RLIF reconsidering QNs

[screeny]

According to our Colin, France is on the outer:

"The Rugby League International Federation, meanwhile, may reconsider plans to include France in a Four Nations tournament next autumn after their 42-6 thrashing by Fiji in Wollongong on Saturday. "That was disappointing - I thought they had progressed a bit more than that," said the RLIF chairman Colin Love, who will discuss the issue with the Rugby Football League executive chairman Richard Lewis and the France coach John Monie this week."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/nov/02/rugbyleagueworldcup2008-papuanewguinearugbyleagueteam

Good idea Love, scrap a supposedly arranged QNs just because of one result and consult with the twat most responsible for it. FMD I despair.

 

[The Tank]

Vintage Rugby League. Panic.

 

[joshreading]

Obviously part of the reason for the addition of france is to give them regular top teir opposition. Bring them in. However I would bring in a Pacific United as well (atleast for 2 or 3 years, before looking at other options)

 

[KiWi_BoI_15]

1. Australia
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. France
5. Pacific Island Combined

that would make for a great little tournament.

 

[International RL]

I was disappointed with France as much as anyone else, if not more, but I can't see how pulling them out of top level competition helps anything??

Let's remember they lost their half back and hooker from the previous week after the first 5 minutes of the game. Can't help.

They have to punt Monie too.

RLIF...fair dinkum muppet show.

 

[thommo4pm]

This would be the most stupid outcome of all.
The Tri-Nations must be expanded into 4 or 5 Nations.

By not letting other Nations get regular shots at Aust, NZ and England, the standard of those other nations will never rise.

I agree France might not be certanties anymore, but the tri-nations must expand....refer to my points in the thread on 4Nations or 5 Nations.

 

[ucantseeme]

Let's take emotion out of it for a sec.

If France cannot even compete with Fiji after France having a game against Scotland and Fiji playing their first game then they do not deserve to be in an expanded 3N. It may only be one result but it is a telling one.

All of France's players are full time professionals in ESL. The Fiji team has 4 regular NRL players and the rest are lower graders and bush league players. I want to see France be more competitve for sure, but you achieve it through junior development (more players) and coaching systems (better skills). Near half the Catalan team are imports.

Do not forget, unless Scotland thrash Fiji this Wednesday, France has already been eliminated from the tournament. The idea of a combined Pacific Islands team competing in an expanded 3N is just a novelty. 3N has been successful thus far so it is not necessary to meddle with the formula.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Let's take emotion out of it for a sec.

If France cannot even compete with Fiji after France having a game against Scotland and Fiji playing their first game then they do not deserve to be in an expanded 3N. It may only be one result but it is a telling one.

All of France's players are full time professionals in ESL. The Fiji team has 4 regular NRL players and the rest are lower graders and bush league players. I want to see France be more competitve for sure, but you achieve it through junior development (more players) and coaching systems (better skills). Near half the Catalan team are imports.

Do not forget, unless Scotland thrash Fiji this Wednesday, France has already been eliminated from the tournament. The idea of a combined Pacific Islands team competing in an expanded 3N is just a novelty. 3N has been successful thus far so it is not necessary to meddle with the formula.

Bull.

The Catalan side has no where near 14 imports.

You need to remember most of the French squad have played more games this season than most RL players on the planet.

Most are new to full time professionalism and when you have been non stop for 10/11 months, it's going to take its toll, some might even call it burn out.

They had their main hooker and halfback out and they were missing a few decent forwards, then there is the fact that they were using players from the local LER comp in positions that need specialists/full time Pros.

Anyone of the main players get hurt, they have no back up and this is what happened, add in the fact that the coach they had hasn't done anything since Elizabeth Taylor got her claws into her first husband and you have a recipe for disaster.

We got that disaster this year, but it's better to have it happen now so we can get it right in the future.

Les Catalans are in place now and are growing their brand and getting the game talked about in the national media, more kids boys/girls are playing the game again, the national side are playing more internationals every year on the back of Les Catalans performances and we now have the prospect of Toulouse doing their bit in NL1 next year to bring through even more Fully pro French players.

