Should there be an international RL 9s tournament?

[Chip Kick]

Considering the success of the Rugby 7s internationally, should there be a similar tournament for RL9s as part of developing the code further?

 

[Emu01]

Yes 100 percent. It will give the new Rugby league countries something to aim for and a new country could host each year.. Great idea

 

[Chip Kick]

Someone from RLIF should take this on board. Would be good to have the nines played in the Olympics as well.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Absolutely! There should actually be a tour in the off-season featuring young and up and coming players with recently retired stars turning out.

This will reduce the burn out factor on existing stars and ESL / NRL professionals but still provide star power to sell tickets and boost TV ratings plus it will provide an annual additional income for the RLIF and an additional vehicle to drive the development of the game.

It could tour Rugby League cities and towns like Townsville, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Auckland, Leeds, Wigan, Hull, Huddersfield, Perpignan etc plus target key expansion areas for events like London, Wales, Toulouse, North America, Melbourne, Wellington / Christchurch etc.

 

[Chip Kick]

Yes, I agree that a tour during the off-season as there isn't much happening with test matches nowadays.

if a similar approach was adopted like in the 7s Rugby and stage a World Series spanning over 3-4 months during the off season would be the goal in the development of this concept over the course of the next 4 years until the 2020 Olympics.

 

[JasonE]

I'd love to see an International 9's and as has been said before there should also be an under 18 or 20's World Cup.

 

[biggestbroncosfan]

well we do have the Cabramatta International 9's. I'm not sure if a true international/World 9's this would further complicate the international eligibility rules. Personally I think before anything the RLIF need to be a proper governing body and have more power over the ARL, NZRL and RFL so that the internationals comes 1st and domestic games comes second only then can we see rugby league truly succeed on the international stage! and 9's is perfect to start with.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

There should be a 9sWC every 4th year (that second/middle year between RLWCs).

- It would give the the players a bit more of a rest (if the took a whole second squad and mixed them in with the 1sts no one would know the difference),
- it would give minnow nations a greater chance to win/get through further (the result in only 18minutes often comes down to lucky bounces more then being the superior team)
- and we could take it to new places with far less risk of failure (we are only trying to fill 1 stadium rather than many across many cities over many weeks)

 

[Chip Kick]

well we do have the Cabramatta International 9's. I'm not sure if a true international/World 9's this would further complicate the international eligibility rules. Personally I think before anything the RLIF need to be a proper governing body and have more power over the ARL, NZRL and RFL so that the internationals comes 1st and domestic games comes second only then can we see rugby league truly succeed on the international stage! and 9's is perfect to start with.

The Cabramatta International 9's have participants from international teams such as Niue, Vanuatu, PNG, Fiji American Samoa and the Philippines to name a few.

IMO there's more media coverage and telecast of the Auckland 9's than there is of the Cabramatta International 9's.

 

[Craigo]

Is it true that RL was originally approached to do the Hong Kong Sevens, not RU?

 

[expansionist]

Oh my god yes and it should be in Auckland instead of (or complementing) the NRL nines

 

[Knownothing]

Is it true that RL was originally approached to do the Hong Kong Sevens, not RU?

I don't think so. The first HK 7s was in 1976. It was organised by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, and was played at the old Hong Kong Football Club stadium in Sports Road. The Hong Kong Football Club fields soccer teams, and rugby teams.


In those days it was a very minor event. It moved to the HK Government Stadium in the early eighties and slowly increased in popularity, to the poinst that it was eventually decided to rebuiild the Stadium, largely because of the huge economic benefit that the Sevens was bringing. Cathay Pacific have sponsored the event since 1980. The Stadium rebuild was managed by Jockey Club, and funded jointly by the Club and the then Colonial Government.


I have never heard of any potential involvement by any other sport. Why would that happen, this has been growing in popularity for many years under the Rugby Sevens banner.

