Mascord: Kangaroo tours return 2019/2020; Great Britain to play Ashes Series

[deal.with.it]

Does GB become a tier 1? Can you play for GB and say Fiji? Should rlif eligibility even apply to something that isnt a rlif member?

 

[Big Picture]

Basketball and handball are hardly major international sports. Is there a world cup for either of these sports? Cricket and Union both have tours and I would say both of those sports have a higher level of inter nation competition than either Basketball or Handball. Im not even sure WTF handball is.

Basketball is the world's second biggest team sport after soccer and handball's next even though it barely exists in the Anglosphere. FIBA has 213 member national associations and the IHF 204. Both have regular continental championships for all inhabited continents, both have regular world championships and both have been Olympic sports for decades now. Baseball — likely bigger in international terms than cricket since the IBAF has 124 member national associations compared to the ICC's 105 — also has regular continental championships for all inhabited continents and now a full world championship involving pro players. None of those sports have ever had Ashes-style tours as far as I can tell and of course neither has soccer had them.

So I repeat: tours are a mark of minor world sports, major world sports don't have them.

 

[Pommy]

Basketball is the world's second biggest team sport after soccer and handball's next even though it barely exists in the Anglosphere. FIBA has 213 member national associations and the IHF 204. Both have regular continental championships for all inhabited continents, both have regular world championships and both have been Olympic sports for decades now. Baseball — likely bigger in international terms than cricket since the IBAF has 124 member national associations compared to the ICC's 105 — also has regular continental championships for all inhabited continents and now a full world championship involving pro players. None of those sports have ever had Ashes-style tours as far as I can tell.

Basketball is a bigger team sport than cricket?
I'm fairly confident I've read cricket is the second most played sport after football and with the number of people on the subcontinent I find it easy to believe.

 

[Big Picture]

Basketball is a bigger team sport than cricket?
I'm fairly confident I've read cricket is the second most played sport after football and with the number of people on the subcontinent I find it easy to believe.

Yes, both basketball and handball are both much bigger than cricket. Both have almost twice as many member national associations, both have been in the Olympics for decades, both have regular continental championships and World Championships. The FIBA World Cup includes 32 national teams and the IHF World Championship 24.

Cricket only has tours and a 14-team World Cup which is being reduced down to 10, so it's much smaller than either basketball or handball.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Oh well, we mustn't be a massive international sport if we bring back tours then.

We've been having world cups, tournaments and friendlies in recent years, which no doubt has made us a massive sport, but with tours coming back I guess we'll be shrinking again. Damn.

 

[latingringo101]

I'd be VERY surprised if they Bring back Team GB. From what's been said and the problems of forming the team and selecting players you have to think if its even worth it.

 

[Pommy]

Yes, both basketball and handball are both much bigger than cricket. Both have almost twice as many member national associations, both have been in the Olympics for decades, both have regular continental championships and World Championships. The FIBA World Cup includes 32 national teams and the IHF World Championship 24.

Cricket only has tours and a 14-team World Cup which is being reduced down to 10, so it's much smaller than either basketball or handball.

That doesn't mean it has a smaller number of participants or viewers though. Again I point you to the subcontinent, a fifth of the worlds population united in their common religion.

 

[roughyedspud]

This basketball, handball,major sports bullshit has been soundly destroyed over on TRL so don't bring it here too...it's nonsense mate

 

[adamkungl]

No one gives a shit what Basketball and bloody Handball do lol

 

[LESStar58]

I like the idea of a tour with 3 tests against England, but opening the series against Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Maybe play one on a weekend and the other two mid week

iirc the 1994 fixture vs Wales was an "Emus" match. If the Kangaroos play all the home nations I would want the games vs Ireland and Scotland and Wales to be granted full test match status.

 

[roughyedspud]

They would be

 

[LeagueXIII]

iirc the 1994 fixture vs Wales was an "Emus" match. If the Kangaroos play all the home nations I would want the games vs Ireland and Scotland and Wales to be granted full test match status.

No it wasn't, Australia played their full test team.

 

[Big Picture]

This basketball, handball,major sports bullshit has been soundly destroyed over on TRL so don't bring it here too...it's nonsense mate

Yeah, right. A person would have to be really stupid to deny that sports whose global reach is apparent from their continental championships, multi-stage World Championships and Olympic tournaments are major sports but don't let me stop you thinking such nonsense.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

No it wasn't, Australia played their full test team.

Yeah but it wasn't a test. Wales did not have test status.

 

[siv]

Yeah but it wasn't a test. Wales did not have test status.

This archic concept of a match being a test is flawed

All RLWC matches pre 2000 also werent classified as Tests

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Yeah but that's been changed retrospectively.

 

[roughyedspud]

Yeah, right. A person would have to be really stupid to deny that sports whose global reach is apparent from their continental championships, multi-stage World Championships and Olympic tournaments are major sports but don't let me stop you thinking such nonsense.

What's nonsense is the fact you claimed these "major sports" don't tour...and you where proven wrong..that's what's nonsense

 

[LeagueXIII]

This archic concept of a match being a test is flawed

All RLWC matches pre 2000 also werent classified as Tests

Of the 4 major league nations who played world cups from 1954, it was only Australia who seperated test caps from world cup games. France, Gt Britain and NZ counted tests and world cup games to a players tally.

 

[hutch]

I don't care if it's 17 Englishmen playing for Great Britain, it is rugby league tradition that should never have been scrapped. I for one would be pumped to watch a 3 test ashes series between Australia and Great Britain again. It would work, it would be huge!

 

[adamkungl]

What's the difference between a Australia vs GB tour and an Australia vs England tour Hutch?