How would you schedule the International RL calender over 4 years?

[adamkungl]

obviously WC is going to be held 2013, 2017, etc...
But what do you think should fit in between? There's a lot to choose from - Tri Series' v NZ, Roo Tours, 4Ns, plus getting enough games for minnow nations.

I was gonna write my own idea but I gave up because I'm tired and it's complicated but i'm interested in others' ideas...

 

[East Coast Tiger]

It's a bit tricky but I think the cycle should be:

Year 1: World Cup.
Year 2: 4 Nations
Year 3: 4 Nations
Year 4: WC qualifiers. The big three play other countries and possibly things like Lions tours.

That only really covers the big countries regularly. But you'd add Pacific, Euro and Atlantic Cups most years where possible.

 

[adamkungl]

It's a bit tricky but I think the cycle should be:

Year 1: World Cup.
Year 2: 4 Nations
Year 3: 4 Nations
Year 4: WC qualifiers. The big three play other countries and possibly things like Lions tours.

That only really covers the big countries regularly. But you'd add Pacific, Euro and Atlantic Cups most years where possible.

That's what I was thinking too in regards to the 4Ns and qualifiers. It would be good to fit in 3 game series'/tours between the 2 of the big 3 though...which is where it gets tricky. Also, how/when is the 4th nation decided for the first 4N? There isn't going to be Pac/Euro cups in a WC year.

 

[Springs]

I can't decide between Tri Nations or Four Nations, but anyway:

2013: World Cup
2014: Tri Nations Aus/NZ, Pacific Cup, European Cup, Aus vs PNG etc on bye weekends.
2015: Tri Nations UK, Pacific Cup, European Cup, Aus Vs France etc on bye weekends.
2016: Kangaroo Tour/Kiwi Tour:
3 test Ashes series
2 test Baskerville Shield series
Kiwi/France 2 tests
Tests vs Wales, Scotland/Ireland.
World Cup Qualifiers
2017: World Cup

It's hard to decide between Tri/Four Nations. If a 4th Nation steps up in the world cup, then it will be hard to leave them out of a Tri Nations, and if say, France/Wales come better than 4th then how do we leave them out of the 2014 Four Nations? To me, the Four Nations raises more problems than it solves. With the Tri Nations though, we get twice as many meaningful matches, plus the lower countries can still play the big three.

 

[Quidgybo]

How would I schedule it over four years? I wouldn't. I'd schedule it over five years so we have a clean northern hemisphere / southern hemisphere rotation with neither ever doubling up on hosting in consecutive years (or missing out in consecutive years). So year 5 we have the World Cup in one hemisphere, and in year 10 we have it in the other. Rinse and repeat.

Leigh

 

[simostorm]

Cant wait for the world cup final between Australia and NZ :roll:

 

[mono_mal]

I'd like to see the Four Nations continued and the Pacific Cup and European Cup concepts further developed. We need to develop the next tier of nations to provide further competition to Aus, Nz and England. Hopefully tour games could be played in the South Pac coinciding with the Four Nations and potential England, Welsh and French tours. This should also apply to Kiwi and Aus teams playing the likes of Wales and France when in Europe.
Potentially we could see the following structure:

2013
WORLD CUP

2014
Four Nations @ NZ (Feat highest ranked South Pacific team from WC)
European Cup

2015
Pacific Cup @ PNG
European Cup
Kangaroo/Kiwi/Lions Tours

2016
4 Nations @ UK
World Cup Qualifiers
France/Wales South Pac. Tour

2017
WORLD CUP - AUSTRALIA/NZ

 

[Glen from the Mount]

Cant wait for the world cup final between Australia and NZ :roll:

So much can change between now and 2013 so it's way too early to predict with any certainty who will play the Kiwis in the final.

 

[Wilson1]

How would I schedule it over four years? I wouldn't. I'd schedule it over five years so we have a clean northern hemisphere / southern hemisphere rotation with neither ever doubling up on hosting in consecutive years (or missing out in consecutive years). So year 5 we have the World Cup in one hemisphere, and in year 10 we have it in the other. Rinse and repeat.

Leigh

Having regular world cups is more important then one hemisphere getting all the international games for two seasons in a row. If the international season was held up north two years in a row i'm sure Australia and New Zealand could play games between each other to compensate.

I think the current schedule has everything about right. It means that there are pathways for every nations to move up. The current problems that we are having with a pretty boring four nations would be easily solved if one other nation could get themselves close enough to the other countries that they could cause some upsets.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

The first thing that I would do is push Origin to a weekend and shut down Club games. This opens a 3-game window to have the rest of the world compete. On these same weekends I would play the European and Pacific Cups (either FPP or with a final later in the year). I'd have England playing an Aus-NZ Barbarians team and NZ in the Pac Cup. I'd play the Atlantic Cup at the same time if possible.

This would leave the end of the year open for a Four/Five Nations tournament with the rest of the teams touring the other hemisphere to serve as curtain raisers for the Nations tournament. (Yes, I'd pretty much be flying an entire hemisphere up/down to the other every year)

This way, you could have on TV throughout an Australian weekend:

Mid-Year Example:
Friday: NZ Pac Cup game
Sat: Euro Cup Double
2nd Pac Cup game
Atlantic Cup game
Sun: Eng v Barbs
Origin

or something like that.

At the end of the year you'd be running two Nations triple-shows (Nations game plus two Tour games).

The benefit here is that the Cups still serve as Qualifiers but 2nd Tier nations get to play teams other than the ones they play every year (meaning from the other hemisphere).

