Australia withdraw from 2021 RLWC ..................................... well one of them anyway :)

[The Partisan]

https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2020/05/27/australia-withdraws-from-students-world-cup/

All about funding reading thru the lines.

Having been to the ones held here in Brisbane it is a shame to see this happen, but I think we are getting used to things getting canned in the current climate.

 

[Pommy]

https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2020/05/27/australia-withdraws-from-students-world-cup/

All about funding reading thru the lines.

Having been to the ones held here in Brisbane it is a shame to see this happen, but I think we are getting used to things getting canned in the current climate.

Seems a little premature for something that’s over a year away. Funding should have been able to be secured for a nation like Australia even in this climate.

 

[deluded pom?]

Seems a little premature for something that’s over a year away. Funding should have been able to be secured for a nation like Australia even in this climate.

I agree. I might have expected this from New Zealand but not from Australia.

 

[langpark]

To be fair, this is by far the least important one of them all and I am still a bit torn as to whether it should even exist in the first place.

If Students RL is a potential vehicle of opening new avenues of funding, then I am all for it. Otherwise, I don't believe it belongs in event as prestigious as the World Cup.

 

[Coastbloke]

It wouldn't surprise me if it was the Senior Mens' WC such is the putrid attitude the NRL has toward IRL..

 

[yakstorm]

The funding argument feels a bit like a furphy to me... If funding was such an issue, why in the exact same interview would they be pushing for a South Pacific Championship involving the likes of Samoa, PNG, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga? The reality is, the AURL would need to request funding for such an event, which would arguably be a similar amount to sending just the Australian team to England (if not more).

Anyway, beyond that point, i am honestly not a fan of the 'Universities' World Cup being held as a 'pre-event' to the main World Cups. The different Tertiary Student Leagues held six successful World Cups before they were forced to become part of the 'Festival of World Cups' and since that time the prestige of the event has gone down hill.

After the first World Cup in 1986 which had 5 Nations, the tournament actually tried to open opportunities for new Leagues to have a tournament to enter, as shown by Ireland, Scotland and Holland joining in 1989, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa joining in 1992, before 1996 and 1999 featuring the likes of Japan, USA, South Africa and Russia.

Whilst 2005 went back a bit, it still appeared to be better run than some of the more recent tournaments which haven't even featured France or New Zealand, with the most recent having only 6 teams, including a 'Pacific Islands' side which didn't feature any players based in the Pacific Islands.

The IRL's desire to keep these 'festival tournaments' to small numbers (like 4, 6 or 8) and play it in less than ideal time slots for me detracts from the value they could bring, especially if they are scattered out so smaller nations (who are eligible) can use them as a carrot to grow their local competitions.

Maybe we could see something like (I'm sure there are more nations that I'm missing):

• Students: Australia, New Zealand, PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, South Africa, Lebanon
• Police: Australia, Fiji, Jamaica, Great Britain
• Armed Forces: Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, Great Britain, Canada, PNG, Tonga, Samoa