International RL Blog

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...

Kevin Sinfield is very under rated as both a player and a leader but he is a four time Grand Final winning captain including the recent remarkable, never achieved before, feat of winning from fifth. History will be kind to him He has never really performed at international level but then again he has never really been given the opportunity. Kevin has been picked on numerous occasions but always out of position with other lesser players in charge. Injuries to rivals such as Kieran O'Loughlin could present him and us with an opportunity Now is your chance Kevin, step forward and meet your destiny. The glory will far exceed anything achieved domestically Injuries and absences might mean that NZ and Australia might possibly be weaker but we have said that before. England too have their fair share of injuries too and the absence of Burgess, Lomax, Atkins, Bridge, Crabtree, O'Loughlin, Joel Tomkins, Shenton and especially Grand Final star Burrow, will be a handicap. It sadd...

The international RL season is about to begin and during the next month or so matches will take place in such diverse places as Belgrade, Padova, Philadelphia, Moscow and Limerick. These add to the locations already visited this year by the International RL community which include Gothenberg, Frankfurt, Cassablanca, Oslo, Copenhagen, Kharkov, Budapest and Toronto, way beyond the wildest dreams of most RL expansionsists. Just a few short years ago, International RL was confined to just a few countries and the RFL and the RLEF should be commended for the progress made. In 1995, Maurice Lyndsey organised a ten team World Cup to celebrate the games centenary and big strides have been made since then. It's pity that the ARL, with all their resources cannot make an attempt at something similar in the Southern Hemisphere. Problems still exist and the recent last minute tour cancellation by Samoa due to lack of funds was a big disappointment. If properly organised a Samoan European tou...

South Africa prepared for the upcoming 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers with a 36-22 win against Canada in Toronto.  Although not much was known about them, the South Africans proved to be big, fast and strong. CLICK HERE for a full match report

As we contemplate yet another SL Grand Final involving the same teams, Brent Webb, Danny McGuire, Danny Buderus and the whole Warrington and Wigan teams now understand that truly great players save their best performances for big matches. The biggest matches of all take place on the international stage and the looming Four Nations is something that UK RL fans can look forward to with relish after months of gloom. I think I'd prefer an Ashes Series, if only for novelty value, but entertaining our antipodean "Friends in Low Places" in big matches in large stadia is surely an opportunity that even the UK's inept RL administrators cannot squander.