Bill Gates buying a Sky subsciption, loving the game and thinking he can turn it in to a better more worldwide product.

To be fair, I expect that would simply see us replaced as the third best nation by the USA, wouldnt really help us catch up Im afraid. Unless it turns out Bill Gates just really likes white shirts with red crosses on it.

Agreed - perhaps the RFL needs to do more with the resources it has at it's disposal?

A proper partnership with schools and some assistance for junior sides would be a good start, at least to get coaches properly qualified and to provide access to updates on coaching techniques for basic rugby skills; maybe if jr coaches were using consistent benchmarks and methodologies around basic skills, the randomness would be partially removed from a young lads RL development. A national curriculum for jr coaching if you will?

The single biggest issue is the level of high quality pe in primary schools (key stage 1 & 2). The fundamentals (physical literacy skills not sport specific) at this age are criminally over looked with children not reaching their maximum physical potential in the early long term athlete development phase. After this point, you can coach all you like and they'll still never reach that potential.

Sport in this country is always funded through justifying health agendas etc and not for it's own sake. You can't fully address the adult provision and elite provision til this is improved.

The other big one is the number of uneducated parents coaching at junior clubs, of course their time is appreciated unfortunately the quality is very rarely what's needed- like trying to run hook, line and sinkers before the can simply run on to a ball with a good catch.

Agree 100% with you, geting juniors from the age of five upwards to regard sport as natural as breathing is the way we should be pushing, The RFL should be pushing cash into providing propper training for coaches & using government schemes to get thier parents educated to the benafits of sport for thier kids as well as for them selfs. It will be a long slog untill we see any results but it should be persued.

IMO it requires a fundamental shift in thinking from everyone involved in the game from the grass roots up, to regard the elite international level (and producing players for it) as being the most important thing in the sport.

There are always going to be levels below that for those who want to enjoy the game on a social or recreational level, but the thought process in any strategic decisions should be "how will this make the international side better?"

At the moment, the international game is very much an afterthought - see the number of players who put off minor surgery until the end of the club season, thereby ruling themselves out of international consideration every year.

Until the "my club first" mindset is broken at both amateur and professional level, the game in this country will remain stagnant.

Stop playing loose forwards at stand off.

The one that played all season at stand-off for the team that reached both major finals and won one of them?

Unfortunately that wont happen until the international game brings in more revenue than the club game. Bit of a chicken and egg situation.

If we're going back to primary school kids - and I agree about its importance, we'll see the benefit in about 20 years.
In the mean-time lets find an additional focus for representative RL, that we can enjoy for itself. Sport thrives on competition. Queensland and NSW have mostly been closely matched, so Origin thrives. England and Australia aren't, frankly, so the International game is seen as a bit of a joke. The Exiles or County games, whatever best capture the imagination - we can't replicate the International dimension of Football, or even RU and Cricket, so let's innovate.

what this thread will show is that there are a million and one 'priorities' that need dealing with depending on one persons view compared with another

the RFL have a pretty difficult job balancing all those priorities but what fans need to remember is that there are very limited resources available and actually, the RFL do a pretty good job of a) trying to increase it's revenues and b) balancing all the priorities...

Heresy!!!!

I agree with the people who say that we need to start right at the bottom.

I coach under 8's myself, and I'd like to think that I do a good job, really drilling the basics and encouraging throwing the ball about during games, but you do come across people with the "Give it to the big lad" mentality all too often. The thing is, I don't blame the coaches really. I don't feel the RFL offer enough support or resources once you're qualified.

I work in sport development and rugby league and have done for 10 years, I work with schools every day and the primary schools issue is the main one, but I'm not just talking about rugby. The majority of Key stage 1 & 2 pupils are not taught to run properly, develop agility, balance and coordination, work as a team or develop confidence in a sporting context.

regards the 'give it to the big lad' rugby, i always thought clubs should have been a little proactive and stepped those lads up an age group, it's no benefit to either them or their actual age groups side to play that way.

It is so frustraiting for me to read these forums , paper articals and coaches reaction when they don't see what is infront of their noses.
If you want to know why Australia are so good then watch what they do and what we don't.
Believe me you will be suprised how basic the skills and tactics Australia use that England don't.
But fans, coaches, jurno's alike only ever watch their team and miss the obvious.

Look at how much time and space Lockyer had to put in those perfect kicks because England had no kick pressure, but all you see is a gifted player that looks like hes playing in a dinner jacket.
Look how Australia had 3/4 players rushing through everytime competing for the ball with Tomkins because all the game England gave him no protection, but all you see is a England fullback unable to catch a ball.
Look how Australia had 2 players dedicated to rush out on the last tackle and charge down kicks, but all you see is poor England kicking game.
Look how when England put up bombs to Boyd and Australia had 2 players put on a block stopping England players getting to Boyd and look how poorly Boyd caught those balls, arms stretched and crouched down, if it wasn't for the cover he got he would have been nowhere near catching some of those balls.

look how Australia build down time into their game as they play one out football in their own half so when England do get stretched Australia step up a gear, the whole team move as one playmakers and runners and look how England try to play themselves out of trouble, building no downtime into their game and when Australia are on the ropes we move in threes and fours because some are resting while others are looking to pass the ball to nobody.
I could go on and on and on , you don't need a sports degree , you just need to play the game they way it's meant to be played and take the blinkers off.

Yes we have all seen the simplistic way the Aussies play the game and what is required to perform to the same or better level. It's not that simple though, the reading of the game at that speed, the physical attributes to play the game to match their athletes, the week to week competition to develop consistency, the talent pool to choose from and to put pressure on each other. Your simplistic view would suggest that any team should be able to beat anyone by just following simple principles...no, because athletic ability varies, motor skills, reading the game under pressure, strength and so many more variables.

Surely you don't think you're the only one to recognise the simplistic differences, and surely you don't think you could just tell all the obove in your post to the squad and coaches and them say "you're right, we never thought of that!"

The switch to summer and getting kids climatised to summer conditions will be a massive step in the right direction.

That would be great, for both the Nrl and Sl.

You mean like how Wire play?

If you don't think our players and coaches are aware of the above then you're incredinly naive.

Doing it against the best, is another matter.

Thing is as well, with some of those things....let's take the kick pressure thing.

We have 2 players who shoot out to pressure lockyer, the rest of the defence has to be incredibly organised and alert. What if Lockyer, being the legend he is, steps one of the on rushers then commits the other and passes to thurston who has a gaping hole ahead of him?

Within 15 seconds thered be a try on the board. Pass pass pass TRY!

Let's say the kick pressure works. Australia immediatly adapt, they kick earlier in the tackle count, Or cam smith takes the next few kicks straight from dummy half where kick pressure is even more difficult.

Any tactic like that will have it consequences and australia would adapt instantaniously.

1. Total rethink on the 'my club first' mentality. Centralised contracts for elite national training players, would sort out the cap issue of keeping hold of talent!

2. Switch the Junior Amateur game to a summer sport, no brainer for me this one, one reason antipodean junior development is ahead of ours has to be that they don't play/train in/on mud baths/astro turf.

3. Stop undervaluing and talking down our game as an internationally inferior product, believe.

I'm not naive everyone else is, there is such a thing as half time you know where changes can be made problems fixed.
People lack vision, only on reflection after the event do they see their errors.