Rugby Australia to target top NRL talent

[SpaceMonkey]

If union got rid of scrums and lineouts it would improve immensely

All conversions two pts and drop goals one

well yeah but then it’d basically be league…

 

[Perth Red]

If the good people of England watched the union sht then the great England v tonga test tonight they must surely realise just how inferior a product union actually is?

 

[Wb1234]

Union having that debate

 

[Kurt Angle]

Yep was spread through the British military to the commonwealth countries, which, surprise, surprise the military didn't allow RL at the time. Where we did manage to spread (France), we were more popular than Union, so they had the resigme confiscate our assets... permanently

It wasn't through the military, it was through mission work.

If anything, Rugby Union was spread via the world's first global child-abuse ring. The original Jeffrey Epstein's

The culture hasn't changed that much since.

 

[bazza]

All Blacks putting the cleaners through Argentina in their semifinal.
there will doubtless be the usual post RWC exodus after next weekend, if the Warrior want to build even further on this years hype and success they could do worse than look at a few of them.

damn there’s some enormous units in RU these days too, the All Blacks have a 196cm, 144kg prop (Tamaiti Williams) and he’s not fat, though I doubt anyone that huge would be much use in modern league.

44-6 to NZ and they missed 4 conversions. Back to pool stage score lines

wouldn't the All Blacks who want a change be more risk free moving to Europe to play the same game?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

wouldn't the All Blacks who want a change be more risk free moving to Europe to play the same game?

Not everyone wants to move to Europe, some of them may be content living in NZ and already be RL/Warriors fans.

 

[docbrown]

The only rule change I want to see is a general 40/20 rule expanded to anywhere on the field up until a 50/10. Basically kick it over 4 of the 10m lines inside the field of play then out.

Defensive teams don't drop players back to cover can get punished and it creates an 13 on 11 attacking advantage for teams coming out of their own half's, encouraging more passing early on in sets to find gaps.

It gives team down on the scoreboard and stuck in their own half a new attacking option. It'd only happen a couple of times in a game but enough to lead to more attacking style of rugby league.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

The only rule change I want to see is a general 40/20 rule expanded to anywhere on the field up until a 50/10. Basically kick it over 4 of the 10m lines inside the field of play then out.

Defensive teams don't drop players back to cover can get punished and it creates an 13 on 11 attacking advantage for teams coming out of their own half's, encouraging more passing early on in sets to find gaps.

It gives team down on the scoreboard and stuck in their own half a new attacking option. It'd only happen a couple of times in a game but enough to lead to more attacking style of rugby league.

Means every long kick to touch is going to go to the bunker though as it'll be next to impossible for the ref/touchies to get right accurately.

 

[footyfan4life]

If the good people of England watched the union sht then the great England v tonga test tonight they must surely realise just how inferior a product union actually is?

Yup! That’s why rugby is a one country sport and league is played all over the world.

 

[gerg]

Union having that debate

They have this same discussion every four years or so, ironically when the poms fail in a WC, and the resounding answer is Yes. Yes, they do want the scrum, the set piece, to be the focal point of their game. Have at it I say.

 

[taste2taste]

Yup! That’s why rugby is a one country sport and league is played all over the world.

All over the world ??? I can just imagine everyone in Asia, Africa, Europe and right across the America's GLUED to thier TV watching Rugby

 

[titoelcolombiano]

All over the world ??? I can just imagine everyone in Asia, Africa, Europe and right across the America's GLUED to thier TV watching Rugby

Reality of Union's claim to be a global sport:

USA - no meaningful presence
China - no
India - no
Middle East - No
Russia - No
Europe outside of France and the UK - no meaningful presence
South America outside of a couple of cities in Argentina with a niche interest - no meaningful presence
Africa outside of SA and a Namibian side full of South Africans, no meaningful presence

The world number 1 Irish side needs NZers to top up their national squad as do half a dozen other nations.

A world cup where the average margin of victory is 30 pts

Hmmm...

Completely agree they've maximised what they do have to make a very commercially successful world cup, but a global game it is not.

 

[Wb1234]

British colonial empire of the 1880s ex india is the definiton of global for rugby union

and even then in most countries dwarfed by soccer

 

[titoelcolombiano]

British colonial empire of the 1880s ex india is the definiton of global for rugby union

and even then in most countries dwarfed by soccer

Having lived in Argentina for years, you'd be shocked by how little the average Argentinan cares, they do have niche pockets of Union support but the average Jose in the street doesn't even know what it is.

 

[Valheru]

Reality of Union's claim to be a global sport:

USA - no meaningful presence
China - no
India - no
Middle East - No
Russia - No
Europe outside of France and the UK - no meaningful presence
South America outside of a couple of cities in Argentina with a niche interest - no meaningful presence
Africa outside of SA and a Namibian side full of South Africans, no meaningful presence

The world number 1 Irish side needs NZers to top up their national squad as do half a dozen other nations.

