International RL Blog

I don't normally go in for self pity and always prefer people who count their blessings. However, I do admit to feeling sad when I see Wigan born, product of the Wigan Academy and ex-Wigan player Chris Ashton pursuing a successful RU career. It's a free country and I don't blame him for following the money but things could've been handled so much better. Wigan have a long tradition of ex-international players becoming coaches at the club and I fully expected Shaun Edwards and Andy Farrell to follow. It's a free country but it makes me feel extremely sad when I read about their coaching exploits in RU. RL has traditionally been integrated into local communities and many prominant players have followed fathers (e.g. Shaun Edwards) and other family members into the game. It is particularly galling to watch Owen Farrell (son of Andy) playing RU successfully when he should be playing for Wigan. Watch out for George Ford (son of ex-Wigan player Mike...

We are at the time of year when everybody is trying to keep (or struggling to keep) to their New Year Resolutions and this set me thinking. What resoutions could the RL community make to best further the interests of the game? An obvious choice would be to organise some meaningful international competitions and promote them properly. This could generate some much needed revenue and start to reverse the decline in media profile suffered by RL, particularly in the UK. It could also help reduce the flow of genuine RL stars such as Chris Ashton and Sonny Bill Williams to RU. The RLIF (otherwise known as the ARL) should implement this proposal but unfortunately they do not seem to be willing. The RFL do their best but are in a difficult position when their main parners in Australia and NZ are less than enthusiastic. It has often been said that if we could "beat the Aussies" it m...