do we?

since 2004.....GB/ENG have been in 2 finals...NZ 3....and australia all of em of course.......the only certainty is australia will make the final...

Until we improve it really doesn't matter.

If the Evans' chose Wales, Wales would still be a massive distance away from being competitive with England, never mind Australia and New Zealand.

Can we be greedy and have both?

Four nations every 2 years - England
Three match test against Aus/NZ - GB in between.

we'll see what happens with rhys evans when wales ring him in october.....its all well and good him declaring for england when the england academy come calling....but the lure of full internationals for wales against england,NZ (at wembley) & australia will be too big to miss out on surely???

he's virtually guaranteed a place in a wales squad......he's amillion miles away from a england squad

GB for me. If your a Scottish, Welsh or Irish player in SL and your good enough then you have to find a stupid loophole in order to play for England so you even have a chance of playing against NZ or Oz but the downsides are you almost turning your back on your country.

Having GB also means that the whole nation supports the team rather than a quarter of it. The sooner we go back to it the better. Perhaps we could have a mini England/Scotland/Wales/Irish teams tournement as like a state of origin to run along side it.

Well, most decent Welshmen, Irishmen and Scotsman wouldn't dream of playing for England, the idea of pulling that white rag on makes me physically sick to the stomach. Ask Ben Flower in 2 years time, when imo will be a quality Super League player if he wants to play for England... he'd probably punch you in the face. If anyone has a tape of the England vs Wales game in 07 at Donny, watch the anthems... Flower notably goes hell for leather and is pumped to the max, the rest of the Welsh boys similarly pumped. Eddies comment I believe was...

"If this game was won on athems, Wales go home victorious", but obviously that doesn't count.

Also may I add, Great Britain doesn;t represent much to a lot of people in Wales. I'da say in most cases you are Welsh before you are British.

i'm english before im british too......


also RLi want nothing to do with GB......the RLi want ireland to be a stand alone test nation....if the WRL & SRL don't want the same for wales & scotland then they should'nt be running the game in wales or scotland imo

Doesn't stop thousands of Welsh RU fans turning out for the British Lions RU tours. I was actually under the impression that the original plan was to retain GB in some form to tour Down Under in a non-Four Nations/World Cup year?

In many ways, I mourn the loss of the Great Britain team. The Kangaroo tours of 1986, 1990 and 1994 provided me with some of the best moments of my life as Rugby League fan (OK, we didn’t win a series but the whole tour and the test matches were superb) and my biggest regret is that the Lions tours down under have now ceased before I had enough cash to go and follow the team. I am sure I will follow England down under for a World Cup or 4 Nations one day but I think a tour would be a better experience with mid week games etc

But, having said that, the fact that the Northern and Southern hemisphere seasons are now chronologically aligned means that the tours are probably a thing of the past. While I miss them, the opportunity must be for the tournaments (whatever format they be i.e. Home Nations, European Cup, World Cup, 4 Nations etc) to help drive the wider identity of England RL but also Wales, Scotland, Ireland etc

I used to be a passionate Great Britain Rugby league fan and now I am an equally passionate England Rugby League fan – as I am proudly British and English

The net effect of having the home nations can be incredibly positive if we support and build the game in the right way

I'm not sure anyone is reading the original post.

If I understand correctly he is saying
1) GB team plays every two years against big guns
2) home nations play in the opposite two years as England, Wales...etc

That way we have the best of both.
GB play Tri nations and no weaker team
Wales can develop as mentioned above.
Gives home nations players something to aim for.
Gives a fair game against France

Aus and NZ can use the off season to play Fiji, PNG etc to deveop them too.

Hit the nail on the head here. Wales are improving by having a Super League and Championship 1 clubs and play internationals every year. Perhaps in 10 years they will be at a stage where they stand a chance of beating England and their best young players will no longer be faced with this dilemma, thats not going to happen by stopping Wales playing internationals and going back to GB.

Stick with the home nations IMO.

It needs time. How many genuine Scottish/Irish/Welsh players are actually in their squads at the moment? There aren't many.

