www.smh.com.au/sport/commission- ... 19chf.html i know games like this have been tried before but a 3 match series would be excellent way to develop the national team, making use of the many imports in sl

www.smh.com.au/sport/commission- ... 19chf.html i know games like this have been tried before but a 3 match series would be excellent way to develop the national team, making use of the many imports in sl

I'd still rather they went for Yorkshire v Lancashire but allowed the overseas players to be involved in it too depending on which county they play or first played in.

I would try to be interested in an England v ANZAC (or whatever) team, but much would depend on the game being played with some intensity.

I also think that one of the ingredients you need for really top level sporting contests is passionate fans on both sides. I'm not just talking about support at the game, either, because obviously you'll always have more home than away fans at most games. I'm talking about knowing that the team you are playing has loads of support watching on TV.

When England RL play Australia in Wigan, for example, there might only be a few Aussies at the game, but at least you know that there are thousands of them watching back in Australia. Beating a team that no one cares about doesn't have the same appeal. That's why if we're going to have an England v Other Nationalities game, we need to encourage the other nationalities to support 'their' team.

good post SG but don't you think the same attitude must be applied at the domestic level also ?

Yorkshire vs Lancashire would be good to be tried, Yorkshire folk seem to hate Lancashire, and Lancashire don't really care about themselves, but hate thees folk frum Yaarkshire.

I think its a great idea and gives our best players the chance to play together against a high quality team.

But it only gives 17 English players a chance to play, and there's no guarantee it would be against a high quality team. After all, what's the incentive for the other nations players to participate?

A Yorks v Lancs would be a much better alternative in my opinion.

Listening to the Clint Newton interview earlier in the he claimed that the overseas players would see selection as a big honour not to mention relishing the opportunity to play (and beat) the England national side.

It is a step up in class for our England side who badly need to play more together against quality opposition otherwise the once a year pummellings the Ozzies and Kiwis keep giving us will carry on.

East v West would be better. Limited to a maximum of 3 players per club and at least one from each SL team and limited to British/French/Irish (born) players only. These would slot perfectly into the season without altering the current season format.

West: Crusaders, Wigan, Warrington, Saints, Salford, Catalans, Huddersfield.
East: Hull, Hull KR, Harlequins, Castleford, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford.

If Widnes come up next season they can replace Hudds, who will move back across to Easts side and redress the balance.

Potential teams:
Easts: Mathers; Fox, Briscoe, Smith, Hall; Purdham, Burrow; Lynch, Houghton, Watts; Ferres, Elima, Langley. Bench: Hodgson, Huby, Westerman, Gledhill.

Wests: Tomkins, Broughton, Lawrence, Atkins, Thomas, Bosc, Eastmond, Graham, Robinson, Morley, Westwood, Tomkins, O'Loughlin. Bench: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Ferriol, Lunt, Clough.

Not a bad idea but isnt the whole idea to give the England team more game time together against stronger opposition?

The 3 players per club would also be unfair on players from clubs who have 4+ players of international standard because they would miss out.

Clint Newton is saying that in the off season when he's fresh. I think you'll find plenty of overseas players finding excuses not to play when in the middle of a congested fixture schedule and already carrying knocks.


Is it that much of a bigger step-up than playing another 17 Englishmen? Yorks v Lancs gives 34 Englishmen instead of a narrow 17 the opportunity to show what they can do and you can almost guarantee participation since you can make it clear the only way a player will be considered for England selection is through a good performance in this series. Except for the genuinely injured who can be assessed by an independent RFL doctor.

It also doesn't address the issue of rivalry. SOO works because there is rivalry between Queensland and NSW. There is rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire, however I don't know how you would create a rivalry between England and Australians & Kiwi's who aren't good enough for their own countries plus a couple of French and South Sea Islanders. It also definitely will not be taken seriously by the wider public, whereas people who aren't very into the sport can immediately understand a Yorkshire v Lancashire event.

This would develop the English players and make them stronger and also give a chance for some fringe players to test themselves. The limit of 3 players is to ensure a) that all players are given a chance to test themselves in competitive games and b) to prevent it decimating squads so that normal league fixtures can continue.