Another question for the Aussies and Kiwis

[Sam_the_man]

I honestly believe that from around 1960 through to 2000 rugby league was by far it's greatest enemy by concentrating on clubs instead of international league.
If we can get the Australians doing what the English are doing internationally we'll start to see the media attention and expansion our sport deserves.

 

[deluded pom?]

But do you think the committment to international RL is there from the average RL supporter Sam? RL has, as you said, become it's own worst enemy by continually ignoring internationals for club football. Now I personally think that from the people I know and talk to that outside of G.B./England v Australia and at a push NZ there is very little interest in international matches. What do you, or others think, is the attitude from average RL supporters that you know? Is it purely an interest in their club, the NRL, SOO or Test football?

 

[Sam_the_man]

From the average rugby league fan they are happy to keep watching NZ/Aus/Eng play test matches. The Diehard rugby league fan is the one that keeps bugging administraters of our game to develop the international game.

Fortunately efforts have been made in PNG and France and in the case of France they came at time just the game was about to really die. But were seeing genuine growth now in both these important nations and given realistic time to develop both these nations will bare fruit on the international stage again. And whats really thrilling is that we're in period of growth in our game that hasn't been seen in 100 years....how good is that!!!!
I strongly feel that the diehard fans in the established nations (thats the likes of you and me Deluded Pom....and pretty much everyone else that posts here regularly) have in no small part provided just enough pressure to make the admins of our game start to think.

One more thing, Richard Lewis is a man we must keep in our game if it's going to prosper. He has been the driving force behind both domestic growth in the UK and growth in Europe...want to know how successful he has been? Well Football is a sport that is huge world wide and the FA in England is huge....the English football association has been so impressed with what he has achieved that they have asked him to audit there junior development program and identify areas they can grow.

Like i said we have to keep Lewis in our game.

 

[deluded pom?]

When Lewis first got the RFL job there was a lot os scepticism to his appointment. That stemmed from the fact that he came from tennis which is seen mainly as a middle class sport in the UK and also mainly an individual sport. What Lewis is done is view RL from the outside without any of the usual baggage and reservations that a "true" RL man would have had. He's seen the sport for what it is. He is now a TRUE RL man. I just hope the lure of soccer doesn't entice him away or I dread to think what will happen if the right man doesn't replace him.

 

[Sam_the_man]

The trouble with true rugby league men is that they come from a club system which seen as the be all to end all.

Where is Lewis from?

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Hate union, only watch it sometimes to see how crap it is.

 

[shinobi]

I think most of the kiwi All Black haters suffer from the same little brother sydnrome that us kiwis living in Oz have for anything Oz vs NZ. Then again its probably because i grew up loving both games. Warriors in the NRL (Tigers pre 95), Chiefs in the Super14!

 

[deluded pom?]

The trouble with true rugby league men is that they come from a club system which seen as the be all to end all.

Where is Lewis from?

I'm pretty sure Lewis is from the South of England and hadn't had any previous connection with RL and so came to the job without any of the usual blinkered views most RL administrators have.

 

[roughyedspud]

i'll be honest, i'm not a fan of richard lewis...mainly because he went back on his decision to scrap GB after last years tri nations...it makes no sense what so ever for GB to be playing NZ a year before a world cup..


but....i like the way he's heading, if he sticks to his guns,helps the celtic nations become self sufficient and continues his work with the RLEF....then i might send him a christmas card .

another thing about lewis, when he was head of the LTA (lawn tennis ass.) he had a budget of £20m+ a year and under his tenancy produced ONE "world class" player in the shape of tiger tim henman....

 

[roughyedspud]

i'll be honest, i'm not a fan of richard lewis...mainly because he went back on his decision to scrap GB after last years tri nations...it makes no sense what so ever for GB to be playing NZ a year before a world cup..


but....i like the way he's heading, if he sticks to his guns,helps the celtic nations become self sufficient and continues his work with the RLEF....then i might send him a christmas card .

another thing about lewis, when he was head of the LTA (lawn tennis ass.) he had a budget of £20m+ a year and under his tenancy produced ONE "world class" player in the shape of tiger tim henman....

 

[screeny]

Agree that Lewis needs to be kept in, but disagree with RS about Lewis's decision not to scrap GB this year - it makes perfect sense.

If the British game is going to undergo such a big change in its tradition he needs a huge event - such as the WC - to walk us through the process. If he played as England this year it'd be a damp squib and lose loads of money.

 

[Te Kaha]

So what do you make of the use of the public education system to promote union over league?

And who is doing this? Are you saying in NZ that the NZRFU is telling the government that schools cant play league??? And this has been going on for years??? WoW they have more power than I thought.

Whats your stance on the banning of rugby league in France by the collaboraters with the Nazis?

It was a criminal act and should be punished. However why should something from 70 years ago that has nothing to do with me stop me loving a game???

What do you make of the Fiji rugby union ringing radio stations posing as league officials and cancelling games, or changing the locks on the access ways to grounds so league matches can't go ahead, or changing the locks on changing room doors so league teams can't use them?

I think it is low and underhand and shouldn’t be done… however again why should that reflect on me or my support of a game I love?????

What do you make of the South African RU in late fifties using there power in local government to take all grounds off rugby league?

Are you constantly going to bring up instances from over half a century ago to make a point????

