Interesting debate guys :

Let's concentrate on the definition : what does it mean a sport being actually played?

According to the RLEF, to become an associate member you need to fufill, amongst others, 2 key criteria:
1. a domestic comp
2. a junior development policy

To my knowledge:

we have:

England
Russia
France

fulfilling this criteria -

also Wales
Scotland
Ireland
Serbia
Lebanon

And that is IT!

Catalunya started to run a domestic 9team comp in 2009 - it was relatively easy to implement given the structure of the Spanish/Catalan sporting organisation - clubs are multi-sport hubs - benfiting from numerous members and great facilities - all having a RU section, they opened a RL section once the Rahrah season has finished

Czech Republic and Germany are implementing some actions to spread the gospel amongst the youth -

But unfortunately, what people calls a "country playing RL" is most of the time, a single bloke with the best will in the world trying to gather players with more or less connection with the relevant country on sporadic occasions - and this is the case for Italy - unfortunately

I am more than happy to be proven wrong and be brought evidence of Local domestic comps elsewhere - I mean regular fixtures not one day events

Thanks

case 1. "My Grand Ma was Italian!" You're in! "Never been there - don't speak Italian "- Don't matter - you're in!
case 2 "I bought a house near Venice "- you're in!
case 3 "I just bought a Fiat" you're in!
etc...

Case 1 on and 2 are true! Heritage rule + residency rule!

The rugby league competition started before the rugby union season had finished.



Sadly this happens in many sports.

Catalancs, Thank you for the information -

So, the season started in Catalunya before RU has finished!
That is good that they could achieve it - did it clash with RU?

To follow up on your despised comments:
The fact that once or twice a year, someone pulls together a dozen of guys with more or less connection with the country to prentend the game is played ther is simply foolish.

We are fooling ourselves meanwhile the long, hard and patient development work is not done and the roots are not laid!

RU is miles in advance over RL in Europe. Not to mention other popular team sports...

No worries. There were a couple of clashes with the rugby union, but games of both codes were rearranged to accomdate the other.
All the teams that took part in this year's competition have asked to take part next year.


Despised?

Can't say to much on rugby union as I'm not a big follower of the sport and don't really know how popular it is in the different countries.
I'd be surprised if it's anything less than miles ahead of rugby league. Union is a global sport attracting big name sponsors and corporate audiences that at times come close to approaching football.
Rugby league is a a minority sport that is only just starting out in some of the few European countries were it is played.

[[iquoteRugby league is a a minority sport that is only just starting out in some of the few European countries were it is played.
[/i
Agreed! It is just interesting to see how the RFL/RLEF market this with grandiloquent emphasis :

"Macedonia qualified for the Euro Spoon final after a fantastic win over Lichtenstein!"
sounds like there is a massive thing going on out there?

The reality is that there is actually less than 20 people who gets to get actually a few hours of RL practice/game per year in each of those countries! FACT

Since the RFL is investing money - I guess - I would wonder if the Ratio £ invested vs. hours of RL played by new people is good value!

Try that again. I genuinely can't make head nor tale of it.

I simply don't care what some pom trying his hardest to pretend there are a heap of European countries says about places where they don't play Rugby League!



If a country has Rugby league clubs, then they play the game. If they don't, then its just union players wasting everyone time and fooling easily led idiots.

Sorry Catalancs

I was saying that if we consider RL being a minority sport - or nearly not existent in the majority of european countries, one could question the spin made about it

I am talking about 20 blokes playing in a field -with the best intentions in the world -and called after a country without the approval of their government, nor a genuine selection process for the so called representative side.

Then I also questionned the effectiveness of the funds invested in European development?

No worries and I can see what you're saying.

I can't comment on many of the countries that reportedly play rugby league.
As far as Catalonia goes the funding they have received has been minimal. The have their own association, a league and board of selectors.
The selection process for this summer's Euro Med Cup was carried out over the course of the season with the top 50 or so being invited to a weekend training camp in Barcelona. From there the final squad was chosen.

Hopefully players with professional experience will make themselves available and strengthen the team. While NRL players like Campese and Laffranchi will be in the frame for Kangaroo selection, others would do a good job, like
* the Minichiello brothers (fullback/standoff Anthony and lock Mark),
* Paul Franze Chris Nero (centre),
* Grant Rovelli (halves/hooker),
* Rocky Trimarchi (hooker),
* Cameron Ciraldo (backrower)
and more:

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_league_team#Notable_Players_With_Italian_EligibilityNotable Players With Italian Eligibility[/url

FWIW Italy RU also recruit foreigners. The current 30 man Italian test Rugby Union squad contains 12 foreign born and bred players (more than a third) - 5 Argentinians, 2 Australians, 2 NZers, 2 South Africans and a Frenchman. One of those Australians is former League star Craig Gower.

