The difference is casual fans buy into Rugby Union internationals. I know plenty of people who watch England but they never watch club rugby union.

Very true.
I have relatives who never attend a club RU game and rarely watch on TV, but attend internationals.
Its a fashion statement, cool to be at Twickers etc

Rugby league in this country will be dead within 20 years. Sky arent bothered about it, its just a drain on their resources and no else really cares about it around the country except all us diehards.

Talent wise, the state of rugby in England is absolutely abysmal

No atmosphere
As we know partisan crowds create little atmosphere, look at when the small supported teams come to Wire, London and Catalans the atmosphere is dreadful.

Too contrived
Team mates become enemies...really, do they? They're all smiling and just going through the motions, i understand personal pride and the competitive spirit, winners always want to win even if it's crazy golf or air hockey but this game is shhhiiite and lacklustre.

Not enough quality
Both teams and one coach

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Plus i don't subscribe to the England v England Knights

Straight away that's the first team v the second so the result is almost decided before it even kicks off.
Which team do you support?
If the b team beats the a team what does that tell us?
If these are the back up players who coaches the sides, does Banana coach them both? If not they have the potential to show up the 1st team coach (just putting aside that it's Banana at the moment).

The only concept that'll work is one that draws a rivalry, doesn't exclude people (so forget Yorks/Lancs) and is also a way of seeing who can step up.

Dreadful game, i switched it off and i love this game [RL but good god it was just soulless, and compare that to SOO? 'kin hell i rather watch Wakey v Cas than this pap.

Which is why attempts to 'recreate SOO' are completely stupid and will forever be doomed to failure. Can we now move on from this ridiculous idea please?

A lot of people will probably disagree with me but I would like to see us work on a 5 year cycle, incorporating 4Nations in both hemispheres, World Cup and tours (like what Him posted above) but also an extended world club competition in the 5th year. I think the game needs it tbh. In that 5th year an England team made up of players from the clubs not included in the WCC could play in a European competition.

Mid-season international tournaments WILL NOT work for rugby league. As someone has mentioned above the domestic scene is much bigger in league and the intl scene is bigger in union. I would feel short-changed is I was going to watch Wigan for 6 weeks and 6 or more of our better players were missing. Also the standard of the other Northern hemisphere teams would mean such a tournament would be completely pointless anway.

Which point is leagues domestic season bigger than union?

They run a league season the same they have a cup comp and they have a european comp [heininken which sell out finals and we have a league /stroke grand final and a ever shrinking challenge cup,not to mention a FULL INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM!

You lot stick to your great super league and the sponsorship it brings in,oh hang on a min it doesn;t bring any money in.....then union lot are thick playing these internationals

Who exactly can we play against? RU are able to play a European 6 Nations as France has it's own top level division, so does Ireland. Wales and Scotland both have good teams. We would have to supply the players from all these countries from SL, therefore a mid-season tournament isn't feasbile and wouldn't be well supported, in fact there would be uproar. I agree that international RL has to be developed but atm there is only any interest when England, Australia and New Zealand are playing each other. The overall standard of SL is poor enough as it is without depleting the league of all it's international players so England can put 60 in to teams made up largely of English players not good enough to get in the side.

Do people think its that easy. Just announce an international Calender and things will fall in place and the millions will come pouring in.

I think we should look @ expanding the WCC first. Try and make that a bigger event!

Ah so there is the answer....we don't bother with internationals because it disrupts your precious super league

As you say theres no point to internationals,I wonder if the scottish ru as now scrapped tours after getting thumped by the all blacks recently??

As long AS YOU LOT CAN WATCH EDDIE AND STEVO on a friday night everything is great?

How does club matches against austrailians raise our international profile,please explain

You all bang on about how there should be no promotion and relegation fine lets have that,lets dump every team except wigan leeds saints and warrington who play each other 4 times and the rest of the comp is made up of matches with the aussies thus leaving space for internationals to be played and the sky money split between these 4 teams as the rest have no chance have they???

Seems the ideal solution,you get your wcc and I get international...perfect

Answer the question then! Who would we play!? Someone else hit the nail on the head about your comparisons with international Union, that works because of strong domestic leagues, not in spite of them. We don't have a proper northern hemisphere rivalry and there isn't anyone near a high enough standard to provide one. Therefore we have to continue with one off mid season international games with the proper series coming at the end of the season against southern hemisphere opposition.

