So what you really mean is 'International Sport is a joke'

Ref: Ryan Giggs, Shontayne Hape, Zola Budd, Kevin Pietersen and so on....

Back on topic:

if Julien Bousquet and Antoni Maria can get on top of Timothy Mannah and Alexander Twal, then William Barthau and Theodore Fages can weave their magic for the French outside backs.

Your negativity is fantastic

France were defeated by Mitchell Moses, Robert Farah and Michael Lichaa.

Yet had Morgan Escare, Anthony Gigot, Remi Casty, Gadwin Springer and Mickael Simon been playing for France the result would have been different.

Leeds should play with players from Leeds
Hull should play with players from Hull
Etc etc.

These blokes playing WANT to represent the country they are playing for, otherwise they wouldn't! They love the sport and certainly have the passion for the international game. Unfortunately a lot of fans don't.

But I love it.

Giggs? You'll need to explain that one.....

There were as many Englishmen as Irishmen in the Football World Cup in USA in 1994 and England didn’t even qualify. There were just a load of Cockneys and Scousers playing for Ireland but since they had an Irish Nan.

The last Football World Cup winners had three Turkish midfielders and two Poles in the squad.

Why?

If a kid was born in Iceland to one Tongan and one English parent and came to Britain as a toddler and became a rugby league player, in fact became the best RL player in the world, he couldn’t play for either Tonga, England or Great Britain and could never play international rugby league since Iceland don’t have a team? The best player in the world?

What a joke!

I take it you think all of Mo Farah’s medals should be stripped from Great Britain and given to Somalia?

Well I’m watching the game back now and it’s 26 blokes running round in the same kit from a distance... that’s the only joke about this game, not any eligibility rules

That Bastian of national passion, the RU 6 Nations had 25% of selected players not representing the country of their birth this year. Scotland had 18!! Wales 11!! Even England had 7!!! Don't see much about that in the media

My housemate is Welsh, a footy and big RU fan who hates the English teams. He wasn’t happy when I pointed out that 9 of the Welsh footy squad that made the semis in last year’s Euros were English and 7 of the Welsh 6 Nations squad were English!

Just finished watching this game by the way, game of the weekend! Good entertainment

Absolutely correct. Sadly some RL “fans” like nothing more than to criticise and talk down RL.

Never really seen much of people moaning about the Aussies and NZ taking players in left right and centre from the Pacific nations over the years. Weird how people get the hump when its lesser nations.

That "Lebanese" team was an insult to France. It was full of grandparent rule choices. Not one member of the Lebanese team was born in Lebanon..

By contrast only one man, the full back, was picked for the French team on residency criteria. The rest were born in France.

Wasn't moaning when Luke Walsh was knocking them over for Catalan was you.


Hypocrisy at its finest

If Lebanon shared a border with Australia you'd have a point, but they don't and therefore neither do you!

Ireland's 23 man RU side v Scotland earlier this year featured 1 English Born player, 1 French Born and one born in Israeli Born......Ireland's 17 man RL matchday squad featured not one Irish born player......there opponents Italy featured not one Italian Born player....in fact, after the first round of matches played, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon and Scotland played a grand total of 6 players born in the country they were representing...or 95% heritage players.
Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying this World Cup but it is nigh on impossible to defend International RL from accusations of being contrived when the reality is that it is as contrived as it is possible to be!

That's a fairly damning statistic. Just have to hope that in future years the numbers of players born/brought up in those countries will increase.

Mickey Mack said it's the pinnacle of his career representing Ireland, to be able to honour the legacy of his late grandfather.

I have no doubt that all the players at this event are proud to pull on their countries shirts...the passion from the Lebanese players was very genuine.

My favourite example of how fluid international selection can be fluid.
Aku Uate lived in Fiji till he was 16.
At 17 he was selected to play for Australian schoolboys and they got him in front of a microphone at a Newcastle Knights function to talk about his selection, and after about a minute it became clear that he didn't speak enough English to understand the questions - he pretty much still spoke Fijian and a bit of broken English.

A Fijian born State of Origin player who has represented Australia and Fiji.....proof that the Aussies will bend and shape the rules to suit them!

So you're saying the rules have never been bent for the French?

Can Gutterfax not be banned again? He did this throughout the last World Cup and pretty much ruined the discussion for everyone here

I moderated a forum during the last WC in Australia, and we decided before the cup to have a "shoot on sight" policy for Union trolls.
They see the League WC as something they must ruin for as many people as possible.
Usually, union trolls are just conversation starters and fun to have around, but during a WC they can bring down the mood for everyone when we should be enjoying the game.