yakstorm said:
I feel the Russians were unlucky to be grouped the way they were.
So do I. The Russian RL may be counting heir blessings to be involved in that pool however because they want more high level international competition and they are getting it with England A. More importantly they might feel they'd be getting more top level exposure in the RL world by plaing their games in the UK and especially in the North of England.
I think it would of been better if England A, Wales and Ireland were grouped together, for the simple fact that players from these three sides will all be playing to try and get a spot in the Great Britain side if injuries occur.
I like your idea here. To create a British pool would be helpful to create extra competition for Lions spots. This would also regionalise the competition to create Western pools and Eastern pools and so cut down on travel costs.
However I would put Scotland in the pool instead of the (island of) Ireland team. While Scotland should definitely be in the Lions setup, I feel the Ireland team's involvement is a little more complicated (e.g. the fact that the united Ireland team represents the Republic of Ireland which is an independent country to the United Kingdom and represents the North which is a part of the UK) and Ireland could well take part in the European pool with France an Russia.
Russia would of been competitive against France (as they showed in the Victory Cup final)
RRL backer Kameldinov asked a few questions of Bears management in the light of the loss, especially since the French were virtually fielding a B team due to Villeneuve players being involved in the French final.
and Scotland could of fielded a few more players from its domestic comp against the Russians.[/quote]
Russia would get a return game against France, a familiar opponent, and a few Lokomotiv (a leading club) players would have experienced playing in France earlier this year/last year. Also, Ireland could have fielded a few
Still, I don't think the Bears will just lie down, they will possibly lose both games by at least 20 points in their group, but will possibly annoy or push both England A and Wales in the first half.
Agree with the three points you make here. They will compete and try hard. I think they'll lose to Wales by 20 and lose to England A by 60+.