I remember saying to a friend of mine a few years ago that you couldn't beat International RL for drama in sport. I'm deliberately writing this in the middle of the competition and I still think this is true. We could do with some more variety and more unpredictability but for sheer entertainment, International RL is great When, when, when will the English team perform to their true potential. Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis have been stars in NRL this year and there are plenty more like them. Graham, Roby, Westwood, Tomkins etc are great players in SL if they can just do themselves justice on an international stage. Greg Eastwood has been very ordinary all year in SL but he performed well when it counted. Australian administrators please note. I’ve just said that Greg Eastwood performed when it counted i.e. in an international match. They are the pinnacle of any sport and should be treated as such. Anybody who treats a...
So far so good. France have played before good crowds including one of 14000+ against an Ireland side who are not a big draw. Likewise, Wales have seen an improved crowd against a Scotland team without any big stars which is encouraging. We can't be complacent and an attendance of 700 approx for the Scotland v Wales match is not good enough. The Ireland/Scotland teams contain very few home based players unlike the Welsh/French but we are making progress and building soild foundations. We have attracted a prestigious sponsor and wasn't it great to see neutral referees too? The European Cup 2010 can be regarded as a success and I am deliberately writing this before the end of the tournament. Maybe other countries e.g. Italy, Serbia, Russia etc could be included, it should be held on regular basis and England should compete too. A similar competition should be organised in the southern hemisphere along the l...
Recent matches have seen good victories for Wales, Scotland and the newly formed England Knights against Ireland and France before very small crowds in low key events with little publicity. The French showed us how it should be done with a 17000 crowd to watch the France v England game in Avignon which was very competitive. Although they look good on paper, France are weak in some positions and lack competition for places but they are definitely moving forward. If only Toulouse were in SL and could contribute another dozen players of international standard then matches involving France could be very, very interesting. There was a good turnout for the Australia v NZ game in Newcastle in Darren Lockyear's last game on Australian soil and USA have qualified for the 2013 RL World Cup with victories against SA and Jamaica. Either Lebanon or Italy will fill the remaining place after their winner takes all decider in Belgrade next weekend. It's a pity that room could not be fou...
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