France may join expanded league Tri-Nations

[Twizzle]

France may join expanded league Tri-Nations

The Rugby League International Federation has approached France to join an expanded Tri-Nations tournament from 2009.
The RLIF said it had requested Federation Francaise de Rugby a XIII (French national rugby league body) to provide a business plan and costings to become the fourth team alongside Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain.
The federation said the duration of the proposed quadrangular competition would be reduced but matches would be played at major United Kingdom and French stadiums.
Meanwhile the federation has ruled it remains the responsibility of rugby league nations to ensure their players are eligible to represent their country.
The matter was brought up after New Zealand lost two Tri-Nations competition points for fielding Australian born Nathan Fien.
-ABC/AFP


http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200611/s1786098.htm

 

[Twizzle]

Don't think they'll be to competitive, although it could add something to the tournament

 

[herbert henry1908]

This is great news!

if the french are playing more regular matches against Aus/ GB / Nz there is more of a chance young Rugby players will choose league over union.

initially though it may be a bit hard , but i'm sure there is plenty of potential though.

 

[brendothejet]

When they say major UNited Kingdom and French Venues are they gonna get ambitious?

I think GReat Britain should compete in the Tri Nations. That way you can have:

GB v AUS - Dublin/Cardiff
GB v NZ - Glasgow/Twickers
GB v France - Wembley

Get France playing ni PAris and stuff. Promote the arse out of it and finally get these teams the public support they deserve.

 

[Martli]

I think it would be a great idea. They might not be too cometative to start with but i'm sure they'll adjust rather quickly if it becomes a regular fixture.

The tournament could alternate between Europe and Australasia each year with the two traveling teams playing their matches in their repsecitve area then going on to continue the tournament.

 

[brendothejet]

they can stick it with the big three. It will take them a big performance but I think they will love the chance to take on the ANZGB teams in a series, something they havent had for a long time.

With the massive carrot of the Tri Nations trophy, currently the biggest trophy in international Rugby League, it shoudl be enough incentive.

Incidently, speaking of trophies, the Kangaroo Crew (who has been somewhat absent) have a great web page about INternational league trophies...

 

[timma]

France should already be in the series we have to make international rugby league huge , they would be competetive

 

[NPK]

They'd have to change the name of the tournament..4 nations?

 

[brendothejet]

Quad Nations?

 

[borntoride]

Really it will only be the tri-nations still, because France won't do anything at all, will give everyone a few extra points. If your going to include France theres probably a number of other nations who have sub par teams which would be willing if not able to participate.

 

[LeagueXIII]

What's wrong with "Gillette 4 Nations".

The French will need another SL team, Toulouse, to build a larger pool of professional players. Probably will happen when the next Tv contract is up for grabs.

Whilst the French may be weak it will be no different to Italy joining the RU 5 nations.

Here are their results:

Played: 35
Won: 3
Drew: 1
Lost: 31
Win%: 10

Ave result: 36-15

Never beaten England (ave result 11-49), France (16-39) and Ireland (14-35)

Never won away from home.

Beat Scotland in first game.

France currently pull between 6-10,000, a competitive team against the big boys will see 15-25,000 easily. The potential is great.

 

[shiznit]

i dont know if playing games at stade de france will work to be honest. we can premote the hell out of it but it would be better to start in a league stronghold and then expand. the french are pretty passionate about theyre rugby and from what ive heard about them they have done some pretty nasty things to ensure that league dont get a foothold.

but ive always thought... if the french were to become a top flight league nation. they would be awesome. they have always played with alot of flair and they love mixing it up with the big boys...

this is a good sign for rugby league. we need to get the south africans in theyre too.... they have the physical ability to do it. we just need to be smart about it.

 

[LeagueXIII]

borntoride you need to look at the bigger picture other than "an easy two points for everyone else". Do you think RU had that attitude when they included Italy.

 

[Nook]

Don't think you can really draw the comparrison with Italy RU in the 6N out too far.