The Observer -

This exactly what we are talking about -

We can look at all NRL team sheets and pick all the Italian sounding names (you could do that in France too) -
We can have a team that might even win the comp -

And still have not a single club/organisation based in Italy -

We are just simply fooling ourselves -

Not to mention the fact that this is Illegal, since I do not think that the Italian government has approved a team bearing it's name...

-like most other European countries trying to "play" league actually!

'Like most other European countries trying to play league'. Examples?

I think that one of the points the Observer is trying to make is that rugby league isn't alone in having this problem. You could argue that in other sports it's even worse. Take for example the global sport of rugby union. There are numerous Italian league clubs and a strong youth set up, yet at least 12 of the current 30 man squad are foreigners.

well do us all a favour then!

I had pasta for dinner. Throw me a jersey.

Catalancs,

My aim is not to look at other sports and judge what they do!

My aim would be to spread the gospel and get the game played at grassroot levels and get a wider audience to play -
RFL is definitely not looking to go down that route and fools itself thinking the game is taking up - having 22 countries on their websites-

Most of these countries don't have a federation, that is to say, don't have their goverment's offcial approval:


# Estonia
# Germany
# Greece
# Italy
# Latvia
# Malta
# Morocco
# Ukraine
# Belguim
# Norway
# Portugal
# Sweden
# United Arab Emirates
holland

None of those are Members of the RLEF. They are only Official Observers, mainly due to the points which you have made. What's the problem?

Video from the European Cup presentation.

[urlhttp://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,12780_5547714,00.html[/url

Catalancs, No problem at all with Observers Status-

The fact is as we said - RL is non exsistent in Europe, sadly

The RFL endorses competitons : bowl, shield, plate etc. with teams bearing the name of a country without its approval or recognistion.

Another point is that Lebanon and Serbia already played RL before the RFL started the RLEF - therefore its output could be disappointing after all those years (RLEF was created in 2002?) since there are no new members since its creation.

On a similar note, with regard to this fancy new Euro comp: Which teams will have players playing in their respective countries' domestic comp, let alone comin from grassroot development.

Serbia: the game arrived in Blegrade in the 60's btw, stopped and started again.

Wales, to a certain extent!

...?

Rugby league is non existent in Europe?



I wasn't aware that that was within the RLEF's remit.



We'll have to wait for the squads to be announced.
At a guess I'd say Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Lebanon and Serbia will include players from their domestic leagues. That just leaves Italy.

I remember a few years ago some people got excited about Norway RL and it turned out a primary school teacher had 20 pupils (mostly girls) playing 3-a-side tag rugby league on basketball courts in their PE lessons, yet he called it the Norwegian RL Federation (or something similar) and created a club logo (which got people excited despite the club not actually existing). I believe someone's trying to set up a small league for a few teams from Norway and one from Sweden, not sure what happened, but to me if it does happen that would be RL played in Norway, albeit at a very low level

This is anther person that has read the years and years worth of crap about the game played in countries it doesnt actually exist in.

That's ridiculous. There are some crazy websites outhere claiming rugby league is popular in many countries when in actual fact it's a few blokes have a run about.

Something similar happened in the Emirates when some ex pats got a rugby union team together to play a touring team of verterans a few years ago. The list of rugby union playing countries moved up one according to the IRB

He bags that and then defends a country that doesn't even have a club.

catalancs, I'd argue that there is migration and repatriation of top sportspeople, just like there is with working professionals in the real world. There isn't anything wrong with players making themselves available to play for the country on the basis of ancestry, as long as the team has a core of locals, and there is a domestic competition (or efforts to create one) that underpin it. In response to Earl, I agree that it is vitally important that expatriate and local Italian based people make a concerted effort to develop the game in Italy itself, to introduce locals, students and kids to the game, give them the resources to play, develop teams, a local competition and school competition.

However, an Italian team has been entered in this year's Euro Cup. It is in there now, so it is worth getting that team to make the best impression possible. A core of players with Italian ancestry could really boost the team, and impart thir knowledge and training on local Italian players. If the team plays strongly, it is better than beaing thrashed, and it could bring more attention to the game there.

When Italian Australians starting banding together to create interest in RL, Anthony Minichiello was among players that wore the jersey, promoted the team among the Aussie Italian community and helped raised money and interest in it.

Let's not forget that you could name a 22 of foreign raised players than represented the England RU test team.

Lebanon have included Hazem El Mazri, the leading points-scorer in Australian rugby league history, in their initial squad for the European Cup.

[urlhttp://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/09/09/20/RUGBYL_Lebanon.html[/url