Are the Kiwis trying to sabotage international RL?

[titoelcolombiano]

2013 World Cup Semi-Final at Wembly playing against the home team England, live on the BBC, huge crowd in attendance and the Kiwis break the hearts of the English in an epic match. Good on them but an English victory that day would have had such an impact in England.

Fast forward four-years. The Kiwis have the largest and most talented player pool in their history to select from, they are co-hosting the wold cup and if they win their pool will not leave NZ until the final. What do they do? They lose; not to Australia or England but to Tonga after leading 16 - 2 at half time and to Fiji without scoring a try - and that's all they needed to do to win the game....... score one try!!!! Againg the Kiwis troll our game. On the back of a couple of ordinary years and poor Warriors performances, the Kiwis could have restored some good will in the game in NZ by performing at their home world cup, but no again, four-years later they do what isn't best for the game.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Yes.

Or they're just shit.

One or the other.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Yes.

Or they're just shit.

One or the other.

Well yes, shit, until we want them to lose for the good of the game (2013) and they spoil the party! Then turn up a week later and put in a pathetic performance against Australia.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Well yes, shit, until we want them to lose for the good of the game (2013) and they spoil the party! Then turn up a week later and put in a pathetic performance against Australia.

Says more about England than anything.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Says more about England than anything.

I've often wondered how England would have played in that final. I think Australia would have won, they were on fire that day but England would have at least shown up for the game.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

2013 World Cup Semi-Final at Wembly playing against the home team England, live on the BBC, huge crowd in attendance and the Kiwis break the hearts of the English in an epic match. Good on them but an English victory that day would have had such an impact in England.

Fast forward four-years. The Kiwis have the largest and most talented player pool in their history to select from, they are co-hosting the wold cup and if they win their pool will not leave NZ until the final. What do they do? They lose; not to Australia or England but to Tonga after leading 16 - 2 at half time and to Fiji without scoring a try - and that's all they needed to do to win the game....... score one try!!!! Againg the Kiwis troll our game. On the back of a couple of ordinary years and poor Warriors performances, the Kiwis could have restored some good will in the game in NZ by performing at their home world cup, but no again, four-years later they do what isn't best for the game.

?

Their shit performances are probably the best thing that could have happened to international RL....

Two 2nd Tier nation have now knocked off a 1st Tier team in the RLWC and we genuinely dont know how this comp is gonna end.

Maybe this was all planned, but it hasnt been a bad thing.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

?

Their shit performances are probably the best thing that could have happened to international RL....

Two 2nd Tier nation have now knocked off a 1st Tier team in the RLWC and we genuinely dont know how this comp is gonna end.

Maybe this was all planned, but it hasnt been a bad thing.

Commercially, New Zealand has much more potential than the islands and this plus the Warriors' poor performances has damaged the game in New Zealand.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Commercially, New Zealand has much more potential than the islands and this plus the Warriors' poor performances has damaged the game in New Zealand.

I disagree. Constantly flogging your opponents is what damages the contest...

Best thing to happen to State of Origin was NSW getting hammered for 8 years straight; we finally started to take it seriously.

NZ losing to the smaller Pacific nations will only help grow the rivalry and NZ is forced to take them seriously.

Success is wonderful, but you only enjoy it against a backdrop of previous defeats. Nz not being the supreme Pacific nation could be the BEST thing to happen to RL in NZ.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

Sabotage?

Not sure anything that the Kiwis did last night would fall into the category of "intentional" let alone sabotage.

And while I'm not keen on defending them as they deserve all they get, I would hardly call what they had available "the largest and most talented player pool". It still should have been enough to beat Fiji, but you know, where there's a Kidwell there's a way.

 

[WaznTheGreat]

NZ has never been good at Rugby League apart from the odd fluke,there even worse than what the Wallabies are at Union.

 

[Force]

I've often wondered how England would have played in that final. I think Australia would have won, they were on fire that day but England would have at least shown up for the game.

NZ played their final the week before. That was arguably, the best game of Rugby League and it was a bruising encounter. It didnt help when certain Kiwi players were fooling around with sleeping pills and red bull the night before the final.

 

[Force]

2013 World Cup Semi-Final at Wembly playing against the home team England, live on the BBC, huge crowd in attendance and the Kiwis break the hearts of the English in an epic match. Good on them but an English victory that day would have had such an impact in England.

Fast forward four-years. The Kiwis have the largest and most talented player pool in their history to select from, they are co-hosting the wold cup and if they win their pool will not leave NZ until the final. What do they do? They lose; not to Australia or England but to Tonga after leading 16 - 2 at half time and to Fiji without scoring a try - and that's all they needed to do to win the game....... score one try!!!! Againg the Kiwis troll our game. On the back of a couple of ordinary years and poor Warriors performances, the Kiwis could have restored some good will in the game in NZ by performing at their home world cup, but no again, four-years later they do what isn't best for the game.

This is a poor Kiwi team with a lot of average players, average halves and coached by an average coach.

The demography of rugby league in NZ is Maori and Pasifika, mainly just in Auckland too. NZ players of P.Is decent have a choice between NZ or the P.Is, usually they choose NZ if they're good enough but on this occasion, some of those key players chose Tonga which put a big dent in the Kiwi team. This on top of unavaliable first choice players like Bromwich, Proctor, Harris and Foran spelt disaster in the making. If they had an actual playmaker and a good coach then they would've did a lot better. Lebanon is proof of what good playmakers and a good coach can do to an average team.

 

[ULYSSES]

Does anyone know the player participation numbers in NZ. Not people that were exposed to a development day but people participating in regular competition. Are numbers going up, down or static.

My question mark, forward slash key has a mind of it's own.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Sabotage?

Not sure anything that the Kiwis did last night would fall into the category of "intentional" let alone sabotage.

And while I'm not keen on defending them as they deserve all they get, I would hardly call what they had available "the largest and most talented player pool". It still should have been enough to beat Fiji, but you know, where there's a Kidwell there's a way.

I obviously used the word sabotage with tongue in cheek. My point is they spoil the party at England's home world cup and then fail in embarrassing circumstances at their home world cup. The opposite of both scenarios would have created a lot of goodwill towards the game in both England and New Zealand.

I actually do think that they have the largest and deepest professional player pool available to them currently (barring injury) than in any other time in NZRL history. I can't think of another squad throughout the years that had the likes of RTS, Rapana, Foran, Johnson, JWH, Bromwich, Proctor, Harris and Taumololo (Kiwi eligible even if he doesn't play again) available to them.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

NZ has never been good at Rugby League apart from the odd fluke,there even worse than what the Wallabies are at Union.

I think they are good. Even before the Warriors they were strong against Australia and England. Your analogy with the Wallabies is a good one though. They are up against a powerhouse of the game as their next door neighbour that gets the best of the Rugby talent in the country.

I don't expect NZ to beat Australia all of the time - I just thought that a 2005 tri-nations win, a 2008 world cup win, a 2010 four nations win and a 2014 four nations win and generation like they currently have with guys like RTS, Rapana, Foran, Johnson, Luke (probably past it now), JWH, Bromwich, Harris, Proctor and formerly Taumololo was really something that they should have built on, and not fallen in a heap.

 

[Coastbloke]

I don't think the Kiwis are trying to sabotage IRL. I do think they are trying to sabotage Kidwell's career and so far mission accomplished..

 

[siv]

It looks more like we witnessed the Kiwis evolve into a Tier 2 nation

 

[roughyedspud]

Poor attitude is what's ruining the kiwis