How many team's in the World Cup?

[southsman]

Should there be 8 , 10 , 12 , 16 teams?

I realize it will not be 16 and I have heard strong ruumours of as little as 8.

 

[screeny]

12 gets my vote. We genuinely can field 12 established nations and be proud of it. The number also allows for qualifiers and a fair amount of matches so the tournament can make some cash.

Yakstorm, Big Bunny, Heritage XIII, any of you got the latest news on the alleged 2008 WC? The last I heard was weeks and weeks ago, some comment that the consultancy company appointed by the RLIF was looking into strucutres; and then last week, when the WARL president confirmed that Perth would get a game after speaking to Carr.

 

[southsman]

I think 12 sounds like a good number and allows for the pool games to be played over 3 weeks in 3 pools of 4 . Rather than 4 weeks if you have 2 groups of 5 teams. Thus making the cup more viable in regards for the small nations spending an extra week of accomadation and money lost from their occupation.

 

[Big Bunny]

Supposedly an announcement will be made soon rather than at the November meeting. All the rough details I assume, including the number of teams.

I'm hoping for 12 teams, 10 minimum. 8 would be too much of a regression. Even with 12 it would be hard to imagine seeing any of Australia, NZ, England, France, Wales, Fiji, PNG, Tonga, Lebanon, Scotland, Cook Islands and Ireland missing the cup. If Samoa are forgiven their backward domestic movement then they would probably take a slot away from one of the celtic nations.

Russia, Georgia, Samoa, USA.. one or more of those could very well make it into the cup but it would only be through qualification rounds being weighted against the better developed regions such as the Pacific.

 

[hgfds]

6 spots for oceania seems to be a bit excessive,south africa and west indies will probably get a domestic comp up and running so the battle for 12th spot will be between
russia usa georgia south africa west indies serbia holland japan

 

[Evil Homer]

12 teams including GB and a combined Pacific Island team would get my vote.

1.Australia
2.GB & I
3.NZ
4.France
5.PNG
6.Lebanon
7.Pacific Islands
Rest - Qualifiers

A glofiried Euro Nations and Pacific Rim cup would not be good for the game.5 qualifiers would give the smaller nations something to aim towards.

 

[carlnz]

Dude to you really think Tonga and Fiji want to give up all there hard work and merage into a team? Same for the home nations?? Its never going to happen!

It was in rugby league review that Samoa are asking to play Australia before they go to England!

1. Aus
2. NZ
3. England
4. France
5. PNG
6. Wales
7. Fiji
8. Tonga
9. Ireland
10. Lebanon
11. Samoa
12. USA/Russia/Cook Islands/Scotland

The only new team i can see coming in is USA, depenedin how many people they pull in from England and Australia of course! But they need more matches against the likes of France, Wales, Fiji etc etc

 

[thommo4pm]

12 Teams will be the way to go.
By the time the Cup rolls around I think International League will have 5 or 6 pretty competitive sides.

Australia are the best by a long way.
But then
NZ
England
France
PNG
Wales
&
Ireland will all be competitive also
I also think Lebanon will start to push the nations below Australia.
Yes Australia will eb favourites but the rest of the games should be beauties between the nations above.

My teams would be:
Australia
England
NZ
France
PNG
Ireland
Wales
Lebanon
Fiji
Tonga ( all 10 of these teams have domestic comps up and running successfully)

And the reamining 2 teams qualify, from the likes of
USA, Russia, Scotland, Cooks, Samoa???, Serbia, Georgia, Holland, and others such as Malta, Greece, Italy etc...who don't have domestic comps up yet should be able to play in an emerging nations cup.
I am informed that Japan do have a comp up and running, it is small but they do have it going.
West Indies have also been saying they are going to have an 8 team domestic comp....lets hope this can get up and running, along with Sth Africa.

South Africa is the market League should be looking at. Union is well and truly established there obviously, League should try and get going in Sth Africa. That is a potential goldmine for us along with USA.

 

[Sun_Down]

1. Aus
2. NZ
3. England
4. France
5. PNG
6. Wales
7. Fiji
8. Tonga
9. Ireland
10. Lebanon
11. Samoa
12. USA/Russia/Cook Islands/Scotland

Right on Carlnz, this list basically looks perfect...Just wondering, Scotland is the weakest out of the 4 Nations right?