2013: WC
2014: Above Schedule
2015: Above Schedule
2016: Open

 

[Panadol]

mm I would like to see a six nations rather than a five nations, gives the opportunity for the lesser nations to challenge and develop against Aus NZ and Eng. My 4 year cycle would be

2013 - World Cup Northern Hemisphere
2014 - 4 Nations Southern Hemisphere
2015 - 6 Nations Northern Hemisphere
2016 - WC qualifiers and Test Match series
2017 - World Cup Southern Hemisphere

The 6 nations concept would have 4 automatic qualifiers in AUS, NZ, ENG, and FRA, and the winners of the the pacific and european cups (say PNG and WALES) in the previous year. I would try to hold the majority of these matches away from the upcoming world cup host country just to avoid the stigma of a mini world cup. The Six Nations can be advertised as our "Champions Trophy" tournament.

The Six Nations would be a round robin competition with a final match. To have the tournament finish without it having to go into december, hold some of the matches within the season by having a "hemisphere" Tri Nations
The May test weekend will be the first matches of the tournament (AUS vs NZ, ENG vs FRA), which would make that anzac test match more meaningful at least. Another set of matches (NZ vs PNG, FRA vs WAL) could be held in 1 stand alone Origin Weekend(if that was possible)/England All Stars Match (or whatever they want it to be). The last set of matches 2 weeks after the Grand Finals (AUS vs PNG, ENG vs WAL).

Then the Southern Hemisphere teams would travel to the North and vs each other to complete the round robin. The final to be held by the northern hemisphere nation who is in the final, unless of course 2 southern hemisphere teams make it then in rugby league heartland

 

[adamkungl]

If we were gonna have a Six Nations tournament, I'd prefer it be staged without the big 3, in the same year as a Tri Nations.

I disagree with anything more than a 5N involving the big 3 (other than a WC obviously) and even 5 is stretching it. I think 4 is the right number at the moment.

 

[winnyason]

for f**k sake bring back kangaroo tour play one off tests vs french and welsh scrap 4 nations, then have lions tour vs kiwis

 

[jim_57]

2013 - WC in UK
2014 & 15

5 Nations - France permanent, qualifying one year to year basis for the 5th team (same as now). This would ensure the home continent always has 3 teams meaning only 1 neutral game always to be played in the USA.

Pacific Cup - 5/6 teams (1 atlantic qualifier every second year when 4N qualification is on the line) - Mid-year knockout with Final at the end of year, winner every second year gets 5N spot.

Euro Cup - 5/4 teams - End of year, winner every second year get's a 5N spot. Underneath there should be 2-3 more tiers in annual competition.

Atlantic Cup - 4teams - End of year, winner every second year gets 6th seed in the 5N qualifying Pacific Cup.

Kokoda Cup - AUS, NZL, PNG - Played mid year.

Euro Tri Nations - ENG, FRA, WAL - Played mid year.

Those are the main tournaments.

2016- Tours for auto qualifiers (all 6 nations to make the 5N the previous 2 years) and qualifiers for all others.

2017 WC - Australia - 16teams = 6 auto qualifiers, 3 Pacific, 4 Euro, 2 Atlantic and 1 repecharge.



So now a bit of an explanation as to how it would work:

Kokoda Cup, Pacific Cup and an annual NZ V PI games would work around stand alone origin weekends like so:

Week 1

• NZ V PNG (Kokoda Cup)
• Origin 1
• Pacific Cup 3 V Atlantic Qualifier
• Pacific Cup 4 V 5

or when 5N is in Europe

• Pacific Cup 4 V 5

Week 2

• Origin 2
• Pacific Cup 1 V 4
• Pacific Cup 2 V 3

Week 3

• Origin 3
• NZ V PI (combined Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Cook Is.)

Pacific Cup final played week after GF.


Euro Cup works like it does now with promotion and relagation, first year Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy & Lebanon. Second year Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Lebanon. Each year last place plays the winner of the Euro shield for a place in next years tournament. This is the same throughout all tier of Europe.

Euro Tri Nations would work around a SL split round: When France play Wales Catalans and Crusaders arrange to play another weekend. When England play at home 7 English SL sides get a week off aswell as Crusaders/Catalans. When England play away 5 English SL clubs have a week off aswell as Crusaders/Catalans.


World Cup qualifying works simply like this:

Pacific

• 3 Auto - Australia, NZ and 5N Qualifier
• 3 qualifiers - Top 3 from group go through
• 1 repecharge - 4th goes to repecharge

Europe

• 3 Auto - England, France and 5N Qualifier
• 4 qualifiers - Top 4 from group go through
• 1 repecharge - 5th

Atlantic

• 2 Qualifiers - Top 2 from group go through.
• 1 repecharge - 3rd

Repecharge - Winner of three teams goes through.

 

[Quidgybo]

Having regular world cups is more important then one hemisphere getting all the international games for two seasons in a row.

Every fifth year isn't regular?!? Where is it written that it must be four years? Sometimes it's very easy to assume that something should be a certain way because its always been done that way or because everyone else does it that way. But we don't always stop and ask ourselves why. Why does it have to be four years and not five years?

If the international season was held up north two years in a row i'm sure Australia and New Zealand could play games between each other to compensate.

When? Neither nation is going play another major series on top of touring. Especially in the second consecutive year of travelling. A rotation based on an odd number of years ensures that neither hemisphere has to carry the burden of touring in consecutive years and neither hemisphere misses out on the benefits of hosting in consecutive years.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=10682492

Five years provides a stable schedule where World Cups are an integrated rather than disruptive part of the cycle.

Leigh