Should RL 9s get rankings and official Recognition from the RLIF?

[latingringo101]

Bit of a silly question but should we start rankings for Rugby league 9s nations?

I know it sounds silly but although Nines are seen as a development tool for RL, wouldn't it help in encouraging new nations to play in the shortened version of the game knowing they'd get recognised?

I look at the World 9s and Commonwealth 9s of recent and feel that teams who participate in these kind of tournaments should be at least rewarded for playing some form of Rugby league (Rankings wise that is).

Similar I guess to Men's, women's, youth and alternative forms of a sport (like 20/20 cricket and Rugby 7s. Maybe crown a winner after 4 years as best 9s team in the world

Thoughts?

 

[adamkungl]

When it is played internationally with some regularity, yes.

I hope this event is a success and births a small 9s circuit that we can grow.

 

[siv]

Guess we will see Norway as #3 nation

 

[Burns]

We should, but probably wont.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I think we should rank them but need a circuit to start doing so with some credibility. I wish that there was a plan to launch an amatuer circuit off the back of this world cup. It doesn't have to be complex to begin with. Just add an international trophy to existing club amatuer tournaments like The London 9's, The America's 9's, the Cabramatta 9's and the Auckland 9's (if it returns).

 

[Pommy]

Yes but not until it’s a regular thing.

 

[yakstorm]

If we started to rank them, I'd guarantee a number of new Nines events or even just one-off 'Nine-a-side' matches between nations would increase significantly within 6 months.

Once there is some sort of carrot set for nations (and rankings is, especially for those applying for investment from governments), I would expect either new Nines tournaments would be established, or existing Nines tournaments would tweak the way they run to make it possible for any participating nations to earn points (ie. London 9's creates a separate sub-competition simply for Nations), or a combination of both.

I wouldn't be surprised to see nations tag on 9's matches to internationals. Especially say in areas like Europe where having a few additional players join the 'squad' and/or having a few players backup to play a 9-a-side game after an international wouldn't be add much logistical complexity, especially if by playing a 9s clash would help them keep their ranking (regardless of the result) or move up some spots.

Arguably if you were to start this, this year is the best to do it. We've had the Pacific Games, the Americas 9s, plus there is the Balkan 9s and 9s World Cup all planned, so it will create a good starting list of nations.