This is what you call hate isn't it? Or are going to do what your mate Elli and SteveM and co do and say none of this really happened.

Of course it happened and they are terrible instances… but do you hate Germans? Japanese? For what they did over half a century ago???

Funny how you never post in the rugby league section unless your defending union Te Kaha.....but you say you support both codes....just not rugby league in public.

bullsh*t… look harder

Do you need help finding your way back home to the union section?

Not at all do you need a frontal lobotomy?

 

[Sam_the_man]

50 years ago?????

How about whats going on in Fiji in present day.

The German union official that burst into the changing room of a league match in which union players were trying out league and telling them that if the match went headed see to it they were banned for life.

The bullsh*t in our school systems is still going on to this day. The NZRL has been to speak to the government on two occasions of recent years in 2000 and 20002 about the barriers that are still being put in there way in trying to get the game into the schools.

The French to this day are still being attacked by union. (Guys can someone provide the link for that story about the local union club putting pressure on the local government to stop a league team using the publically stadium?)

Rugby league has grown greatly in Scotland in the last 5 years since the RFL and IRL started to really push the sport.....what was the responce of the SRU? they attacked league through trying to ratchet up the cost of insurance for players playing league by around 300% if memory serves.

Want anymore present deeds of good will by your sport?

By the way, where are all these positive league posts of yours because i looked harder but it still looks bullsh*t to me.

 

[roughyedspud]

Agree that Lewis needs to be kept in, but disagree with RS about Lewis's decision not to scrap GB this year - it makes perfect sense.

does it balls.......


GB should have bowed out,as planned,last year on a tour cementing the fact that GB will become a tour side only..

this year the focus should have been on the home nations,with the celts playing important WC qualifiers and england putting down a marker against the "2nd favourites" for the world cup in the build up to australia 08..especially when you consider tony smith as already said he's planning for next years world cup...


but lets not start a GB v HOME NATIONS thing again, it's happening and everyone has to get used to it i'm affraid ..

 

[LordLeague]

I am a proud Aussie and do not support the Wallabies

The Wallabies represent nothing about my Australia. Rugby Union in Australia thrives in exclusive GPS and private schools/colleges. Institutions where Rugby League is not welcome. The Wallabies are simply a collection of over-fed soft GPS old-boys with the skill level of the average Jim Beam Cup Rugby League team.

There is nothing Australian about Rugby. Where do I start.

-Unofficial banning of Rugby League in private educational institutions
-Discrimination against Rugby League based on socioeconomic class
-Bludging profile from great Aussie champs e,g Keiron Perkins, Cathy Freeman, Sailor etc
-Association with IRB who did nothing to act against the banning of Rugby League in British armed forces, RFU ban on League converts etc
-The French situation. Still no compensation or apology from FFR
-Those petty low acts perpetrated against Rugby League by Union people every day somehere in the world (locks changed/floodlights vandalised/threats/confiscated boots/the list could go on for pages).
-Rugby Union supporters who use their position of priveledge (e.g newsapaper editors, journos etc) to bang-on for pages about Rugby Union even though nobody gives a toss (see Northern Sydney Times)


I could go on all day, but put simply, Rugby Union propogates itself around the world on the back of dicrimination, denial of choice, abuse of power, hatred, class structure etc etc.

Rugby Union is in my opinion, un-Australian. The Wallabies do not represent my Australia. Apart from all that political stuff, they are also a bunch of talentless hacks.

LordLeague

 

[screeny]

I am a proud Aussie and do not support the Wallabies

The Wallabies represent nothing about my Australia. Rugby Union in Australia thrives in exclusive GPS and private schools/colleges. Institutions where Rugby League is not welcome. The Wallabies are simply a collection of over-fed soft GPS old-boys with the skill level of the average Jim Beam Cup Rugby League team.

There is nothing Australian about Rugby. Where do I start.

-Unofficial banning of Rugby League in private educational institutions
-Discrimination against Rugby League based on socioeconomic class
-Bludging profile from great Aussie champs e,g Keiron Perkins, Cathy Freeman, Sailor etc
-Association with IRB who did nothing to act against the banning of Rugby League in British armed forces, RFU ban on League converts etc
-The French situation. Still no compensation or apology from FFR
-Those petty low acts perpetrated against Rugby League by Union people every day somehere in the world (locks changed/floodlights vandalised/threats/confiscated boots/the list could go on for pages).
-Rugby Union supporters who use their position of priveledge (e.g newsapaper editors, journos etc) to bang-on for pages about Rugby Union even though nobody gives a toss (see Northern Sydney Times)


I could go on all day, but put simply, Rugby Union propogates itself around the world on the back of dicrimination, denial of choice, abuse of power, hatred, class structure etc etc.

Rugby Union is in my opinion, un-Australian. The Wallabies do not represent my Australia. Apart from all that political stuff, they are also a bunch of talentless hacks.

LordLeague

Oh well said that man...exactly. As I pointed out earlier in this thread, just not as eloquently as you, RU's past is absolutely immoral and as such is 'un-English' and that is specifically the reason why I hate it and why I think all hard core RU fans are twats.

They mustn't have moral standards and, in their own way, have, as apologists or activists, propped up their nasty code.

 

[Sam_the_man]

They remind me in a small way of the Gestapo foot soldiers who all said after the war "i was just doing my job".