RU is the type of game where sides can go negative and achieve slimmer margins without realistically competing. Italy have done so sucessfully. They also play in a competition where in any one year at least one other team is typically woefully off the pace.

France in the Trinations as things stand at the moment would be a different story. They'd probably be looking at 50+ from Australia at least, and quite possibly the others. Maybe more. That'll be bad for the tournament and for France.

Great idea but not before they are ready and the indicators are that 2009 will be pushing it.

 

[borntoride]

League XIII thanks for your comments, i'm glad you took the time to read my post, the fact is the French would be easy points for everyone for decades. Onto the bigger picture, ahh the fact that the Catalans are playing in the SuperLeague is senseless, i think that the money wasted on promoting RL in france would be better spent giving those clubs with a heritage in GB a boost thus bolstering the whole structure of the Superleague, with better rewards for teams in lower divisions. The only reason this is being suggested is to boost TV sales, Sky tv dishes to France. The media moguls behind these endeavours care nothing about RL history and would slice and dice any team they think isn't profitable. As far as inviting them into the competition i think it's fine i don't mind point is it wont add anything to the competition for many decades as they don't even have a decent league of their own. The money should be spent helping out newly promoted teams like Leigh Centurions who have a fan base a stadium and a team etc... Once the superleague allows the Catalans to be demoted and stops protecting them France will nolonger be a part of the Superleague and all the money spent on France will have been totally wasted. Help the game by building in the area's which can grow, help clubs with history get a foothold in the league, by rewarding them for successes. Then they sign better players, and coaching staff and improve facilities and add to the game etc... Please tell me i'm wrong when i say France will get hammered.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

League XIII thanks for your comments, i'm glad you took the time to read my post, the fact is the French would be easy points for everyone for decades. Onto the bigger picture, ahh the fact that the Catalans are playing in the SuperLeague is senseless, i think that the money wasted on promoting RL in france would be better spent giving those clubs with a heritage in GB a boost thus bolstering the whole structure of the Superleague, with better rewards for teams in lower divisions. The only reason this is being suggested is to boost TV sales, Sky tv dishes to France. The media moguls behind these endeavours care nothing about RL history and would slice and dice any team they think isn't profitable. As far as inviting them into the competition i think it's fine i don't mind point is it wont add anything to the competition for many decades as they don't even have a decent league of their own. The money should be spent helping out newly promoted teams like Leigh Centurions who have a fan base a stadium and a team etc... Once the superleague allows the Catalans to be demoted and stops protecting them France will nolonger be a part of the Superleague and all the money spent on France will have been totally wasted. Help the game by building in the area's which can grow, help clubs with history get a foothold in the league, by rewarding them for successes. Then they sign better players, and coaching staff and improve facilities and add to the game etc... Please tell me i'm wrong when i say France will get hammered.

Firstly, Catalans has plenty of history (XIII Catalans and St Esteve).
Secondly, throwing money at the likes of Leigh so they can make Super League and then get relegated straight away would be a far bigger waste of money than giving a French club a few years to establish itself.
Thirdly, the benifits of a French club in SL far outweigh the benifits of yet another northern club.

 

[borntoride]

East Coast Tigers, if money was given to clubs like Leigh who have been very succesful in winning cups and getting promoted they would be able to sign players and therefore wouldn't get relagated. I know your pissed off because you have had to eat your words about australia getting beaten by the poms. The French team will not survive once Sky Sports stops protecting them, and as such we are not adding any benefits to the league. Also the promoting of lower league teams who have been well established and have a lot of support would improve the depth of the Superleague and also it's strength. I think your talking nonsense basically and are just contradicting me because your sore about the fact that aussies got beat by GB and the tigers played pathetic this year. If your going to make points at least put forward some evidence to support why you think these things.

 

[pcpp]

Here are some French results against Australia/NZ:

2004: Lost 24-20 to NZ
2004: Lost 52-30 to Australia
2005: Lost 38-22 to NZ
2005: Lost 44-12 to Australia

I remember reading they were in the lead with not long to go in both the 2004 games and the 2005 NZ game before they capitulated in the end... so if the French can play a 80 minute game, they could well manage a win.