Everyone seems to think because Catalans came 3rd this year that they should do great, I was thinking along those lines too, but the fact is, in their 1st two seasons in SL they came last and second last, this year after they started to get use to what was required of them, they performed better, if the RLIF actually do the right thing, France will def be back up with the top 3 within another 2/3 years, they mightn't win all their games, but they'll be competitive and isn't that what everyone wants?

 

[JW]

RLIF...fair dinkum muppet show.

Sums it up really.

I have less confidence in this mob than I would of an NRL board made up of Moffett, Ribot, Fitzgerald and Doust.

 

[Brutus]

It makes me cringe to think that Colin Love could be making any decisions regarding the future of international RL and it's nations.

The guy is not a RL person which has been there for everyone to see over the last week or two.

Get out Colin. You are not a RL person, just a bloke who stumbled into it!!!!!!!!!

 

[ledzep]

France need to be in the 4N if we ever want them to improve
They'll never make significant improvements if they aren't exposed to the top nations in the game

 

[gho]

Do France really deserve a place? I'd much rather see PNG (who have the talent but need more international games to improve) in there than France, whom im not to sure have the talent.

 

[ucantseeme]

I'd go about things this way:

3N: Aust, NZ, Eng

4N (Europe): France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales

4N (Pacific): PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

Both France and PNG are on the same level, where they have excellent players in the NRL + ESL, but their domestic competitions are woeful. They shouldn't kick France out of the 4 Nations. In RU, Italy was the whipping boy of the 6 Nations for 3-4 years, then started getting the occasional victory, then a few. They have improved immensly for participating against very strong countries. I think it will help the French in the long run.

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

I'd go about things this way:

3N: Aust, NZ, Eng

4N (Europe): France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales

4N (Pacific): PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji

Problem is the Tri-Nations at the moment involves Great Britain rather than just England.

 

[International RL]

It makes me cringe to think that Colin Love could be making any decisions regarding the future of international RL and it's nations.

The guy is not a RL person which has been there for everyone to see over the last week or two.

Get out Colin. You are not a RL person, just a bloke who stumbled into it!!!!!!!!!

This all just reminds me of the 04 'test, no it's not a test, wait it's a test because they did alright against us' debacle....

We need to stop knee jerk reactions and actually implement a steady plan. Not be scared into a huge decision by one bad performance. They happen in sport.

 

[kiwileaguefan]

So does that mean they are going to pull England out after they got thrashed last night??

Pull France out then put PNG in!

 

[T]

5 nations rugby league--> to be held the year after the world cup and year before the world cup ie 2009 and 2011. The Year in between can hold a kangaroos or GB lions tour( palying nz aswell) and NZ playing for pacific cup if Australia is touring England.
Competing teams
3x automatic qualifiers- AUS, ENG, NZ

1 X Winner of pacific cup ( Tonga, samoa, PNG , Fiji, cook islands, USA)

1 X winner of european nations ( Wales, scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, Russia, lebanon and another maybe greece/germany/serbia who seem to be making progess).

This way all teams get more international games and exposure. The NRL i believe will have to reduce its season to 20 rounds to accomadate this, as qualifying will happen over the course of the year with 2-3 international weeks where all palyers must be availiable. Reducing the games to 20 allows for expansion IMO aswell with 20 teams playing each other once with new teams in brisbane, NZ, Perth and a possible PI team or central coast outfit.

 

[ucantseeme]

Australia is just an unstoppable juggernaut.

Even French coach John Monie admits France needs to increase their player pool with a 2nd ESL side in order to be more competitve rather than just playing more internationals.

They need to decrease the # of imports in the ESL, fast. I know ESL has a plan to decrease the import quota by one a year for the next few years but they should consider more cuts if 52-4 and 42-6 is the best they can offer on the world stage.

 

[International RL]

I'm not sure how I feel about expanding to 5 nations.

I like 4 nations rotating between the NH and SH with the fourth side selected through some sort of play off system. Including more teams with guaranteed births makes it a bit of a defacto world cup and takes away from the actual world cup in 2013. We already have people calling the world cup a Trinations plus others.