Not just England, but the international game as a whole. It can't be any more fun for you as an Australian to always be expecting to pound England in internationals than it is for us to expect always to beat, say, France. The professional sport is hardly capturing the public imagination at a national level here, and a large contribution to that is that the international game isn't very strong. A stronger international competition that improves the profile, uptake, support and sponsorship of RL in the UK would have benefits that feed back to Australia.

Also, I don't agree that it would water down SOO any more than, say, the Barbarians game degraded the current Union Lions tour. Be patronising and treat any England games as a pre-competition warm-up by all means. Treat them as 'tour games' conceptually distinct from SOO if it's going to be a problem - but we need a way to get the intensity of the game up to the same sort of level, and riding on the coat-tails of SOO could do that for it. It's a compliment to what SOO has become that it would be, practically, an international level game.



Maybe they're interested in the sport, and would want to watch the game? Possibly they would like to confirm that their state team can beat the third-ranked national side, and is as good as they think it is? They might be thinking more widely about what could benefit the sport as whole. It could even be that they would be led into some fakey tribal rivalry by clever marketing.



You may not be speaking for everyone and, to be fair, the three-match series has only been around since 1982 (and once had a fourth match for exhibition purposes). Also, before the 80s players were selected on the basis of where they were currently playing - not where they were born/played first. So it's not like the contest is some unchangeable ritual. Who knows, you might even come to enjoy beating England every year in a warm up to the SOO

If you say "Aussies wouldn't turn out for NSW v England because they see representative RL as a joke when it's outside their own country", you sort of are





How do you think we could do that? Which of the completely non-silly concepts of the Exiles, Four Nations, and France internationals grew the international game and improved the quality of the competition?

I happen to like the Exiles concept, but there are two glaring problems with it: half the England team are down under, and the better Aussies earn more at home, these days.

To improve, I think we'll need better opposition, and we need to get the first-choice squad playing together. I don't think England playing QLD or NSW is a silly concept (and neither did the recent Lions tour organisers, though YMMV), and it would fulfil both of those requirements.

1) I said the Aussies wouldn't turn out if it happened now. Maybe if we beat them in the World Cup they will sit up and notice us.

2) England should play New Zealand and the other Pacific nations, which would be of actual benefit to the international game whilst providing a challenge.

I don't see what playing the Aussie heartland regions does for improving our international game OR helping England improve?!

I take it back - you're not pessimistic





That would do me. We'd still have to take the team down under for it to be feasible and, as they would be proper internationals, the Australian clubs couldn't refuse to release players.



Better quality opposition and a chance to get the full squad together. Both of which would also be achieved by playing NZ and the (stronger) Pacific islands.

Your mixing up too many concepts. I'd love us to play a 'Lions' tour again in RL , playing club and lesser rep sides midweek . Do it every 4 years and it would be great. England playing and getting stuffed by NSW or QSL? No ta it would be even more embarrassing than the normal bitchslapping we get from the Kangaroo's

As for Burgess and being an Aussie? His choice I guess but it shouldnt matter if you get a passport or not , once you've nailed your colours to a mast you should be forced to stick with it. Moving international 'allegiances' just makes RL look even more of a joke.

They get 40k a game for playing SOO, I'd want to play it as well if I was in the NRL!