Looks like England may finally get a reasonable test in the summer rather than the "french farce" we've had in past seasons. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... gland.html

Looks like England may finally get a reasonable test in the summer rather than the "french farce" we've had in past seasons. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... gland.html

will it really be a "test" though?!

It can't be any worse than the garbage efforts the French put in can it?

it depends

a) who picks the team?
b) who coaches the team?
c) how long they have together?
D) How many french will be in the squad?

Cue every SL overseas players picking up "niggles" the week before the game after realising that they've rather not be part of an apathetic team playing in front of an apathetic crowd in a game that will prove very little to anybody.

It could be a big game imo if players express their interest in playing, and if age isnt in consideration.

IMO:

1. Brett Hodgson
2. Pat Richards
3. Brett Delaney
4. Matt King
5. Joel Monaghan
6. Michael Dobson
7. Thomas Leulaui
8. Mark O'Meley
9. Danny Buderus
10. Willie Mason
11. Louis Anderson
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Craig Fitzgibbon

14. Michael Monaghan
15. Ben Cross
16. Josh Perry
17. Steve Menzies

They could try the same version the NRL are doing with the NRL All-stars game.
Get fans to vote online and chose a player from each club with the coach to pick the other 3 players.

Can't beat a bit of Beaver.

I raised this point during the french game with a friend who is quite high up in the rfl and put a 1-17 to him, if they all play it will be a sterner test but then again my under 9's team could be

1. The introduction of Catalans Dragons into Sooper Dooper League was supposed to raise the playing standards of French RL on the international stage. Instead, they've gone backwards as their results and performances testify.

2. The introduction of Sooper Dooper League a decade and a half ago was supposed to raise the playing standards of British/English RL on the international stage. Instead, they've gone backwards as their results and performances (post Sooper Dooper League era) testify.

3. Pitching England against a motley crew of disinterested overseas, surplus to requirements, no longer good enough, pensioned-up, tax-havened, ex-NRL retirees is hardly the kind of preparation for competing against NRL-based Aussies and Kiwis in proper Tests. It's pitching one set of Sooper Dooper League standard players against another set of Sooper Dooper League standard players who will never attain the requisite playing standards to compete successfully against the best NRL standard players.

4. Sooper Dooper League screwed international RL and the only competitive teams worth watching and playing to a high standard worthy of international recognition these days are Australia and New Zealand.

5. The rich history of international RL (pre-Sooper Dooper League obviously) has been flushed down the toilet with the loss of GB and the loss of proper tours, to be replaced by some entity called England which has little to no historical international RL relevance.

HTH

What a load of rubbish - the Aussies were way passed us well before SL ever started - how long is it since we last beat the Aussies in a test series? how long was that before SL started?

It is time you got a grip on even a semblance of reality!!

The real question is this - the Aussies have SOO which is supposed to get them ready for the test matches yet they cannot beat the Kiwis; a nation dominated by RU and with only one professional club why?

The idea that SOO type series will be a big help in improving standards simply doesn't stack up - especially if you see what has happened to the standard of Australian RL?

Why not have the fans vote for the SL All Stars team like they do with the Pro Bowl in the NFL? That normally works out well.

One way of going about it from the VT, would be a good way and if that team played, would be a tough contest.

England Knights ?

Didn't they used to be called England 'A' ....

Are they going to be playing during the same weekend ? Perhaps with the full England game somewhere in Lancashire and the Knights playing somewhere in Yorkshire over the same weekend (and visa versa on alternating years) ?

Or, maybe double-header the game for extra value or even something like Wales Vs Ireland, Knights Vs France and England Vs Other Nationalities at the same venue and on the same day ?

Who are the Knights going to play ? France ? Wales ?

The other thing about the reincarnation of an All Stars / Other Nationalities side is that they were counted as 'Test' caps back in the past. Perhaps as an added incentive to play, this should remain for the current game ?

It’s because that one professional club is in the mythical NRL where the rugby league fairy’s wave their wands and make things seem magically better. The saying ‘[iit’s not winning or losing that matters – its presentation[/i’ comes to mind. The NRL has been a lot of hot air over the years and the record of NRL clubs in the World Club Challenge just proves that.

I think it would be a good idea and alot better than the mid season test against France which is pointless. Regardless of if the game would improve the international team or not from a fans point of view it will be a much better game to watch and the teams mentioned above I would love to see play.

Damo even you have to admit the standard in the NRL is vastly superior to that of the SL.

There is only two ways we will become competitive with the Aussies: if their standards drop significantly or we increase the GB qualified playing pool from which the team is selected.

