RLWC2013 Qualifiers: USA | South Africa | Jamaica

[biggestbroncosfan]

USA TOMAHAWKS SQUAD:
Andrew Kneisly, Apple Pope, Curtis Cunz, Daniel Howard, David Marando, David Myles, Ian Elliott, Joseph Paulo, Joshua Rice, Junior Paulo, Mark Cantoni, Mark Offerdahl, Matthew Petersen, Michael Garvey, Mitchell Stevens, Nathan Smith, Justin Ripley, Sean Taylor, Sione Taufa, Stephen Howard

pretty weak team, no McGoldrick or Newton, Myles and Petersen retired years ago. Will lack fitness and not given much time to prepare. South Africa should win this quite easily

 

[hutch]

The Paulo brothers just recently played for Samoa!

 

[Evil Homer]

How typical of the AMNRL to select old Australians that haven't played for years ahead of genuine American talent. I hope they get smashed. Go SA.

 

[adamkungl]

Yeah...they've got a bit of work today, especially with the comp split

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Jamaica's got this coverered

 

[nadera78]

The Paulo brothers just recently played for Samoa!

How recently? Because if they aren't eligible then we'll see if Uncle Geoff decides to make anything of it after they've played.

 

[welshmagpie]

Joe Paulo played against Tonga last Autumn

 

[deal.with.it]

cantoni and offerdahl are great forwards who are both good enough to play NRL. have been stand outs for their Q cup teams.
The paulo brothers will be good. and although myles and peterson are long retired, they will still be handy players.
I hope with all my heart that SA beat the USA. BUT! on USA home soil, with a strong forward pack, who knows what will happen? We can only hope that going off SA's game against canada, they will beat USA setting up a gangbusters game against Jamaica!
What a great qualifying series!
At the end of the day though, there is not much separating russia, lebanon, serbia, italy, usa, canada, south africa, jamaica, cook islands, samoa, fiji, tonga, ireland and scotland.
I think wales, PNG, france are steps in front of those teams.
We could very well have matched that RWC and had more teams playing.
2017 looks good nonetheless!
Lets all look forward to the upcoming games and results

 

[Choo Choo]

cantoni and offerdahl are great forwards who are both good enough to play NRL. have been stand outs for their Q cup teams.
The paulo brothers will be good. and although myles and peterson are long retired, they will still be handy players.
I hope with all my heart that SA beat the USA. BUT! on USA home soil, with a strong forward pack, who knows what will happen? We can only hope that going off SA's game against canada, they will beat USA setting up a gangbusters game against Jamaica!
What a great qualifying series!
At the end of the day though, there is not much separating russia, lebanon, serbia, italy, usa, canada, south africa, jamaica, cook islands, samoa, fiji, tonga, ireland and scotland.
I think wales, PNG, france are steps in front of those teams.
We could very well have matched that RWC and had more teams playing.
2017 looks good nonetheless!
Lets all look forward to the upcoming games and results

Appreciate the way you put that; no bias. We're definitely looking forward to a great match tomorrow as we travel to Philly from DC.

 

[winnyason]

the rhino have the usa covered what attendance for the other games if the tomahawks drop this game?

 

[nadera78]

Joe Paulo played against Tonga last Autumn

Well then I hope he's written a letter to Uncle Geoff.....

 

[Mullins!!!]

This time last year I was 100% behind USA making the WC but since the split which lead to some of the best/my fav americans not being selected and the selection of aussies who retired 4 years ago I think I'm now going for South Africa!

Also I'm pretty sure if this post went up after South Africa beat the Canadians the tally would be VERY close.

Heres hoping we find a stream for these games!

 

[Poul]

I'm disappointed with what has happened in the US with the split between the AMNRL and the USARL, but, for the good of the game, I hope the Tomahawks can qualify for the World Cup.

I think Jamaica must be favourites though. If the Rhinos have only just beaten Canada, then I think Super League bolstered Jamaica should be too strong for them, and probably the Tomahawks as well.

Whilst i would like to see Rugby League develop in as many places as possible, I feel that in South Africa we are probably :BDH:. union in South Africa is a religion within the Afrikaaner community.
I believe that Rugby League lost any chance to develop in South Africa after the 1995 ruwc, with then President Nelson Mandela "endorsing" the springboks, and giving them "legitimacy" in the wider South African community.
Prior to the early 1990s, Winfield Cup matches were telecast in South Africa, and the then president of the South African rugby union, Dr :? Danie Craven saw Rugby League as a real potential threat to union, and sought to suppress it. I believe there would be enough influence from reformed fascists and racists to ensure Rugby League never gains a significant foothold in the country.

 

[Evil Homer]

Union isn't really that big anywhere that it can't be defeated. Even in Wales, which is supposedly a 'Union-mad' country, it's not really that big here. If we had enough money, I reckon RL could quite easily overtake RU in Wales within 7 or 8 years. It's hard to believe that any wider population is really ever going be that fanatical about Union because it's such a boring sport. I've never been to South Africa but, from what I can gather, the popularity of RU is greatly exaggerated and football (soccer) is the number 1 sport there by a distance.

