The thing what seems to get me is when it comes to international RL, everyone seems to be obsessed with what the Australians and the New Zealanders are thinking.

England can lose to Wales or France - People will say "Oh the Aussies and the Kiwi's will be shaking in their boots after that".

England slap Wales for 80 or France for 60 - People will say "Oh, the Aussies and the Kiwi's will be shaking in their boots after that".

England (or previous GB incarnations) can never seem to win when it comes to international RL. As Biscuit said, what is the point of bringing GB back, it's still technically England. They only called it GB & Ireland in the past because Carney was in the side.

I really don't understand this fascination with the Oceania sides. England can beat the Australians, they just need to have the mentality to do it in key matches. They have already showed they can beat the Kiwi's now and again, who to be honest are no great shakes really. Who honestly cares what Australia and New Zealand think. Let them play each other in one off tests.

International RL has never been strong, and there can be one sided thrashings all the time, but that's only because there are 3 teams in the world in the top bracket, and the rest are underneath.

The same thing happens in Rugby Union and football, but yet no-one blinks an eye because there are more than 3 top teams in the highest bracket of each sport, yet because there are more teams to go around, there are far more one sided games in these sports. But, people only ever whine about one sided games in international RL.

But it's just the typical Rugby League fan mentality, whinge whinge whinge about everything in sight.

Excellent post, I'm glad you had the energy because I didn't.

Many RL 'fans' are great at identifying problems, but their only solutions tend to be that we should stop playing rugby at any level, at all. Sad, moaning s.

One of the nobheads above seems to be accusing the RFL of being unable to 'market' the game (an expression often used by people who know nothing about it) despite he/she already being of the view that everything is crap. Well, marketing something that even the supposed supporters of the product actively despise and run down is some task.

Incidentally, the World Cup is being 'marketed' extremely well if the amount of email traffic I'm getting and first-day sales are anything to go by.

The thing is, Marco-Van-B will complain about the RLWC up to the point that it is on, yet he will no doubt watch every single tournament match, no doubt just to complain about the one sidedness of the games in question.

Hence why RL doesn't need him as a fan. He is the epitome of the whiney Rugby League fan with an immense chip on their shoulder.

Exactly what I was thinking.

I've seen numerous stories on BBC Sport website about the upcoming World Cup, apparently over 50,000 tickets have already been sold and there are still 12 months left to go.

I know they're marketing it very well to the current RL fan but have you seen any advertisement outside the usual RL "circles"? Such as national/regional TV campaigns? It's hard for me to judge because I'm always in earshot of anything rugby league. Maybe it's a question for the non-RL fan which won't be answered on here unless anyone knows specific examples?

There was 10 minute feature on BBC Breakfast the other morning, with the world cup itself in the studio. I heard a piece about it being a year to go on 5Live on Friday too.

Pieces in the Guardian, BBC News, Independent, Daily Star etc, as well as the usual RL press.

Still - and to recycle a line I used on the VT - many RL fans will wilfully ignore all of this stuff, claim there's been 'no marketing' and start whining if Sam Tomkins doesn't come around to their house in person.

the main benefit of bringing GB back would be that there would be a bigger goal than england so may stop defecting therefore you would have the likes of Bridge, harrison, etc still playing for ireland. rhys evans, carvell? etc for wales. brough, ian henderson etc for scotland. therefor strengthening the home nations for world cups and giving us the lions tours again

IMO, the RFL need to make a definitive decision where their priorities are, re International RL.

We simply don't have the quality at Super League level, to REGULARLY compete with the Aussies and Kiwis. Our SL sides are using the rules (legitimately), by cramming their sides full of overseas players (residency, passports of convenience, natural quota etc).
so, do we
a) carry on regardless, and watch a lot of overseas talent, take up squad places which could be taken by young British talent. We'll have a great product to watch on telly and through the turnstiles, but Internationally, we'll just "keep on, keeping on"

or b) drastically reduce the number of overseas players (a set number, no catagories. This can be done by a player declaring his nationality when he first plays professional rugby, AND IT DOES NOT CHANGE). Fair enough, the quality of SL may dip for a few seasons (less "stars" coming over), but subsequently, we may not see potential youngsters (who could have made it big) getting disillusioned because an Aussie has taken his place, so the youngster goes to a worse club, thus his chances to shine are diminished.