 

[paulmac]

12 teams.Australia and New Zealand qualify as hosts.4 qualiafiers from the South Pacific Games in Samoa in 2007 ( Samoa,Tonga,PNG,Fiji,Cook Is,New Caledonia,American Samoa & Niue ).4 qualify from European Cup ( England, France,Wales,Scotland,Ireland,Russia,Serbia,Holland,Georgia,Germany,Italy,Malta, Greece ) and 2 qualify from Inter-Continental Cup for teams from Asia,Africa and the Americas ( Lebanon,Japan,South Africa,Morrocco,USA,Canada,Argentina and Jamaica).

 

[taipan]

will put my money on 12 teams. 8 is far too little to give a appearance of a decent tournament,10 wont keep the nations satisfied and 12 appears to be a figure the countries will go for,and a nice round workable and economic number.

 

[hutch]

12 with an emerging nations cup of another 8 or 10. countries with a domestic structure only allowed in the world cup. looking to expand for future world cups to 14 then 16.

we must start playing qualifiers pretty soon, to build interest, figure out the competing teams and to give players experience in playing for their country.

and only nations should compete, considering it is a "world cup". NO teams based on race (maori, aboriginal etc), no countries grouped together (pacific islands etc, although in future years a west indies team could be excluded from this rule) and no teams who only exist through the granparent rule (although it worked well for lebanon last wc, it was still made a mockery of).

 

[SalfordRedsWA]

The 1995 WC was a success with 16 teams. This next one ought to follow that concept with an Emerging Nations WC once again.

 

[roughyed8]

1995 world cup only had 10 teams competing in main event!

 

[League Freak™]

I'd have 10 teams with a combined Pacific Islands side.

 

[Moffo]

u have to break up GBI, it would be a joke if you didn't

biggest thing is we have to convince the australian public that this will be a fair dinkum competition

 

[YANTO]

I'd have 10 teams with a combined Pacific Islands side.

LF welcome back to the real world mate but why a combined PI team?
Does thi mean we can do a united european team out side the UK??

 

[yankeeboy]

16 would be great, but there simply aren't enough teams to be competitive. I'd say 12.

However, it is riddiculus for people to say that the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland together (2 independent nations) should get four world cup places. Beside England, the other three don't have enough non-GP rulers to get automatic places. They should have to qualify. I think that a united British Isles XIII would be the most competitive.

There must be qualifiers. You can't just give away 11 of 12 spots. Teams should have to earn them.
No more than 5 automatic places: Australia, NZ, PNG, France, and England/GBI.
I'd like to see 4 pools of 3, playing a double round robin within each pool. This would yield 24 pool games, enough to give games to the heartland and the minor states, as well as NZ and a game or two to PNG.

 

[southsman]

I hear through the great vine that it will be a 10 maybe 12 Country comp.

Group1 Qualification(4 to go thru) England , Wales , Ireland , France , Scotland
Group 2 Qualification(1 to go thru) Russia , Serbia, Holland, Georgia , Italy , Malta
Group 3 Qualification (3 to go thru) P.N.G, Fiji, Somoa, Tonga , Cook Islands, Nuie
Group 4 Qualification (2 to go thru) U.S.A , Japan, Lebanon, Morroco, Jamiaca
Australia and NZ to automatically qualify as holders.

TOTAL 12 teams .

 

[League Freak™]

LF welcome back to the real world mate but why a combined PI team?
Does thi mean we can do a united european team out side the UK??

I never left the real world. Thats why people here dont like to read alot of what I say, when I dont sugar coat the real situation in places like South Africa....people gte all emotional.



The combined PI side is simple.

Right now pacific islanders have two choices. Dont play international Rugby league...or play international Rugby League for Australia or New Zealand.


Now, we COULD split the Islands up for the World Cup, but you'd just be left with alot ofr uncompetitive sides, and after the WC is over those sides would not play again.

With a combined side, you make straight away add another top class team to the WC. You also open up the opportunity for REAL Test matches between the PI side and the other Test nations between World Cup.



As for the other....I have no idea what you are talking about.