International RL Blog

This is still wonderful. Proud, dignified and having a good time. Merry Christmas

The Australian Jillaroos have won the 2017 Rugby League Women’s World Cup after surviving a physical encounter with the New Zealand Kiwi Ferns to finish champions 23-16. A field goal on the stroke of fulltime from Australian livewire, Caitlyn Moran sehaled the game for the Jillaroos after holding off a late surge from a determined Kiwi ferns outfit.  Moran also bagged a double in the match which laid the platform for the Jillaroos to build a lead after spending much of the first half fending off New Zealand attacks. New Zealand try scoring machine, Honey Hireme, also scored two tries but it wasn’t enough as the Jillaroos won their second straight Women’s World Cup. As soon as play got underway, the Ferns flexed their muscles and tried to put the jillaroos on the back foot by sending their powerful forwards up the middle to try and gain some early momentum. But despite controlling the opening minutes of the game, some brilliant creative play from the Jillaroos result...

Following the success of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, the new world rankings have been announced for the men’s game and, significantly, for the first time, the women. Australia, after picking up the silverware in both tournaments, are at the head of the respective tables. “One of our goals since 2016 has been to restore the Kangaroos to the position of number one in the world,”   said Kangaroos head coach Mal Meninga, in the afterglow of retaining the World Cup.  “We achieved that following the Four Nations Final last year and it has been enormously satisfying to stay there. “We believe a strong international programme is essential and see our success, and the manner in which we fought for it, as a catalyst in continuing this push to prioritise Test match rugby league. The players have been central to this achievement and I know they are very proud and humble to maintain the status quo.” Nine nations make up the inaugural Women’s rankings. Australia head coach...

In November, Australia will go into RLWC2017 (which they co-host with NZ) further strengthened in their World Rankings Number 1 position after their recent ANZAC Test victory. Two new nations appear for the first time with the inclusion of Thailand and Uruguay. This takes the total to 42 and reflects the greater number of sanctioned internationals being played globally. Leilani Latu’s last-gasp try for Tonga to beat Fiji 26-24 in last week’s Pacific triple-header saw them move up one rung on the ladder, whilst the biggest gainers are Hungary who rise five places to 33.

O n the night of August 8, 1907, the most celebrated sportsman in Australia stepped off a tram in Sydney’s George Street.  He pulled up his collar against the cool breeze and, satisfied he wasn’t being followed by the press, walked briskly towards the four-storey brick hotel in front of him. As he approached, the door was opened from within and with a final furtive glance behind him he hurried inside. George Bateman, the licensee of the hotel shook the man’s hand and said, “Good evening, Mr Trumper.” CLICK HERE  to read more about The Birth of Australian Rugby League

Just as an Exile Kangaroo XIII could be selected from players based in Europe, an Exile Kiwi XIII could be selected too.  What about this team for starters and again I realise that some "might" be considered Samoan, Tongan or even English. If any problems occur  we could ask  we ask for volunteers in NZ and I'm sure some would jump at the chance to represent their country. 1  Webb 2  Lulia 3 Soliola 4 Sa 5  Meli 6  Hohaia 7  T Leuluai 8  Lima 9 Faiuma 10 Moa 11  Manu 12  Puletua 13  L Anderson  With V Anderson, K Leuluai, Solomona, Webster, Chase, Isa, Witt, Kite, Lauititi, Temata, L Paea and other in reserve a strong squad could be selected to  compete internationally with England, France, Wales, Exile Australia and others. It would be nice to have official backing from the NZRL but if not, they could be called the "All Golds" who were formed in similar circumstances  The Ex...

Friday night saw the first game in the much anticipated Four Nations series and Australia beat NZ at Warrington in a game played with very slow play the balls. A neutral referee was in charge so nobody can have any complaints but, as we've seen many times before, SL officials are often intimidated by the Australians.  Tim Sheen's comments after the game illustrate why this happens and he should be disciplined for what he said.  Any NRL/SL coach or Premiership manager (even Alex Ferguson) would be fined for criticizing a referee. Nothing will happen and we will never have any credibility or make any progress when one team is so obviously above the law.  England beat Wales at Leigh in a game with slow play the ball but again a neutral referee was in charge who did quite a good job  under the circumstances. Let's hope we see more of Mr Perenara We now move on to Wembley for two big matches on a big stage and a good opportunity to sell ourselves.     Inte...

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...

  In 1915, fighting during World War I had reached an obvious stalemate in Northern France. The Allied governments were looking for a way forward and noticed that in parts of southern Europe there were long stretches of coastline with difficult terrain, defended by Austrian and Turkish forces who were perceived to be weak. Germany seemed to have a "soft underbelly" and if a bridgehead could be established it would be relatively easily link up with Russia and drive straight into the heart of Europe. The Gallipolli peninsula in present day Turkey was chosen as a point of attack but it proved to be much more difficult than expected. The coasts were windswept and bare with few bays and many steep cliffs. The land was well defended by 84 000 troops, the sea was heavily mined and attempts to use naval strength failed with the loss of two battleships. Despite this, on 25th April 1915, an Allied army containing a large number of Australians and New Zealanders (ANZACs) landed at Ga...