With regards to GB, I'm sorry, but calling it GB doesn't wash, anymore. "Scotsmen", "Welshmen" and "Irishmen" will get their ego massaged by playing in a World Cup for their "country", get their bottoms handed to them in that World Cup, and then, want to play for England, (they all change their alliegancies .... Harrison, Evans, Bridge, anyone), because the majority of their original nation's side, is made up with players from the lower leagues. If Carvell is still Welsh (I honestly don't know), he's the only non Englishman who'd get anywhere near a GB jersey.

Yesterday, well I'm perplexed by these internationals.
SL finished 3 weeks ago, all of these players should be on a beach by now, having a well deserved break, after having their bodies battered since early February. RL has a busy 2013, and our players should be given chance to fully recover for that season, not stagnate for 3 weeks, and then play some games which we all know the outcome of. A nice long break would have been ideal.

Waiting to hear from Marco Van B regarding the England Knights v Scotland game in the Alitalia Cup this afternoon and wondering if the Aussies and Kiwi's were watching it and shaking in their boots.....

There has been radio adverts, and the trophy tour is well under way.

As for the original post, I have waxed lyrical all week so won't bore people any more. I will add though that last year Warrington beat Keighley Cougars and Swinton Lions 80-0 and 112-0 respectively. Both clubs went on to get promoted and have done themselves proud this year. Based on your logic, I presume you would have abolished both clubs and the Challenge Cup there and then?

No doubt he will sift through the channels looking for a row of empty seats to moan about- a complaint I have never understood. Some of the best atmospheres I have known at games have been when watching Leigh in the Championship in front of around 1,500 people.

Ok, so I'm a whinging nobhead, fine whatever thank you for your eloquent, considered comment. I'm also a passionate supporter of the domestic and international game who is sick of some people burying their heads in the sand oblivious to the damage to the game things like this cause.

What I do know is that you can parade the WC cup on breakfast time as much as you like but matches like yesterday undo any good work the RFL might be doing. It was a pointless exercise in rugby terms and a damaging PR one.

If the build up to the WC has started in earnest, yesterday was counter-productive. I'll be at as many WC games as I can but how many neutrals or people with a passing interest in the game will be motivated to do so based on yesterday?

Insults and abuse to the usual address please.

Australia

England -New Zealand

PNG - France

everyone else pants

We can only beat what's in front of us.

The reason some people want GB back is it's a massive part of RL history. For many people the only international RL they could genuinely imagine being excited about watching is a GB V Aus Ashes series. Other contests simply don't capture the imagination in the same way and probably never will.

Even those of you who are looking forward to the World Cup, wouldn't you be looking forward to three Ashes tests at Wembley, Old Trafford (or Eastlands) and Elland Road a lot more? Be honest.

If you could find a way to build games V clubs into the tour with the current calendar then so much the better, although I accept that is now extremely difficult.

I'm not patriotic and I don't like international sport in general. I see international football as an inconvenience and international RL as largely pointless, but even I loved Jonathan Davies scoring at Wembley. It's the only form of the sport outside club level that can truly capture the imagination in my opinion.

Rugby League's biggest problem; its 'supporters'.

Rugby League World Cup 2013 bring in Olympic experts McCann Rugby League World Cup 2013 (RLWC2013) has underlined its determination to build on the unparalleled interest in global sporting events held in the UK by appointing McCann Manchester as a sports marketing partner. www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... d-cup-2013 Tickets sales start strongly on first day Rugby League World Cup 2013 celebrated the one year to go to the tournament mark by releasing tickets for general sale on Friday October 26 2012. By the end of normal office hours on the first day of sales 50,000 tickets had been sold with the biggest interest in the ‘big three’ games: the opening double-header, the semi-finals and the Rugby League World Cup Final. www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... trongly-on