 

[Craigo]

I don't think so. The first HK 7s was in 1976. It was organised by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, and was played at the old Hong Kong Football Club stadium in Sports Road. The Hong Kong Football Club fields soccer teams, and rugby teams.


In those days it was a very minor event. It moved to the HK Government Stadium in the early eighties and slowly increased in popularity, to the poinst that it was eventually decided to rebuiild the Stadium, largely because of the huge economic benefit that the Sevens was bringing. Cathay Pacific have sponsored the event since 1980. The Stadium rebuild was managed by Jockey Club, and funded jointly by the Club and the then Colonial Government.


I have never heard of any potential involvement by any other sport. Why would that happen, this has been growing in popularity for many years under the Rugby Sevens banner.

That clears that up then....

 

[latingringo101]

We (Latin Heat) helped run the first Latin RL international comp using 7s RL.

We had 6 teams (Chile, Uruguay, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) and it worked out to be a very great day of footy!

https://www.facebook.com/SouthAmeri...3861682783403/495492303953671/?type=2&theater

7s/9s are best for development and emerging RL nations by allowing them to get their first taste of full contact RL. It could be a great Deveopment tool for the RLIF if they decided to full utilize it!

 

[Sinman]

Yes.. In the off season.. for the bigger countries it should be full of recently retired stars and a few suited to nines reserve graders.. Just simply to make it sustainable to start with.. then play 4 or 5 events.. Make them pretty simple to start with.. get TV coverage and a few sponsors to back it.. Make the NRL pre season shorter so clubs can stop complaining.. just get something going and I think it will take off over time especially during the "dead" rugby league time and especially if some players retire into it.. In the next few years you could easily see the likes of Benji Marshall, Billy Slater, Jonathon Thurston retire into a cruisey 9's season or two and that is all you'd need.. it would promote the game and let these players who are just a bit too old for 30 x 80 minute games a season finish up with a couple of years of 9's.. You might also find good off contract players or younger players who have had a few too many injuries might in the future decide a couple of years of 9's might be good for them.. It's certainly attainable and if a couple of stars each year finish off their career with some 9's then I reckon it would grab a good audience.. in the same way the big bash does even though the players are mostly domestic players..

 

[Sinman]

not to mention the benefit for international Rugby league.. Fiji and PNGwould smash it in this format!!

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Oh my god yes and it should be in Auckland instead of (or complementing) the NRL nines

NRL 9s should begin the season and the 9sWC should end some (i think every 4th). But keeping it locked away in Aukland would be such a waste....

Id like to see the NRL9s go around the non-RL states of Australia and all across NZ (it would gain a lot of interest from just being a cool event and do wonders for interest in RL/9s/Touch).

The 9sWC should be a more global initiative; it would be much easier/safer taking this to CHina/South Africa/any other random country than a full RLWC, because we are only looking to fill 1 stadium over a few days. All of the promotion will be directed towards the 1 place while we still gain some exposure across the country. It would also be a stepping stone for hosting the full RLWC...

 

[Chip Kick]

not to mention the benefit for international Rugby league.. Fiji and PNGwould smash it in this format!!

Totally agree, after watching the Pacific test during the rep round, both Fiji and PNG not to mention Samoa and Tonga can really bring some flare into the game during the off season.

Even the Cook Island and even Solomon Island can compete as well. A 6 nation Pacific 9s tournament ;-)

 

[taipan]

Totally agree, after watching the Pacific test during the rep round, both Fiji and PNG not to mention Samoa and Tonga can really bring some flare into the game during the off season.

Even the Cook Island and even Solomon Island can compete as well. A 6 nation Pacific 9s tournament ;-)

No the flare should be left to the A League fans;-).
I much prefer the flair the PI boys bring.
OK I'll get my coat.:sarcasm:

 

[miguel de cervantes]

The International 9s is more or less a given I think. One of the French communiqués flying around mentioned that 9s would be pushed in clubs in line with plans for international development and tournaments.