A world cup where the average margin of victory is 30 pts

Hmmm...

Completely agree they've maximised what they do have to make a very commercially successful world cup, but a global game it is not.

You're right but using global spread as the criteria, what actually qualifies as a global sport?

Soccer obviously. Anything else?

Cricket is largely popular in the same places as Rugby except cricket has south Asia (a huge population no doubt) and rugby has France/Argentina. Basketball would be the other candidate I suppose

As far as team sports go, rugby union is the next tier in terms of global appeal below soccer whether we like it or not. I guess individual sports like golf, tennis and F1 would be the other ones that get closer to soccer than the other team sports.

 

[Wb1234]

You're right but using global spread as the criteria, what actually qualifies as a global sport?

Soccer obviously. Anything else?

Cricket is largely popular in the same places as Rugby except cricket has south Asia (a huge population no doubt) and rugby has France/Argentina. Basketball would be the other candidate I suppose

As far as team sports go, rugby union is the next tier in terms of global appeal below soccer whether we like it or not. I guess individual sports like golf, tennis and F1 would be the other ones that get closer to soccer than the other team sports.

In terms of global sports nfl would beat union so would any American sport imo in terms of actual number of fans

union is a nieche sport except in nz and sa and mid tier in France and Ireland

 

[Valheru]

In terms of global sports nfl would beat union so would any American sport imo in terms of actual number of fans

union is a nieche sport except in nz and sa and mid tier in France and Ireland

I don't disagree but the post I was responding to was not using actual number of fans, it was citing popularity in the various regions of the world.

To your point of fan numbers, here are some sources that try to quantify it

The Most Popular Sports In The World

Discover the top 10 most popular sports in the world, their history, and what makes them so captivating — from soccer and cricket to basketball and golf.

www.worldatlas.com

World's Most Popular Sports by Fans

The 10 Most Popular Sports in the World: Fan Numbers and Participation Analysis — The Sporting Blog

The 10 Most Popular Sports in the World: What is the most popular sport in 2024? We detail the world's most popular sports to play and watch. This list includes fact-based evidence about the popularity of various sports across the globe, such as attendance figures, viewing figures and participation

thesporting.blog

 

[taste2taste]

Having lived in Argentina for years, you'd be shocked by how little the average Argentinan cares, they do have niche pockets of Union support but the average Jose in the street doesn't even know what it is.

It's the same in South Africa, to watch rugby you need pay TV and ontop of that pay extra for the rugby channel, its similar to the Stan Sport set up we have in Australia.

In a dirt poor country like South Africa, outside of the rich gated communities, can you imagine how few people watch rugby ? Soccer is thier religion, cricket and rugby are a distant 2nd and 3rd.

It's the same in Ireland, Rugby is dwarfed by Gaelic Football and soccer.

Rugby is the 1 sport in NZ and Fiji and nothing more than a niche sport every where else.

 

[Wb1234]

It's the same in South Africa, to watch rugby you need pay TV and ontop of that pay extra for the rugby channel, its similar to the Stan Sport set up we have in Australia.

In a dirt poor country like South Africa, outside of the rich gated communities, can you imagine how few people watch rugby ? Soccer is thier religion, cricket and rugby are a distant 2nd and 3rd.

It's the same in Ireland, Rugby is dwarfed by Gaelic Football and soccer.

Rugby is the 1 sport in NZ and Fiji and nothing more than a niche sport every where else.

I was in England I think it was 2008 the union World Cup was on

I was in a pub people were watching premier league and nobody was watching the union World Cup

england is a soccer country every other sport gets obliterated by it

division one or two crowds for soccer beat both rugby codes

 

[taste2taste]

I don't disagree but the post I was responding to was not using actual number of fans, it was citing popularity in the various regions of the world.

To your point of fan numbers, here are some sources that try to quantify it

The Most Popular Sports In The World

Discover the top 10 most popular sports in the world, their history, and what makes them so captivating — from soccer and cricket to basketball and golf.

www.worldatlas.com

World's Most Popular Sports by Fans

The 10 Most Popular Sports in the World: Fan Numbers and Participation Analysis — The Sporting Blog

The 10 Most Popular Sports in the World: What is the most popular sport in 2024? We detail the world's most popular sports to play and watch. This list includes fact-based evidence about the popularity of various sports across the globe, such as attendance figures, viewing figures and participation

thesporting.blog

It's official, Rugby is the 9th most popular sport in the world !
Although, I noticed they used the NRL when gauging it's success in Australia...but we are used to Rugby fudging the numbers