International RL Blog

As part of his plans to make RL a global sport, Salford owner Dr Marwan Koukash is planning a Nines tournament to be held in Dubai. It would augment the Auckland Nines and would involve both SL and NRL clubs CLICK HERE  for more details In 2011, I wrote about nines on this blog  " It is a good showcase for our game, an excellent way of introducing newcomers and great way of spreading the word" CLICK HERE to see the original post I really like Dr Koukash, he's obviously very enthusiastic, is brilliant at generating publicity, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is a breath of fresh air to our sport. Dr Koukash is a very bright bloke and has been very successful in his business careeer. He's a doer rather than a watcher and we need more people like him in our sport. OK, maybe some his proclamations have been naive and possibly unwise but most aren't serious and should be taken with a pinch of salt. I wish him every success

I have just discovered these two photos of an empty Station Road just before it was demolished. This "graveyard of the Aussies" is now an anonymous housing estate on the outskirts of Manchester but I prefer to remember it in its full glory hosting Rugby League Tests Matches and full to the rafters. It's an indication of how times changes and it's also very very sad. Not very far away is the City of Salford Stadium which was built at considerable expense by Salford Council as the home ground of Salford City Reds and it's opening was supposed to herald a new dawn for the club. The council have now withdrawn their support and the future of the club is now in serious doubt. This is understandable in these harsh economic times and is also very sad but it begs the question, why did the council build the stadium in the first place? Surely the stadium will be a white elephant if Salford Reds go out of business. Surely it was all or nothing i.e. no support no st...

After watching Salford launch their new stadium in the snow we are all glad that RL in the UK is now played in summer. Despite a warm spring period and a very hot Magic Weekend, the cold weather has continued and RL spectators have been enduring a very cold wind up their collective kilts I watched Featherstone Rovers play Pia in the Anglo French Challenge on Sunday which was again played in dreadful conditions and neither side looked as though they wanted to be there. After a dreadful start, Pia we actually quite competitive and I believe the top French sides and top Championship teams would be evenly matched if given a fair chance. An Anglo-French Challenge or a Treize-Tournoi would be great idea but it must be organised correctly and positioned properly within the calender. The end of the French season coincides with the middle of the Championship and this is not good timing for either. September would be better but it must be organised in advance, publicised properly and if ...

We have an all Lancashire SL Grand Final (Wigan is in Greater Manchester and St Helens is in Merseyside but let's not quibble about details) and coupled with Warrington's successive Challenge Cup wins, the future of Lancashire Rugby League seems bright. Or is it? Rugby League has traditionally been a northern sport with strongholds in Yorkshire and Lancashire but with seven Yorkshire clubs and only four Lancashire clubs SL is unbalanced. While Wigan, St Helens and Warrington are dominant forces, other traditionally strong clubs such as Oldham and Swinton are mere shadows of their fomer selves. Hull KR have demonstrated how dormant support can be reinvigorated and the RFL urgently needs to produce a format where clubs outside SL can proper. Even a former glamour club like Salford have struggled but their new stadium is finally under construction in a high profile position next to the M60 near the Trafford Centre. The local amateur game has been...