 

[Quidgybo]

At the moment there is a definite question mark over the French national team’s competitiveness. But these things are transitory and there are concrete steps that can be taken to improve the team, both between now and 2009 and beyond 2009. Two of the more visible steps are ensuring more French players gain experience in the professional first class RL club competitions (ie. ESL and NRL), and ensuring regular high quality international competition for the best of those players. The inclusion of Les Catalans in the ESL is a giant step towards the first and inclusion in an annual competition against the big three nations would satisfy the second. These of course aren’t the only steps required but in themselves they will have a dramatic effect on the quality of players representing France over the coming decade. And that’s the timeframe we must think in. The results and thrashings in any three or four years is of miniscule importance compared to the prospect of having four highly competitive RL nations a decade or so down the track.

The inclusion of Les Catalans is of course only a beginning. It will ensure that 8 or 9 French players are exposed to first class professional opposition week in and week out for a full season. And it will ensure they are exposed to professional training and coaching methods, and professional performance evaluation and expectations. As at any professional club, the best players will rise to the top and those not up to the challenge will lose their spot to someone more deserving. And as the club’s development and recruiting systems mature the number of non-French imports required to lend experience and stability will be able to be scaled back, providing the opportunity for regular first class exposure to 13 or 14 French players. Of course 13 or 14 isn’t a huge number to build national squad from which is why France really needs at least one more team in the ESL. Incidentally the ESL is considering a further expansion for the 2009 season. That’s hopefully provide a base of around 25 regular first grade players from which to choose the first Four Nations side with again more players coming thru as the clubs mature in future years.

Inclusion in the Tri-Nations by 2009 may be a step too far too soon but whether it happens then or not, it absolutely must stay on the agenda. With professional players competing in a first class club competition it is only natural that the relative quality of players available for selection will improve. What they will be missing is experience and combination at the next level. Playing once off matches here and there is developmental suicide for representative teams no matter what the standard of the opposition. The team comes together as a bunch of strangers with zero team cohesion, play’s their one or two games and then go their separate ways for a couple of years. When they are brought back together it’s a different bunch of strangers starting from zero again. With three or more matches every year the team at least gets a chance to form a backbone of familiar faces (eg. the Lockyers and Fittlers of the world) who know how to work together as a team. These senior players give the team the stability to introduce new caps incrementally while still remaining competitive.

The other aspect of regular international competition is the quality of the opposition. Playing three or four times a year against Russia or Ireland might help these amateur teams but it doesn’t do much to advance a team of professionals to the next level. The only way to learn what’s required to compete with the big boys is to play them. That doesn’t mean we should put a team of amateurs like Russia up against the Kangaroos and expect them to develop – they won’t, the gap is too big. But a French side consisting of players whose full time job it is to play RL and who play in a first class club competition can only learn what is needed at the next level by coping their share of thrashings. It’d be nice to be able introduce individual new caps into an existing national team that is already holding it’s own but that just doesn’t exist. At some point we have to just send out the team they have and then build from there. That’ll mean some thrashings and unattractive matches for a few years but it’s the only way we can get from A to B. Again, the reward of a fourth competitive international team is too great to let pass merely for the short term pain it’ll involve.

Leigh.

 

[brendothejet]

Borntoride.

cONSIDERING THE sUPERLEAGUE IS SCRAPPING PROMOTION and relegation all the French have to do is prove over the next few years that they are viable on and off the pitch and they will be granted a franchise.

The French national team has stood up well in recent years against the big nations, and although they were beaten by a very strong tongan side recently, have proved good competition.

The positive about the French inclusion is that the public becomes aware of the players, the teams and names.

The stories will come out about where they have come from. PLayers will appear on our screens and their names become more familiar.

The four nations will be great I and intend being there at the first one as I was for the Tri Nations.

Each team has one chance against each other to stake their claim. Top two final. One winner. The best four rugby league nations in the world going at it every year?

I'd like to see that, and, I will!