Funny how things can be so different down under. In Australia they have super rugby, tri nations, british sides touring, australia touring the UK and Rugby Union cant make ground on Rugby League or AFL which do not have the same international events.

Lets actually play 5 nations, England Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France.

So what if England win the first few, foook players like Brough, Henderson back to Scotland, Bridge and Harrison in the Ireland team, Carvell back to Wales. Really make it easy for players to stick to their country of origin and then play the Oz and Kiwi's under the GB tag. Then we have 4 teams to pick players from, getting game time and improving the game. Currently players are going to continually pick England because we're really the only ones guaranteed to play the big boys in either 4 nations or Tri nation series.

Give all the players like Bridge, Harrison, Carvell, Mickey Mac, Henderson, Brough the opportunity under the banner of GB and playing for the lesser teams would be no problem.

We all know the first few years England will walk away with it but give it time and the others will eventually step up and the real talent isn't always guaranteed to play for England.

This would be great but I dont think its feasible. The main problem being how commercially attractive would a 5 nations be. Would TV broadcaster be interested and more important would fans be interested in actually attending?

Where would these games be played? Could you take such games to Ireland or scotland?

Nail on the head there.

It's super league, sky and summer rugby which has screwed internationals good and proper.

You'll never convince the devotees of super league though.

No it hasnt. Is summer rugby the reason Austalia decided they didnt want no part of a 4 nations tournament this year? Is it summer rugby which has seen Australia consider no longer playing the traditional anzac test v the Kiwi's?

Is summer rugby the reason England turned down a tour to NZ this year?

International rugby league will only work when all nations are on the same page and all adhere to an agreed calender.

added to that we could have 6 teams and add the Exiles/invitational players.

Games to be spread over the season 5 games, players told if they don't play the international then no GB selection at the end of the season.
Taking 2 team out the league gives the room to fit the games in.

If needs be play the internationals in this country until the respective countries show interest in playing/paying for them.

Welsh games in Wrexham no problem, France and England again no worries, Scotland can play in Cumbria, Carlise's ground say and The Irish can play in London seeing as there's loads of them here.

Not true, at least not in the UK. The Five Nations and Autumn Internationals have always been massive - far bigger than the RU domestic leagues, which were only formed in 1987 and only really began to grow in popularity in 1996 with professionalism, and then took a massive boost with the publicity of the 2003 World Cup win.

Huge numbers of people support the RU internationals without following a club, and that's always been the way. Domestic RU attendances were awful until the money went open and, together with the growth of the 5/6 Nations and ITV's excellent and hugely glammed-up coverage of the World Cups, they got all the publicity and boosts they needed. Their attendances now are strong, but that's only on the back on massive international coverage and, in 2003 and several 5/6 Nations years, success.

Not actually a bad shout all that

Super League, Sky and summer rugby is the reason why we no longer have 'proper' international tours - and by proper international tours (perhaps you are too young to remember?) that involves a tour lasting almost a couple of months and at least a dozen games against club/regional sides as well as test matches. Oh, and there's nothing traditional about an Anzac Test (who cares?) which was the brainchild of the Australian Super League competition in 1997.


The RFL turned it down because they selfishly prefer the opportunity to cash in on a test series at home. They chose the 'spit the dummy' option instead.


International RL will only work if we switch back to a winter sport so that proper international tours may be undertaken at the most beneficial time in the calendar (mid-season in Australia or mid-season in the UK) - and NOT as an end of Super League or NRL season afterthought.

International RL is effectively non existant, and it will remain so for a very long time, exile matches, ' origin ' matches, it wont change

I've said for a long time the loss of GB is a huge mistake - even take into account the 'Sport England' funding issue.

England will always be the strongest home nation, by some distance. That means England will be in the Four Nations every time and compete at a higher standard against the big guns. That also means players who could commit to Wales, Scotland or Ireland will opt for England whenever possible, thus weakening their home nation.

With GB still in the frame and perhaps competing as home nations at the World Cup and in a home nations comp, you allow players to commit to lesser nations, yet still get a shout of the big stage with GB. And with England still competing you still get a shout at Sport England funding.

GB for me was the pinnacle of British RL. England just seems like a poor man's alternative.

Year 1 - Home nations
Year 2 - GB tour to NZ (NZ to tour UK in next cycle). European Cup
Year 3 - Home nations
Year 4 - Ashes series (alternate venues). European Cup
Year 5 - World Cup.