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Rugby League - International
- Thread starter c_eagle
- Start date
Hurricane
Hall of Fame Member
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
Mate, I've been watching some dour but gritty Rugby over the past few weeks where you see so many shots at goal and breaks in play from the majority of the countries.
Not trying to get into a league is better than Union debate because it's not from an International perspective, but running footy is always enjoyable when your team is winning at least!
Mister Wright
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I really wish the League was on after the Union. I deadset fell asleep during the 2nd half of the Union. Kangeroos were all over the Kiwis in the league. Lockyer showing he still has plenty of class and will be missed big time by the Broncos next season. Hopefully he goes out a 4-Nations winner.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
Confirmed. Reed debuts at centre alongside my boy Yeaman in the warm up versus the French.
Chase & Heighington also debut to make it a hat-trick of ringers. From the BBC:
England team: S Tomkins (Wigan); R Hall (Leeds), J Reed (Brisbane), K Yeaman (Hull), T Briscoe (Hull); K Sinfield (Leeds), R Chase (Castleford); J Peacock (Leeds, capt), J Roby (St Helens), J Graham (St Helens), G Ellis (Wests Tigers), B Westwood (Warrington), C Heighington (Wests Tigers). Subs: G Widdop (Melbourne), A Morley (Warrington), J Jones-Buchanan (Leeds), J Wilkin (St Helens).
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Have seen worse England/GB sides, tbf.
NUFAN
Y no Afghanistan flag
Yeah that pack is very solid, shame Sam Burgess hasn't recovered fully from his injury yet.
Jack Reed is fantastic, I would have picked him for Australia if he chose to play for the good guys - Reed > Josh Morris for sure.
I'm looking forward to watching Chase, I can't fathom how we won the Man of Steel, must have seriously improved.
Jack Reed is fantastic, I would have picked him for Australia if he chose to play for the good guys - Reed > Josh Morris for sure.
I'm looking forward to watching Chase, I can't fathom how we won the Man of Steel, must have seriously improved.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
It's something that doesn't really surprise me much at all. He was always tipped for huge things coming through the junior ranks and lower grades, and then only got about three chances to play in his preferred position in first grade.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
I should really get back into Super League, I really enjoyed watching it as a kid.
Something I've been wondering over the last couple of days - this isn't intended to be a "my code is better than your code" type argument, but why is it that Union is the more high profile and more popular code given Union's amateurism up until 1995? I'd have thought that League being a professional game would have meant that it would have been able to attract the top talent from Union, and potentially attract fans with it - yet in the UK, League has never really expanded from its base in the North of England. Why is this?
Something I've been wondering over the last couple of days - this isn't intended to be a "my code is better than your code" type argument, but why is it that Union is the more high profile and more popular code given Union's amateurism up until 1995? I'd have thought that League being a professional game would have meant that it would have been able to attract the top talent from Union, and potentially attract fans with it - yet in the UK, League has never really expanded from its base in the North of England. Why is this?
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
League administrators worldwide have always tended to be pretty narrow-minded, short-sighted and prone to massively stupid decisions; I imagine that has a lot to do with it.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Examples?
Ausage
Cricketer Of The Year
Super League in Australia would be a great example. The ARL sold Packer the competitions pay tv rights for a song. Murdoch saw his pay tv venture going up in smoke before it had even begun so he launched a raid to buy the contracts of players outright and start his own competition. The resulting split nearly killed the game, with unification only coming at the cost of News LTD having a 50% stake in the running of the sport.
Historically League has always been battled by Union. After the success RL had in Australia effort has always gone into keeping fringe nations from adopting the sport, so Union remained the contact code of choice in most countries. That gave the RU the opportunity to cash in on international opportunities, and a World Cup that features more than 4 nations was a by product. I think much of Union's popularity comes from the fact that it has a decent international scene, something I hope RL addresses in the coming years.
Also (stating the obvious) League has very much expanded past it's base in Northern England. It's the Rugby code of choice in Australia, and has a very solid following in NZ. It also has modest, but notable comps in other countries, just nothing that compares to Union.
If you're interested in RL history RL1908.com – RUGBY LEAGUE HISTORY – SEAN FAGAN is a great site with tons of info.
Historically League has always been battled by Union. After the success RL had in Australia effort has always gone into keeping fringe nations from adopting the sport, so Union remained the contact code of choice in most countries. That gave the RU the opportunity to cash in on international opportunities, and a World Cup that features more than 4 nations was a by product. I think much of Union's popularity comes from the fact that it has a decent international scene, something I hope RL addresses in the coming years.
Also (stating the obvious) League has very much expanded past it's base in Northern England. It's the Rugby code of choice in Australia, and has a very solid following in NZ. It also has modest, but notable comps in other countries, just nothing that compares to Union.
If you're interested in RL history RL1908.com – RUGBY LEAGUE HISTORY – SEAN FAGAN is a great site with tons of info.
Furball
Evil Scotsman
Yeah, when I was talking about a lack of expansion I meant in the UK.
Would Union being the toff's code of choice have influenced the spread of rugby, as it would have been the public schoolboys who were most likely to serve in the Empire or move abroad for business, taking the game with them?