Rugby League World Cup 2013 bring in Olympic experts McCann Rugby League World Cup 2013 (RLWC2013) has underlined its determination to build on the unparalleled interest in global sporting events held in the UK by appointing McCann Manchester as a sports marketing partner. www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... d-cup-2013 Tickets sales start strongly on first day Rugby League World Cup 2013 celebrated the one year to go to the tournament mark by releasing tickets for general sale on Friday October 26 2012. By the end of normal office hours on the first day of sales 50,000 tickets had been sold with the biggest interest in the ‘big three’ games: the opening double-header, the semi-finals and the Rugby League World Cup Final. www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... trongly-on

Warrington - Our Opportunity www.warringtonwolves.org/warring ... unity-5783

Warrington - Our Opportunity www.warringtonwolves.org/warring ... unity-5783

Thanks to the RFL for listening to my suggestion. On talksport Last week I heard an advert for the 2013 Rugby league world cup....well done.......!!

Was in Central London on Saturday and saw the Fan Zone for the NFL in Trafalgar Square. They should definitely do something similar before the semi final double header and also in each of the host towns / cities. This creates a congregation point and help build the anticipation and atmosphere before the match the next day.
Get players visiting local schools well in advance of the match (particularly in London and Limerick) and doing coaching sessions.

As an aside - there was a near full page on the World Cup (focusing on Tomkins) in the Evening Standard on Friday. So it definitely has an impact.

The story of the trophy is brilliant - they should definitely use that as a hook for a general news story. But with the trophy tour they seem to be on to that.

I was there too and had the same thoughts as you. Especially when I saw there were Harlequins cheerleaders handing out RU leaflets - i.e. you don't even need to set up an event yourself, you can tag on to others. I've already emailed the RLWC2013 team about this!



RLWC2013 have a full educational programme planned. Warrington are planning to involve all schools in their activities.



Yes, they are planning to use the trophy story. Also they have been using the Broken Time play to attract interest to the heritage of RL.

Forgive my ignorance/laziness (the answer might even be in this thread) but what's the trophy story?

GDMM - I must say that is a ridiculous statement to make. That's like a failed retailer blaming consumers for not shopping with them leading to their demise. Make the product right and people will buy. I don't believe there is anything inherently problematic about Rugby League supporters when compared with football, cricket or RU fans.

That Wales vs England game was lucky to get 4,000 fans for the quality of the game and the attractiveness of the fixture. A complete farce of a competition with zero interest across the UK RL fan base never mind the sporting public as a whole. Even 5Live didn't bother reporting on it. Seems like the Stobart vans in Wales didn't really work



BTW I still remember early 90's getting 65-70K at Wembley for a GB vs AUS test match. Where did we, and when I say 'we' I mean the RFL, go wrong?

I just looked up the Wembley attendances for internationals in the 90s:

1990 GB Australia ~ 55,000
1992 GB Australia ~ 74,000
1994 GB Australia ~ 57,000
1995 GB Australia ~ 67,000

Impressive attendances, no doubt, but only the 1992 and 95 ones are over 60,000. In the recent history of the international game, they are starting to look like outliers. The last World Cup final in Australia drew just over 50,000, which the 2013 tournament should match if England can manage to make the final. The annual ANZAC tests rarely get more than 50,000 either.
One could argue that the fact we now have England rather than GB deters people from attending, but that doesn't really stand up - of all the GB players in those 90s tests at Wembley listed above, only Jonathan Davies and Allan Bateman weren't English.

I'd suggest keeping England for World Cup purposes, and resurrecting GB in Four Nations years (down there Aus NZ PNG & GB, and up here Aus NZ GB & France), on the off chance there are any Welsh players who might merit a GB 'Lions' shirt.

The trophy visits the English and Welsh governments: www.warringtonwolves.org/rugby-l ... er-10-5792

The trophy visits the English and Welsh governments: www.warringtonwolves.org/rugby-l ... er-10-5792

The three children who jointly won the RLWC2013 Design a Mascot competition were shown the designs for the Mascots "Grubber" and "Steed": www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... s-rlwc2013

The three children who jointly won the RLWC2013 Design a Mascot competition were shown the designs for the Mascots "Grubber" and "Steed": www.rlwc2013.com/rugby-league-wo ... s-rlwc2013