Welsh Development

[LeagueXIII]

Though results did not go their way in the 2017 RLWC it must be a positive to see so many born and bred Welsh players in the team compared to the 2000 squad which only had Devereaux and Moriarty (they played the q-final and semi).

This squad was hit hard by injuries and withdrawals before leaving, including a further 5 born and bred Welsh players.

The game v PNG saw 7 players born in Wales, v Fiji 10 players (including Roets) and Ireland 8 players.

This is great for the game, as we can no longer count on international union crossovers and have to develop players.

I can see come RLWC in 2025 a near 100% Welsh team which can only be a good thing for rugby league.

 

[NRLMad]

Aim must be eventually to get back into the ESL? This will help.

 

[Perth Red]

The development at a jnr and grass roots level is going well but without full time players playing in a top division any World Cup squad is going to be cannon fodder. I think we will see this when england play png at weekend.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

The development at a jnr and grass roots level is going well but without full time players playing in a top division any World Cup squad is going to be cannon fodder. I think we will see this when england play png at weekend.

Thank you for talking sense PR - I have seen way to many prediction here and on various Facebook groups predicting that PNG will beat England - they have improved out of site but they will be punished by England for the amount of errors they make and their ill-discipline at times.

I don't want to take away from their achievements and progress because it has been great for the game and the world cup but England will be far too strong.

 

[Perth Tiger]

How are the teams in League One going? are they a realistic chance of promotion to the Championship in the next couple of years?

 

[roughyedspud]

Probably not..but you know what it doesn't matter...the welsh domestic league,junior international teams,north & south (west) wales in the English system,the performance center... all forms a important development pathway..kids from the junior Welsh teams are getting picked up by SL teams all the time, they'll come good eventually..

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Probably not..but you know what it doesn't matter...the welsh domestic league,junior international teams,north & south (west) wales in the English system,the performance center... all forms a important development pathway..kids from the junior Welsh teams are getting picked up by SL teams all the time, they'll come good eventually..

Yes, the 2025 world cup should be a really good standard accross the board:

• France should have two SuperLeague sides, a professional pool of around 40 - 50 players to pick from and a growing semi-professional league at home.
• Wales' current setup should bear fruit with at least a squad full of home grown professionals running around SuperLeague
• Ireland hopefully with a squad of home grown players and at least a couple of home grown professionals
• Lebanon and Serbia will hopefully have well developed amateur scenes at home and links to clubs in France and the UK, maybe Sydney also.
• PNG & Fiji will continue to improve and the Hunters / Fiji NSW Cup team will fill the link between the local comp and the NRL ensuring that they have a production line of talent at all times
• Samoa & Tonga hopefully start earning revenue now that we've seen that they are commercially viable test opponents which will go back to development into the islands (realisticly though, these guys will pretty much always use heritage players, which is fine I would just like them to be able to develop squads that commit full-time to their nation and are able to play multiple tests a year)
• Canada and the USA; whilst disappointing in this world cup, the USA did the right thing by bringing quite a few home grown players. With two North American qualifying spots from the next world cup onwards, hopefully Canada follows suit
• New Zealand; NZRL need to earn more revenue and the best way is to play multiple home tests a year
• England; The RFL are planting the seeds for expansion, I hope that this pays off in terms of a big TV deal that the RFL can use to spread the game throughout England and strengthen it commercially
• Australia; need to spread the game accross the country, the financial strength of Rugby League in Australia will continue to provide opportunities for the Pacific and Kiwi players to play professionally, they must grow the game and the financial pie for the good of the game as a whole

 

[Evil Homer]

How are the teams in League One going? are they a realistic chance of promotion to the Championship in the next couple of years?

No, TBH in the next couple of years we'll be lucky if they both still exist.

 

[siv]

Everyone thinks Wales is big - Wales is a very small nation

Its basically one city down south with a few coastal big towns

And a few hamlets in the north

And Rugby dominates in the South

I'm not sure how much growing can really be achieved