RLWC2026 countdown

[Ideas Man Stephen]

IRL needs to go back to allowing 2nd tier memberships being able to qualify for the RLWC

I have heard zip about countries moving up and becoming full members

Why? For what it’s worth, the reason why there is a reduced WC is to make the WC viable.

 

[siv]

Why? For what it’s worth, the reason why there is a reduced WC is to make the WC viable.

Its a TV schedule

By removing teams who might be bottom.of their pool means we have a comp that will appeal to broadcasters

But failing in doing what it needs to do which is grow the international game

10 teams is too few

Not being being able to make RL work in France has set the international game back 50 years

I would like to know who will be the next full member?

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

Its a TV schedule

By removing teams who might be bottom.of their pool means we have a comp that will appeal to broadcasters

But failing in doing what it needs to do which is grow the international game

10 teams is too few

Not being being able to make RL work in France has set the international game back 50 years

I would like to know who will be the next full member?

yeah, France are an absolute disappointment. Their bumbling of hosting the 2026 WC is a good demonstration of the shambles they are.

Personally, I want to see more of the best v the best in a WC and less walkovers. As a result, I am ok with a sub 16 team WC (although the contrived 10 team version with a group of four and 2 x groups of three is terrible).

Including European teams dominated by heritage players in the WC has done nothing to "grow the international game". Scotland, Ireland, Italy and Lebanon have all gone backwards (significantly) on the ground there (Lebanon does have some mitigating circumstances).

There needs to be a better, more cost efficient way to develop the sport in those countries.

 

[Perth Red]

They treat internationals as the "pinnacle of their sport" because there is f**k-all interest and therefore monetary value in their domestic competitions.
In fact, that lack of interest in the sport as an actual entertainment product is only papered over and unlikely to be changed because of its` viability at international level where the interest is more in the clash between nations than whether the game is actually attractive as a spectacle.

What gash, there’s only one country in the world where the domestic rugby league comp is bigger than the union one.

 

[Manurewa_Marlins]

Papua New Guinea?

 

[Last Week]

Its a TV schedule

By removing teams who might be bottom.of their pool means we have a comp that will appeal to broadcasters

But failing in doing what it needs to do which is grow the international game

10 teams is too few

Not being being able to make RL work in France has set the international game back 50 years

I would like to know who will be the next full member?

I'm pretty sure the IRL Chairman came out a while ago and said that the reason for reducing the amount of full members was so that certain leagues, who weren't quite legitimate, couldn't then seek grants from the IRL.

Further, the last world cup struggled financially, and it's the IRLs only real source of income. They're confident that they could turn a profit with a shorter competition.

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

I'm pretty sure the IRL Chairman came out a while ago and said that the reason for reducing the amount of full members was so that certain leagues, who weren't quite legitimate, couldn't then seek grants from the IRL.

Further, the last world cup struggled financially, and it's the IRLs only real source of income. They're confident that they could turn a profit with a shorter competition.

You are right about the smaller competition being more profitable and the reason for dropping to ten teams, although I am not certain it’s shorter.

The downgrading of nations like Scotland, Ireland and Italy from Full Member status was simply down to those nations not fulfilling the criteria required to retain their Full Member status. It was debatable any of them were meeting the criteria leading in to the 2021/22 WC either.

 

[siv]

I'm pretty sure the IRL Chairman came out a while ago and said that the reason for reducing the amount of full members was so that certain leagues, who weren't quite legitimate, couldn't then seek grants from the IRL.

Further, the last world cup struggled financially, and it's the IRLs only real source of income. They're confident that they could turn a profit with a shorter competition.

But to kill off Greece, Holland, Brazil and Spain and all of their good work was poor form

 

[Last Week]

But to kill off Greece, Holland, Brazil and Spain and all of their good work was poor form

Absolutely.

My impression was that they reduced the amount of full members so that they could provide larger grants to select nations/leagues, rather than a thinning out of the grants accross more members. And to avoid giving certain members grants due to lack of legitimacy.

 

[taste2taste]

What gash, there’s only one country in the world where the domestic rugby league comp is bigger than the union one.

Lebanon ? Jamaica?

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

But to kill off Greece, Holland, Brazil and Spain and all of their good work was poor form

In what way have those nations been killed off?

Absolutely.

My impression was that they reduced the amount of full members so that they could provide larger grants to select nations/leagues, rather than a thinning out of the grants accross more members. And to avoid giving certain members grants due to lack of legitimacy.

That’s simply not true. There has been a long standing criteria which were being fudged by certain nations and it is good the IRL have started holding national bodies accountable to those minimum standards.

 

[Coastbloke]

Scotland seems to have picked up their game in some areas recently. The Test in Vegas next year was a bit of a surprise..

