Origin wouldn't be worth having as it doesn't mean a damn thing to anyone outside of "Yarkshrie, Yarkshire, Yarkshire". I'm from Warrington so obviously support St Helens. Both would be in 'Lancashire' in the Origin series, but for me Lancashire is a cricket team based in Manchester that I have no interest in. I am not going to support 'Lancashire' anytime soon and I can't be the only one, you don't ever hear supporters chanting "Lancashire" whenever their team commits a bad foul do you?

Even when it was played it was terribly supported.

England v Super League forigners 17 would be terrible as well. It would have the intensity of a training run as there is no incentive for the foreigners to put their bodies on the line for it is there. You would see scores of players pulling out as it would and always did with Origin.

just a quick tally up..


LANCASHIRE inc GMR,merseyside,cheshire & cumbria has roughly 6.8million people

YORKSHIRE inc humberside (i know it's the east riding) has roughly 5million...


just to compare that to queenslands population of 4.2m and NSW population of 7million


not a million miles away are we? it's one of the great myths when aussies say we should be producing better players cos we have a larger population......NOT IN THE AREAS THAT PLAY THE GAME WE DON'T...LANCS,YORKS,QLD & NSW all have roughly the same population

And about 9 Premier league Teams to compete with

The Barbarians concept could possibly works if it is genuinely the best of the rest of the World - perhaps the week after the RLWC final, and that's about it. Invitational teams do not compete as they neither have the combinations of their opponents, nor the desire of representing their nation. The Union game last fortnight was a telling example of this.

[url=http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3831_5366528,00.htmlBaa-Baas no match for Wallabies[/url



Barbarians and former NZ All Black Scrumhalf Justin Marshall did say the Barbarians team had a great time in Sydney's nightclubs though.

The proposal to replace a test match with this is knee jerk reaction, especially since the odds were heavily stacked against the French.

Sorry if this has been mentioned before cos I've not read the full thread but..................Surely, considering a game mid season is what the rfl want for the benefit of the international team, to let the coach form the basis of his squad, a week has got to be set aside for that to happen ! To take a couple of players from a selection of super league sides to play an international just seems a complete waste of time to me, it won't reflect on the coach's first choice squad anyway and the quality of opposition will not give him the slightest idea of where the team is competitively ! I personally would set one week aside for the game, play a probables v possibles game. That way the coach sees a full squad of 34 playing against each other, creat a lot of interest as they're all playing against their direct opposition for a place in the final squad, all in the same match for gods sake, seems obvious to me ! I could pick two sides that certainly would compete against each other but don't have the time now, maybe you guys and girls could come up with your own choices re the two opposing teams, should be interesting. Sorry if it's been mentioned before !!

Possibles v Probables is surely the only way to go. We can't have an Origin game unless we attach the same sort of importance to it i.e. international selection hangs on it. Even then I still say we'd be better seeing the current encumbents take on the challengers. There's far more motivation that than, say, East vs West.

Or you could have England vs France and England vs Wales and select two different teams to represent England and judge on that accordingly, rather than having a match that no-one would be interested in watching and no-one would care who won. In fact, all it would do is set up the game for criticism if the first choice team lost, and it would highlight how poor the England coach is at selecting a team and producing relevant tactics. Probs v Poss is a terrible idea and I don't understand why people keep thinking we should do it.

probables vs possibles is a coaching tool for behind closed doors and not public consumption.

For the magic weekend instead of Super League fixtures how about in 1 day:

Host country v France
England v Super League select XII

So your career is over and you head over to Super League to pick up some cash at the end of your career. You get there and just want to play it out.

Then you get selected in a Super League all star team.

Now, if you get injured, you hurt your earning capacity. On top of that, what is the drive to play for some made up team against an Pommy side who you smashed year after year when you played Test football all those years ago?


Stop drawing lines, stop making teams up. The only way you'll get a decent opponent is if you come to the Southern Hemisphere or you let the French develope and stop ruining them with your poor coaching.

You really are clueless about well...everything aren't you?



Like it was suggested on Boots n' All & probably on here the players would be financially rewarded for taking part & most would jump at the chance to play for a rep team because that's one thing they miss about playing in Aus

So the idea is that you take the old, the finished, the weak, the has beens. You pay them heaps of money to play football.

Then you pay them even more money to play one game.


I can just seem them all getting up for that proud moment when they get to wear some made up team jersey to play a second rate English side.



Here is a tip....they miss rep football because in Australia and New Zealand, its actually good, its of the highest quality, its competitive and its played on the back of hundred year old traditions.

The Trent Barrett's you mean?

Basically, yes.


The tired old footballers who never really reached the true elite in the game.


Surely you are not using a poor selection by NSW to try and make some point, and make it very badly.

I don't have to make the point that you don't have a clue, you're making it for me.

Yeah.....see at this point we just leave grandpa to his own little world.

I agree with that although I'm pretty sure Walters is Australian.

France be a country.

Catalan be a club.

Country not club. Country country, and club club.

Me make clear?

Alan Langer? Jason Smith?

Actualy Catalan is also a country, capital is Barcelona.

Catalan Country, Catalan Country, Country, Country, Country

Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba BARCELONA! as Freddie Mercury said or was it Paul Hardcastle!

as was John Monie who guided France into the World Cup.

No Freaky I'll use these instead:
ex-super league players currently playing in the NRL
Jamie Lyon
Trent Barrett
Feleti Mateo
Michael Sullivan
Brad Myers
Shane Elford
Richard Fa'aoso
Colin Best
Ian Henderson
Stacey Jones
John Skandalis
Scott Logan
we can also include:
Gareth Ellis
Jordan Tansey
Michael Crocker
Greg Eastwood
I'm sure that some are more these are the ones at the top of my head

Here are a few players from the past who also went back to the NRL after playing in the super league:
Craig Smith
Ben Harris
Michael De Vere
Ben Walker
Jason Smith
Darren Smith
Craig Stapleton
Logan Swann
Paul Mellor
Steve Renouf
Brian Carney
Adrian Morley
Harvey Howard
Brent Grose
Tonie Carroll

There are any number of extremely successful NRL players even Australian internationals who came to super league and couldn't cut it.

Catalonia, but at least you called it a country rather than a part of Spain

Hold on...someone is trying to make a point of how strong SL is by pointing out that Australian players are playing in Australia.....


Carry on idiot....

Couldn't cut it or could not give a rats ass in trying?
Many good NRL players either seem disinterested in playing to their potential in Super League or have massive problems in settling into the English lifestyle.
Bradley Clyde and Brett Mullins are two examples that come to mind amongst many others.
The motivation to join Super league has nothing to do with a challenge and although Clubs like Leeds and Wigan are big names in the UK they are hardly mentioned or household names downunder.
There is one motivation.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (often in creative arrangements and offshore accounts)

Mercenaries do not always make the best troops, that is a well know fact.
Read what Jamie Lyon said when he returned from his contract bound exile or even way back when Kenny passed to the sideline.