Instead of the exiles game, why not have a mini tri nations competition with England, new Zealand and Australia teams made up from sl players. I think there would be more passion and more intensity. It could run as a league each team playing 2 games. The matches could be midweek games every couple of weeks similar to SOO. There's enough players to make the teams competitive.

Aus: Greenshields, Richards, Webster, King, J Monaghan, M Monaghan, Dobson, Perry, Buderus, O Meeley, Fitzgibbon, Hoffman, O Donnell

NZ: Tony, Meli, V Anderson, Mellars, Isa, Webb, Chase, K Leuluai, T Leuluai, Puletua, Soliola, L Anderson, Faiumu

What do you think? Would it work?

sounds like a good idea but i'm not too sure the coaches would be happy about their best players playing midweek fixtures in the middle of the season

Precisely.

A one off fixture like the 'Exiles' game is bad enough for clubs to risk losing their assets to injury but the OP's idea would never get off the ground.

It's one thing to put together some sort of Barbarian side, it's another to put together pseudo Australian and NZ national teams. Surely only the ARL and NZRL could do that.

The ARL probably wouldn't as they don't give a stuff about international RL.

I see your point but the Aussies play 3 very hard midweek games and then back up on the weekend and IMO the SOO series is one of the major factors to why the aussies always beat us. Until our players can play such intensity games they will never be ready.

makes a mockery out of the international game more than the exiles game. if there was ever a mid season tri nations, which hopefully there will be one day it should be between england, france and wales. i would like to see a second tri nations between ireland, scotland and italy/russia with promotion/relegation between the divisions through a play off match between the bottom team in div 1 and top team in div 2 on tri nations final day. we are quite a long way from anything like this happening though.

im not completely against the exiles, the concept can work, just not sure when to play the game!