NZ v England - June 22/23 2018

[roughyedspud]

There alot of chatter about this game being held in Denver,USA..we are apparently keen but the kiwis aren't..Nigel wood has been quoted in one article about it where he said "England will not play in the southern hemisphere in 2018"...which rules out NZ v England in Auckland which I believe was the original plan when this fixture was agreed way back in may..

I think this game is in serious danger of not taking place...or if it does it'll be England v someone else..Tonga maybe?

 

[Burns]

Tonga are playing Samoa already.

The only teams not to have fixtures yet are Fiji and the Cook Islands.

 

[adamkungl]

http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/threads/nz-v-poms-in-us.467656/

#forumCop

 

[roughyedspud]

ECT is on ignore so I never saw it lol

 

[roughyedspud]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=11955831

I said it might fall through..

Maybe this is why Fiji haven't been given a test yet...just incase..

 

[kiwileaguefan]

The NZ public are screaming out for games against the Pacific islands....if the Kiwis play this game in the US I guarantee you a lot of the momentum will be lost from the RLWC.

If the game was to go ahead....that would mean the Kiwis would play 5 tests next year, four away against England and potentially one game at home against Aussie (but wouldn't be surprised if the game is played in aussie).

 

[Burns]

NZ cant play Tonga as they are playing Samoa, why do they keep suggesting it?

Amazing that they can't fit in a test at the end of the year. 2019 is way to far away.

Why isn't there any word about the Pacific Nations playing Test as the end of the year?

 

[adamkungl]

Fiji and Ireland are the 2 strongest teams not allocated mid-year tests yet, aside from England and NZ.

Ireland likely a bigger draw in the US than Fiji.
Fiji v NZ rematch could be huge.
I suspect Moore wants NZ to play off the All Blacks popularity though.

 

[Coastbloke]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=11955831

I said it might fall through..

Maybe this is why Fiji haven't been given a test yet...just incase..

The reality is that the momentum gained in the RLWC is slowly ebbing away to the relief of the NRL and the sycophantic NRL comp and SOO obssessed media.

Already the media has started on Fittler's Halves combination and tickets to the NSW game. It's so obvious what needs to be done with the Kiwis, Pacific Island and PNG after what we saw in the WC bur TPTB won't lift a finger while clubland and SOO dominate the airwaves..

It's a hard one whether I want the England v Kiwi Test in the US. On one hand I want that game as a start to promoting the game in the US before 2025. On the other I want to capitalise on what we saw jn Auckland and Hamilton. It would be nice to entrust it go the 'experts' running the game, but quite frankly, I don't trust them to do so..

 

[roughyedspud]

The optics of the nzrl ditching the England test in favour of Fiji..then Tonga,Samoa in future years is it looks like they have found their level in the 2ND tier..and when you consider that in the last 5 games against the 2ND tier nz have have only won 2...drawn 1,lost 2...maybe it is their level Lol

 

[adamkungl]

Another way to look it it.. we actually have multiple good options here for tests v England and NZ, which is a big step forward. Good problem to have.
I still have medium faith in RL admin to cock it up but... baby steps

 

[Burns]

The lack of noise any test matches at the end of the year with the Pacific Nations is deeply troubling.

We just know that come October/November, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and PNG will be doing nothing despite all the journos and players saying they need more tests.

 

[Arucard]

The lack of noise any test matches at the end of the year with the Pacific Nations is deeply troubling.

We just know that come October/November, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and PNG will be doing nothing despite all the journos and players saying they need more tests.

So basically the same old lazy island governing bodies expecting everyone to do things for them. They should be being proactive right now.