Welsh RL has made big steps forward in the past five years or so, Ireland has recently set up their own domestic competition, as with Scotland. Both Hull & Rovers I believe have signed genuine Scottish youngsters in the past year.

Give it time for the youngsters to come through, for the team to become more established & keep them competing regularly.


GB could always form as a touring side like RU's Lions. Forming every few years as purely a touring side playing around 6 games (3 club/provincial sides & a 3-match test against that country).

Ideally the International calendar every four years would be:

Year 1: World Cup
Year 2: 4 Nations / Pacific Cup / European Shield
Year 3: Tours
Year 4: 4 Nations / Pacific Cup / European Shield

Go back to the GB format for the four nations. By having separate home nations it actually reduces the pool of players for Wales and Ireland (and scotland to a lesser extent). it would also stop the 'nation changing'.

Until the WHOLE RL structure in this country is reorganised into a coherant, logical structure run by independant of the clubs people, it really will not make a jot of difference what the international teams from these shores are called, they will NOT win any major international tournament.

Lets sign another 30 year old plus overseas crock instead of developing and trying to produce our own. That's a major problem boys and girls.

tightening the laws and enforcing them......will stop nation changing!

Ha ha! Jokes. How can you have a scottish and irish team when they don't even play the game professionally? That would be like england having an international american football team!

Still, we could always create teams to force upon scotland and ireland, that'll have them all playing and watching RL there, oh hang on.........

It worked when the biggest sporting organisation in the world just dumped an american football franchise in london as well, what a staggering succes they are now. Oh, hang on.....

Its all well and good saying no more nation changing, but without that how many would bother to play for Ireland, Scotland etc in the first place? Would Brough have played for Scotland in the World Cup if it meant no chance of playing for England? FuiFui for Tonga if he couldn't play for NZ?

No.

If I'm honest I think players should play for the nation they were born in and nowhere else. That's where they came from and they should be proud of that. It'll never happen though.

Are they even England standard? I say no

We should have both. People want a 'trial' match for the national side. We already have it.

Home nations + france in a round robin tournament played throughout the season.

GB+I play in the 4 nations.

Home Nations play in the world cup.

I don't want to see the return of GB. I don't see the point.

England can easily play three match series against touring Australia or New Zealand teams, or we could go there and tour. What's the difference between England and GB doing it, given that the team would be virtually identical anyway?

The two Welsh lads qualify through having an English mother. Given that most sports have these sorts of rules, I really don't see what the problem is. In the past the Wales team had players like Iestyn Harris, Anthony Sullivan and others who were all born in England. If there is a problem, just tighten up the eligibility rules.

I don't wish to sound rude but England shouldn't have to not exist just to provide opportunities for a few Welsh or Scottish players - especially when a lot of people in Wales or Scotland claim to hate England anyway. Funny how they hate us when it doesn't benefit them, but they're quick to tag along when it does - e.g. Cardiff and Swansea in the English football league or Glamorgan in English cricket.

Why stop at GB anyway? Why don't we play as Europe so we can also include the occasional French, German, Italian or Spanish rugby league player as well?

The current set up is the way to go. The England v Exiles is a good concept - not sure but can Scottish and Welsh players represent the Exiles?

I would also add a Yorkshire v Lancashire game or series too so that there is another showpiece event to help bridge the gap between club and international games. By gap I mean for people like myself who don't have a club team to support and who get bored waiting around for a handful of international games each year.

I think you will find most Wrexham, Swansea and Cardiff fans hate England irrespective of the fact they play in the English football league

The welsh twins playing for england isnt a problem. The problem I have is the idea that players can play for one nation one year and then a different the next year. If Danny Brough can play for scotland and then switch to England then well you might as well have a Great Britian side.

or you stop players switching in the first place

GB is something that is synonymous with rugby league too. I wouldnt do the games profile any harm. Im sure they said they would still be called GB on tours though at the time of the split? What they forgot to mention is that their would never be any tours.

Or you give them reasons not to switch in the first place.

The current international set up stops players choosing, and sticking with, any nation other than England, NZ, or Australia.

There is a reason players rarely switch between Wales and Scotland, or Fiji and Samoa.