut out trials, City/Country, and cut back on rep football in general because players get injured. We're probably never going to see any sort of exhibition game again because players are too precious.

There has been a league in America for quite a few years now,and a national side the Tomahawks.You can find out everything you need to know about rugby league in America here
http://www.amnrl.com/
The trouble with USA is its dominated by grid-iron,ice hockey,baseball etc,and its hard to get sponsorship and television deals done,but there appears to be some really dedicated guys over there doing a really good job in spreading the game!

[Dakink]

As Quins has said, League over in the USA is slowly making inroads - they now have secured television broadcasts.

The management in the USA are going about growing the game the rightway over there and I think you will see them become more competitive with other nations as time progresses.

from LU

http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/fo...play.php?f=130

might help to inform people about the state of the game over there.