Aus V Scotland

[josie andrews]

Hard to argue to be fair,but unless the Aussies start to take the international game seriously then it’s doomed to have blow outs like this.

How are the two linked ?

Until the international game is firmed up countries playing not just the big 3 but tonga,PNG come over and play england and the home nations plus France then the international game and the game in general is doomed to remain a marginalised sport.

The Aussies and the NRL are the key,but given they see origin and the nrl itself before the world game then we as a sport have issues,let's not forget the sport promised an international calander 10 years ago we are still waiting for it.

So yes it is linked.

And this why I think the NRL itself is so far up it’s own ar*e, they couldn’t care less about internationals & that is just plain arrogance!

[fozzieskem]

How are the two linked ?

Until the international game is firmed up countries playing not just the big 3 but tonga,PNG come over and play england and the home nations plus France then the international game and the game in general is doomed to remain a marginalised sport.

The Aussies and the NRL are the key,but given they see origin and the nrl itself before the world game then we as a sport have issues,let's not forget the sport promised an international calander 10 years ago we are still waiting for it.

So yes it is linked.

And this why I think the NRL itself is so far up it’s own ar*e, they couldn’t care less about internationals & that is just plain arrogance!

Totally agree Josie but without them the international game is doomed,how much public Interest will there be playing France year on year or even worse meaningless combined nations games?

If the NRL plays ball the game as a whole will benefit stay as we are,as seems very likely then nothing will change

[up the junction]

Its a massacre does nothing to help Eng rugby League needs to be seeded into stronger games with less nations its embarrassing.

Think you mean British RL don’t you ?

[morley pie eater]

To be honest, I switched on the Aus-Scotla d game and expected to last only 10 or 15 minutes as I'd prefer an even contest. In the event I watched the whole game and enjoyed it. I thought Scotland came out of it well for their effort.

Then I thought of the non-RL supporters who may be watching. Isn't it possible that they'd enjoy this, and learn more from it, than a hard-fought 6-4 game, full of "stars", say England v NZ? Part of the purpose of the RLWC is to attract new species and increase awareness of and interest in the sport, surely? I think a match like this helps achieve that.

[moto748]

That's fair. Certainly saw some great execution and skill from the Aussies. And you gotta love the Fox!

[fozzieskem]

I wonder how many NZ will put on Jamaica tonight?

[the pieman]

i watched both games Oz v Scotland and NZ v Jamaica over the weekend and enjoyed the skill and commitment on show in both games

yes they were both blow outs, but that happens in all sports when the best teams in the world play lesser nations, its not just RL for all the doom mongers. At the end of the day both Scotland and Jamaica contain semi pro / amateur players (could be incorrect on that part) playing against players who play in the NRL week in week out

The try that Jamaica scored v NZ probably brought me my biggest smile of the weekend. You could genuinely see how much it meant to them. The game plan that they used to try and disrupt NZ was a little strange, but they know they cant compete with a traditional game plan over 80 mins, so must be applauded for trying something different

The only way that the lesser nations are going to improve is by playing better sides on a regular basis. Whilst i love watching a test series / tri-nations with Oz and NZ, i would now love to see Tonga, Samoa, PNG etc come over and play games v England / Scotland / Wales / Ireland / France. Lets get those guys over here regularly as well and see a properly developed international calendar

onto players switching allegience, again, its not only RL that it happens, but i do agree if you make a decision to represent one country, then that should be it. Not chop and change because you can get a gig with another nation

[nathan_rugby]

i watched both games Oz v Scotland and NZ v Jamaica over the weekend and enjoyed the skill and commitment on show in both games

yes they were both blow outs, but that happens in all sports when the best teams in the world play lesser nations, its not just RL for all the doom mongers. At the end of the day both Scotland and Jamaica contain semi pro / amateur players (could be incorrect on that part) playing against players who play in the NRL week in week out

The try that Jamaica scored v NZ probably brought me my biggest smile of the weekend. You could genuinely see how much it meant to them. The game plan that they used to try and disrupt NZ was a little strange, but they know they cant compete with a traditional game plan over 80 mins, so must be applauded for trying something different

The only way that the lesser nations are going to improve is by playing better sides on a regular basis. Whilst i love watching a test series / tri-nations with Oz and NZ, i would now love to see Tonga, Samoa, PNG etc come over and play games v England / Scotland / Wales / Ireland / France. Lets get those guys over here regularly as well and see a properly developed international calendar

onto players switching allegience, again, its not only RL that it happens, but i do agree if you make a decision to represent one country, then that should be it. Not chop and change because you can get a gig with another nation

Only to a certain extent.

You can improve the international calendar as much as you want but until Jamaica or Greece or Scotland have their own domestic game then there is a ceiling to their potential.

[ddtftf]

Maybe we could give the weaker teams some points start as it will even up the game

[the pieman]

i watched both games Oz v Scotland and NZ v Jamaica over the weekend and enjoyed the skill and commitment on show in both games

yes they were both blow outs, but that happens in all sports when the best teams in the world play lesser nations, its not just RL for all the doom mongers. At the end of the day both Scotland and Jamaica contain semi pro / amateur players (could be incorrect on that part) playing against players who play in the NRL week in week out

The try that Jamaica scored v NZ probably brought me my biggest smile of the weekend. You could genuinely see how much it meant to them. The game plan that they used to try and disrupt NZ was a little strange, but they know they cant compete with a traditional game plan over 80 mins, so must be applauded for trying something different

The only way that the lesser nations are going to improve is by playing better sides on a regular basis. Whilst i love watching a test series / tri-nations with Oz and NZ, i would now love to see Tonga, Samoa, PNG etc come over and play games v England / Scotland / Wales / Ireland / France. Lets get those guys over here regularly as well and see a properly developed international calendar

onto players switching allegience, again, its not only RL that it happens, but i do agree if you make a decision to represent one country, then that should be it. Not chop and change because you can get a gig with another nation

Only to a certain extent.

You can improve the international calendar as much as you want but until Jamaica or Greece or Scotland have their own domestic game then there is a ceiling to their potential.

true, but i look at Italy / Argentina in RU, and there is no doubt that they have improved (dont know how good their domestic competitions are) internationally over a period of years and some of that must be down to playing at that standard year on year

for me, i would just like to see a properly defined RL international calendar, but it has to include developing nations playing against the top nations too. As i said i would love to see games v the South Sea island teams. There is no doubt that over the last 5-10 years that they have improved massively and they are beneffiting from their players playing in the NRL / SL, but more so, that those players are now choosing to play for their country of birth and not just Oz / Nz