A few alternative views to the GB resurrection.
Players have spilt blood for nearly 100 years fighting for the RL Ashes. What English player wouldn't want the chance to pull on the GB jersey and try to get his hands on the Ashes Cup and bring it home after all these years?
I suggest that wearing a GB jersey and playing for the Ashes would lift the team of predominantly (or wholly) English players to a new level.
I guess the argument here is that England could have played in an Ashes series. I don't think this would be a good idea given that for the later half of the 20th century the GB team competed for the Ashes and for anyone still alive today, the RL Ashes is GB v Aus. If the Ashes are to be resurrected then GB should be the team fighting the Aussies, there really is no other option.
So I read the posts saying the GB team is just England in GB jerseys and that GB should be brought back once Wales and Scots can produce some talent. I believe this argument to be fundamentally flawed. You can't chop and change between GB and England branding depending on who is available for selection. I believe the GB brand should be retained only for Ashes tours/series, which still allows for a well-planned international for the home nations.
If there are no non-English players worthy of selection then so be it. It is still a GB team! as all Welsh, Scottish and Irish players are eligible for selection. You never know when the next Brian Carney is going to Burst onto the scene and the GB concept must leave the door open for non-English players even though in some years the GB team will be all-England. For the record I don't support Aussie ring-ins. You could always include a minimum of 2 players from the home nations in the touring party if you want to try and legitimise the concept. It doesn't mean they'll get anywhere near the GB team for the tests.
And finally, the Rugby League Ashes is an all too rare concept in RL. An event which has the necessary history to provide for a real meaningful international RL contest that the players actually care about. Personally, I am sick of one-off Bundaberg, Holden, VB tests (whatever you want to call them). against the Kiwis. Sometimes there's a mention of something called a Bill Kelly Cup, but who F#ckin knows when that is being played for or not?
I'll leave you with this. Would I travel from regional Australia to Sydney or Brisbane to see a meaningless England v Australia tri nations round robin game. Probably not. Would I travel to see a GB v Aus Ashes test. HELL YEAH!!! (They better play for the F#ckin Ashes when they tour in 2019).
Lord League
, give it a rest, stick with building the international game, not some stupid gemick, don't treat people like idiots.