 

[siv]

In what way have those nations been killed off?

Hope

These are legitimate nations working their way up. The exposure the last RLWC gave the game in Greece was huge

Be it TV public and corporate interest and general goodwill to the RL community

I agree Observer status should not be in the RLWC but Affiliate Status should

I dont see any valid reason why Ireland should be excluded from the RLWC qualifying. They have a good domestic comp are playing international and slowly building

But only the Top 2 in a RLWC and host nation should also only be auto qualifiers. 8 teams is too many

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

I agree Observer status should not be in the RLWC but Affiliate Status should

I dont see any valid reason why Ireland should be excluded from the RLWC qualifying. They have a good domestic comp are playing international and slowly building

I’m happy to be persuaded that Ireland have any right to be considered a full member but I have huge doubts anyone could. For over a decade, their junior performance pathway has almost exclusively relied upon English juniors with heritage links. Their senior competition littered with forfeits and clubs coming and going. Maybe there has been recent improvement, but certainly nothing that I think has been demonstrated as sustainable and worthy of Full Member status.

 

[taste2taste]

Q for the uneducated ( me ) is there any country that shows promise ? Is there any where that league is growing to the piont that they could one day have a decent domestic competition similar in size to the French elite 1 or NSW/QLD Cup ?

Jamaica? Lebanon ? Serbia ? USA ? ... any where ?

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

Q for the uneducated ( me ) is there any country that shows promise ? Is there any where that league is growing to the piont that they could one day have a decent domestic competition similar in size to the French elite 1 or NSW/QLD Cup ?

Jamaica? Lebanon ? Serbia ? USA ? ... any where ?

Nowhere is close to reaching French Elite 2, let alone Elite 1.

Most advanced below the French to the best of knowledge is Serbia, Holland and Jamaica, but each are a long way off from delivering a competition of the French levels. A Serbian domestic national team might compete at Elite 2.

Lebanon FYI is a bomb site… literally and metaphorically. They have regressed to a small college competition is my most recent understanding.

 

[taste2taste]

Nowhere is close to reaching French Elite 2, let alone Elite 1.

Most advanced below the French to the best of knowledge is Serbia, Holland and Jamaica, but each are a long way off from delivering a competition of the French levels. A Serbian domestic national team might compete at Elite 2.

Lebanon FYI is a bomb site… literally and metaphorically. They have regressed to a small college competition is my most recent understanding.

So let's say in a perfect world with everything going to plan,

How far off would Serbia, Holland and Jamaica be from have a domestic comp the equivalent of Elite 2 ?

Are we talking 3 years or 30 years ?

 

[eels4lifee]

So let's say in a perfect world with everything going to plan,

How far off would Serbia, Holland and Jamaica be from have a domestic comp the equivalent of Elite 2 ?

Are we talking 3 years or 30 years ?

300 years

 

[Ideas Man Stephen]

So let's say in a perfect world with everything going to plan,

How far off would Serbia, Holland and Jamaica be from have a domestic comp the equivalent of Elite 2 ?

Are we talking 3 years or 30 years ?

More than 30. There is an opportunity to run successful domestic league, but to think that the Dutch, Serbs or Jamaicans can simply fast track past 100+ years of history, culture and generational upskilling would require sustained finance beyond recognition.

Think for a second that the grassroots game in Melbourne will be well advanced than those nations and the Melbourne Storm have had an NRL team for over 25 years, financed closer to $100m than $10m and the Victorian RL has had their own funding over that time and they are blessed with domestic and foreign migrants familiar and fanatical of the sport. Those other countries have none of that.

It is simply fantasy to think in the next 50 years that a Dutch, Serbian or Jamaican league could produce teams to challenge the French Elite.

That is not to suggest you just give up on them either (not that IRL has), but they need a sustainable grassroots system before maybe considering a single team entering expanded British or French semi pro comps as a performance pathway.

 

[siv]

Q for the uneducated ( me ) is there any country that shows promise ? Is there any where that league is growing to the piont that they could one day have a decent domestic competition similar in size to the French elite 1 or NSW/QLD Cup ?

Jamaica? Lebanon ? Serbia ? USA ? ... any where ?

It used to be Jamaica, Dutch, Irish, Argentina and Brazil

By allowing Affiliates to play in qualifiers it allows for growth while always having hope and that hope builds growth and interest

Even if they dont get past the first round of qualifiers, they can play in regional tournaments

I just looked at how many countries were on the way up in 2021 to 2023. Then nothing

The decision to exclude affiliate members from group stage qualifiers has had a reverse effect from its desired outcome since 2023

No one has tried to progress to full status because they cannot generate the local revenue the game needs without the RLWC carrot