 

[Poul]

Union isn't really that big anywhere that it can't be defeated. Even in Wales, which is supposedly a 'Union-mad' country, it's not really that big here. If we had enough money, I reckon RL could quite easily overtake RU in Wales within 7 or 8 years. It's hard to believe that any wider population is really ever going be that fanatical about Union because it's such a boring sport. I've never been to South Africa but, from what I can gather, the popularity of RU is greatly exaggerated and football (soccer) is the number 1 sport there by a distance.

I'll confess that I haven't been to South Africa, but it's the impression that I've gained from the many expats that I've encountered here that union is very BIG in the Afrikaaner community, who still wield not inconsiderable interest in the social and cultural fabric of the country. I know that soccer is number one there virtue of the fact of its large support from the black communities.

I think money would be better spent in places like Jamaica and the USA, where I believe there is a hope for the future. I have already made some small contributions to the development of Rugby League in Jamaica and the USA.
Despite the best intentions of those promoting Rugby League in South Africa there is NO WAY I will be p!ssing my hard earned away to support them.

 

[gutterfax]

Even in Wales, which is supposedly a 'Union-mad' country, it's not really that big here. If we had enough money, I reckon RL could quite easily overtake RU in Wales within 7 or 8 years.

If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.....but that's not gonna happen either. I refer you to the farce that has been Celtic Crusaders/Crusaders in the ESL......if Wales get to the final of this RWC then you may as well forget League taking over for 7 hundred years, let alone 7 :crazy:

 

[Poul]

If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.....but that's not gonna happen either. I refer you to the farce that has been Celtic Crusaders/Crusaders in the ESL......if Wales get to the final of this RWC then you may as well forget League taking over for 7 hundred years, let alone 7 :crazy:

The situation with the Crusaders has been handled very poorly IMO. Hopefully Rugby League can recover in the principality.

Rugby League lost its real chance in Wales as much as a 100 years ago when the rfu turned a deliberate blind eye to shamateurism, knowing that not to do so would see many Welsh union players "head North".

 

[deluded pom?]

Well then I hope he's written a letter to Uncle Geoff.....

I'd love it if a player like Inglis sent a letter to Uncle Geoff asking if he could switch from QL to NSW.

 

[Number 16]

Whilst i would like to see Rugby League develop in as many places as possible, I feel that in South Africa we are probably :BDH:. union in South Africa is a religion within the Afrikaaner community.
I believe that Rugby League lost any chance to develop in South Africa after the 1995 ruwc, with then President Nelson Mandela "endorsing" the springboks, and giving them "legitimacy" in the wider South African community.
Prior to the early 1990s, Winfield Cup matches were telecast in South Africa, and the then president of the South African rugby union, Dr :? Danie Craven saw Rugby League as a real potential threat to union, and sought to suppress it. I believe there would be enough influence from reformed fascists and racists to ensure Rugby League never gains a significant foothold in the country.

I'll confess that I haven't been to South Africa, but it's the impression that I've gained from the many expats that I've encountered here that union is very BIG in the Afrikaaner community, who still wield not inconsiderable interest in the social and cultural fabric of the country. I know that soccer is number one there virtue of the fact of its large support from the black communities.

I think money would be better spent in places like Jamaica and the USA, where I believe there is a hope for the future. I have already made some small contributions to the development of Rugby League in Jamaica and the USA.
Despite the best intentions of those promoting Rugby League in South Africa there is NO WAY I will be p!ssing my hard earned away to support them.

I don't agree with either of these statements.

If, IF, what Druzik was told was true - that there are close to fifty teams in SA - then I, for one, think that's a pretty good foundation for the sport in that country. And given that feedback from the Canada game suggests their players are not novices and they have experience of playing RL, that says to me that plenty are taking it seriously.

If there are fifty teams then that possibly makes them the sixth largest RL playing nation after Australia, England, New Zealand, PNG and France. After those five (and SA) you'd struggle to name one country with more than a couple of dozen teams. Can RL really afford to ignore SA.

I'd also dispute your claim about Afrikaaners' continuing malevolent influence in the wider SA community. Yes, there must still be pockets of resistance to RL, but it will be diminishing, and anyway, the political landscape has changed totally. For every stuck-in-the past Africaaner trying to promote his own discredited ideas there's a dozen who'll oppose him. If some want to crush RL, there'll be those who oppose and support. The Boers are no longer the power in the land.

The simple fact that nearly fifty teams find pitches, sponsors and, presumably, some local media coverage, indicates that things are far removed from the dark days of Craven and his cohorts.

As for the Afrikaaners being anti-RL, take a look at the names in the current Rhinos squad.

 

[DINGb@T]

To be fair, from the pictures I've seen most of the League players appear to be white. You'd think that if they truly wanted to outgrow Union then they'd try to create a middle ground between Union and Soccer where both the black and white communities of SA can comfortably play the same sport together without any shadows being cast from historical race divides.

But then again, I've only seen a few photos. Only a local could tell us if that's really the case.