The next Four Nations competition is scheduled to take place this Autumn in the UK and should involve England, Wales Australia and NZ. There is a major problem. No dates/venues have been confirmed and thus it is impossible to to buy, or even plan to buy, tickets. It is less than four months until the scheduled start and potential spectators throughout the world are still in the dark. This is our annual opportunity to put our sport and our fantastic athletes in the shop window and show the world what they are missing. There have been rumours of a double header at Wembley but nothing has been confirmed. The RLIF met recently and I have been waiting for some news to no avail. There is nothing on the RLIF website which just directs visitors to other sites and the Four Nations link wasn't working the last time I tried Other sports plan their showcase events years in advance and then concentrate on high quality promotion/marketing in to order gain the maximum possible exposure a...

 I've recently watched Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini giving a TV interview in faltering English and seen England soccer manager Fabio Capello struggling in the same way. It made me thankful for small mercies because at least England RL coach, Steve McNamara is English. The Australians have always appointed Australian RL coaches as have NZ and Welsh coach Iestyn Harris is from Oldham but has consistantly represented Wales. Monsieur Bobbie Goulding is doing a fine job as coach of the French national side but he is from Widnes. The French are usually very good at preserving and promoting their national culture and identity in the face of fierce attacks from golbal americanisation. Muticuluturism has no place in France where everybody is expected to adapt to the French way of life including learning the language I'm glad that Adam Mogg and Dane Carlaw didn't play for France. They m...

I wish everybody a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Lets hope it's good one Let's hope we can avoid the repeated missed opportunities that has blighted our game over the years Thankfully, Crusaders are still with us and still have the opportunity to add to their growing band of supporters and build on the great work carried out in Wales recently.  I'm sure we'd all like to forget the the calamitous Leighton Samuals regime which was awarded a three year SL franchise and embarrassed the RFL and it's vetting procedures. We can all be wise in retropect and it's great to see us not repeating similar mistakes made with Paris St Germain (PSG) and Gateshead. Paris St Germain, who were  the mother of all missed opportunities, played in the initial SL competition all those years ago and were a great success. They were a high profile, capital city, French club who plaid in front of big crowds and were very co...

There has been much talk recently of England players such as James Graham and James Roby joining Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis in the NRL and how this will improve their game and also make our international team more competitive. It is a free country and if any player wants to play in the NRL I wish them well but to suggest, as some have, that this is the only option open to England and it's players is silly. There are some big clubs in the SL with big budgets. With or without injuries, we should be able to compete with Australia and NZ. Anything else is defeatest talk Steve McNamara was an unsuccessful SL coach with Bradford and the same is true with England. I accept that some young players gained some good experience but coaches are judged on results. St Helens have been very succesful in the SL era with their cavalier, off-the-cuff, keep the ball alive style of rugby which is a joy to watch at home but suicidal in the international arena. We must be mor...

I thought the English players in the recent Four Nations looked  very tired. The RFL should look to ways to reduce their workload and a reduced number of matches in SL is an obvious option. The clubs would complain about reduced turnstile receipts with some justification but in reality, scarcity adds value and this should improve revenues in the medium/long term in addition to providing more the intense, competitive matches the players need. Fewer imports are another obvious modification we could easily introduce especially in crucial positions e.g. half back. To be fair though the RFL have addressed this issue A squad system as used in cricket/RU and cricket is another possible alternative where selected players are on central contracts but the number of club matches they can play is severely limited. Kevin Pietersen is an extreme example of a centrally contracted cricket player who doesn't seem to...

So, our national side was defeated yet again and it's time for English RL's annual self appraisal. We're depressed and down hearted and some of us might be thinking, is this really more trouble than it's worth? In 1817, while living in Venice Lord Byron wrote a famous poem called "So, We'll Go No More a-Roving" expressing doubts about his hedonistic lifestyle Maybe we should stay at home too and concentrate on club competitions. We could quit international RL and allow our friends down under to continue to develop their NRL code of football with two referees and no corner flags. We could continue to proclaim how good SL is every year and forget about beating the Aussies. Absolutely not. Like Lord Byron, we must go a-roving. He carried on and died seven years later We must continue to participate and develop International RL or the sport will wither and die. I was alarmed at the lack of coverage g...

Let's face it, the Four Nations competition currently taking place in NZ/Australia have been a shambles. As always, I make my comments before the final matches but no sponsor, poor scheduling, low crowds, uncompetitive matches and very little media attention mean the ARL should hang their head in shame. I was relatively optimistic after the successful World Cup in 2008 but as that proud Aussie, Russell Crowe said on Twitter " ARL should be doing everything possible to help strengthen other nations league sides, not do everything possible to win. The big picture is the important thing for international league games, not simply for Aus to win" Absolutely right. The ARL don't seem interested in International RL and prefer to focus on the NRL and SoO which is very short sighted. For me, the most disappointing aspect so far was that yet again an important international match involving Australia was refereed by an Australian. I do not doubt ...

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...

SL 2010 is over and we have new champions in Wigan, one of the big four but still a welcome change from the recent Leeds v St Helens Grand Finals. Nobody can say that Wigan are not worthy champions as they were consistently the best team all year and I predict they will have some difficulty holding on to coach Michael McGuire who will be in big demand within the NRL. Spare a thought too for Mick Potter who did a great job at St Helens and reached two consecutive Grand Finals with team in transition including some very talented youngsters. I'm sure Bradford will be happy with a similar record. After a long hard season we now send our tired players to compete in the Four Nations against our friends from down under. I personally think it would make more sense to hold international competitions during June/July when the players are fresh but this would need detailed advanced planning by the RLIF which has never happened before. It would also mean players woul...