International RL Blog

The next four-year International Rugby League calendar has been confirmed today (May 9th 2017) at a meeting of the Board of the Rugby League International Federation in Sydney. Headlining the calendar is the return of Kangaroos and Lions Tours. The four-year cycle, beginning in 2018, will include a New Zealand tour to Europe and an Emerging Nations championship in 2018, followed by a Lions Tour to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019, and a Kangaroos Tour to Europe in 2020. The Kangaroos Tour will feature at least three Test matches against England and one Test against France. The final year of the next cycle, 2021, will feature the Rugby League Men’s and Women’s World Cups in the UK. To support the development of Tier Two nations, the RLIF will work with the Continental Federations to strengthen existing regional competitions in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Middle East/Africa. The RLIF also authorised the creation a dedicated mid-season international weekend, giving nati...

The great rugby split happened in 1895 when, put simply, the southern based bosses wouldn't play fair with the northern based working class players. The Northern Union was formed which became Rugby League and it prospered although concern was expressed about whether the new code was financially viable without international competition. The All Golds  arrived in 1907  and their tour was a big success. It facilitated the introduction of the new code in New Zealand and Australia who provided the required international competition. In the UK, Rugby League is now played in the summer and, without doubt, this has many advantages. However, the move destroyed the traditional and very successful international calendar involving regular Kangaroo/Lions/ Kiwi tours and as a sport we haven't really found an acceptable replacement. Tri/Four Nation tournaments are poor replacements which don't attract enough sponsorship, crowds or media attention.  Ruby League internationals used...