The showboating standard of the NRL is vastly superior to that of the SL. There’s a big different between fancy play and actually winning games. In my eyes, The NRL will always be a glorified super league. However this is probably something we’re going to have to agree to disagree on.

Internationally I agree with you. But I think it’s more to do with the coaching rather than the players that we have up for selection.

The Aussies internationally are far better but hey, just appreciate super league for what it is and enjoy, I would prefer to watch a super league game rather than NRl game far more entertaining

We must agree to differ - I like to watch the game to see the extraordinary and that is something that occurs far more regularly in the NRL than it ever does in SL

The Aussies were way 'PAST' us well before SL started. However, the gap in standards has widened even further since the start of SL. Our international results post SL-era are worse than they were pre-SL era. That's the reality.



The Aussies have beaten the Kiwis. On average, they beat the Kiwis 3 times out of 4. Since 2006 they've beaten the Kiwis 7 times in their last 10 meetings, 1 draw and 2 defeats. Since 2000, they've beaten the Kiwis 20 times in their last 27 meetings, 2 draws and 5 defeats. There are also 3 fifty point hammerings of the Kiwis among those results.

In recent times the Kiwis have made a habit of attaining peak performance by winning 3 out of the last 4 Finals contested - 2005 Tri Nations Final, 2008 World Cup Final and 2010 Four Nations Final. None of this is rocket science. The Kiwi squads of recent years are almost exclusively drawn from the NRL competition, hence their ability to lift their game and their intensity when it really counts. Apart from Thomas Leuluai, their coach will not entertain substandard Kiwi players drawn from a substandard SL competition.



I have absolutely no idea what you're rambling on about here. What has happened to the standard of Australian RL? Results suggest otherwise. If you are implying that the playing standards in Australia have dropped, then I can only assume the playing standards over here during the SL-era have scraped the bottom of the barrel and sunk a borehole right through it.

Anyone who has watched the last 4/5 SOO series cannot be anything but disappointed with the quality on offer - the dramatic fall in standards is evident to all. Even more evidence that the overall quality of the NRL comp is not as a result of the improving standards of the Aussies.

Whilst an improvement on the England v France mid-season game, I don't think this idea would improve standards much, if at all.
A Yorks v Lancs would be better in my opinion, since you would have 34 instead of only 17 potential England players competing for places, plus there's an existing rivalry to take advantage and people from outside the game can instantly associate with the idea of a Yorkshire v Lancashire competition.

However that still would be fiddling around the edges instead of addressing the real problem of the woefully inadequate and just downright cr@p youth and junior coaching. Until kids are taught the basics properly we're not going to consistently compete with the Aussies.

In the previous 13/14 years prior to SL, we were winning around 1 game in 4 against the Aussies. Post SL-era we only win around 1 game in 6.

In the previous 13/14 years prior to SL, we were winning around 1 game in 2 against the Kiwis. Post SL-era we only win around 1 game in 3.

That is the true reality.

Your failure to acknowledge this along with your propensity for massaging the evidence to fit your agenda suggests to me that you are possibly an accountant by trade?



I'm saying that it ain't rocket science that one bunch of NRL-standard players are more than capable of beating another bunch of NRL-standard players. The Kiwis are now products of the Australian system, hence their improvement, and I applaud the Australian contribution to international competition and credibility.

The point which seems lost on you (or more accurately, the point which you refuse to acknowledge) is that it's the playing standards over here since the inception of SL which is the problem. Our international results have deteriorated during the SL-era, as have the results of the French since Catalans entered SL. The French finished 10th and last in the 2008 World Cup. Tonga and Samoa have potential for improvement but not until they are in a position to select more NRL-standard players rather than SL-standard players. Our contribution to international competition is negligible to say the least.



Only a very ignorant person with little to no knowledge of the cultural significance of ANZAC Day to Australians and New Zealanders could make such a dismissively ignorant comment such as that.

Greg Eastwood is a product of the Australian system and did get some game time during the last Four Nations. What is the point you are trying to make here? Are you claiming he's a product of Leeds Rhinos and SL? Fortunately for him, he was wise enough to realise rather quickly the huge mistake he'd made stepping down to SL-level.



What are you trying to say here?

Are you Gotcha in disguise?

Your focus ought to be disappointment with the deteriorating standards ushered in by SL instead. Our playing standards have never been as atrociously poor as they are now. The Australian system produces world class players like Benji Marshall. Our system produces players like Danny McGuire! Go figure.

Are we really in a "post SL era" Keith ?

I thought it was still underway.