Good news.

I hear McNamara is already masterminding a training camp in Salford to prepare.

On a serious note, what are peoples thoughts on this?

Maybe a little too early?

It feels as though it would be running before we can walk to me. We seem to be building some momentum up behind our World Cup now and we need to keep them rotating between the UK and Oz/NZ every 4 years for a while yet IMO.

Build up it to where crowds of 40, 50, 60k + are seen as the norm (for the big matches) before we risk moving it.

Where would crowds come from in SA anyway?

It was politically motivated wasnt it? Just by throwing their hat in the ring South African Rugby League has government secured recognition of the sport. I think one of the Aussie papers covered it this morning.

Somebody had better tell Australia they haven't yet got it. The NRL strategic plan has the 2017 RLWC held in Australia and NZ will be the best ever www.nrl.com/portals/nrl/RadEdito ... e_Plan.pdf

Somebody had better tell Australia they haven't yet got it. The NRL strategic plan has the 2017 RLWC held in Australia and NZ will be the best ever www.nrl.com/portals/nrl/RadEdito ... e_Plan.pdf

If they have the money and backing then go for it.

Do it, forget this running before we can walk , it means our game is spreading and if they have the finances and infrastructure then I can't see why not

Whilst on the subject of African RL, Ghana have launched their first league season. Article from Phil Caplan: www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/rlp-na ... p-launches

Whilst on the subject of African RL, Ghana have launched their first league season. Article from Phil Caplan: www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/rlp-na ... p-launches

I’d have to say the last World Cup in Australia was a little disappointing off the field. For a game which dominates large parts of the country, it didn’t really seem to get the same treatment.

In 1994 Fifa took the worlds biggest sporting tournament to a country which not only had no professional football league, but one which almost defined itself in opposition to association football. The tournament possess, still, the best average attendance and its legacy is an MLS which is probably now as good as any of the 2nd tier European nations (i.e outside the premier league, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga)

If there is government support and private backing, with the money to make it a real success, then we should definitely do it. There are big white elephant stadiums not being regularly used, its midway between Oz and the UK it should be a place where RL can grow dramatically. It needs to have the money in place to do it though.

There's pretty much zero awareness of League in SA. Can't see how this would work unless the RLIF and/or SA has tens of millions to spend on marketing the tournament.

The only plus side is they do have quite a few 'white elephant' stadiums left over from the FIFA WC that they're desperate to fill with events...

The USA bid is far more realistic.
Both rely on the fact that most revenue for the WC comes from TV rights and that governments will subsidise events that bring in sporting tourism.
IMO the TV times from the US would work for the major markets better than South Africa (middle of the night or very early morning in Aus), and also New York and New England (the centre of League in the US) would draw twice the tourists, and therefore bigger Government subsidies.
I also think it would be better for the future of the game to put the 20 or 30 million Aus dollars it takes to run a World Cup into the US league scene. It would be the kick start the code needs in the US.

Have the USA made a bid, I thought it was only Aus/NZ and SA?

They were putting one together, but it probably died a natural death, as all plans seem to in the US League scene.

Yeh I'd read once that RL in the USA was frought with division. I think they have two governing bodies over there running separate leagues?

Given the thrashing the NRL seems to be giving rugby union in Aus, one would think the next target would be New Zealand.
If league can break these two countries, the international rugby union calendar will be substantially weakened.
Moving on to South Africa may seem like the next stop, but I wonder if concentrating on France would not be a better move for the sport as a whole?

I think the RFL should have someone over in France working with the government for 2021. The have the Euros in 2018 so their facilities will be absolutely top notch. It’s a couple of hours from anywhere in the UK with cheap flights meaning there would be tons of people prepared to make the trip and probably spend a week or two on holiday, so there would be plenty of tourist interest with the subsidies to go at. Being on the European mainland as well means we have the opportunity to get a few more people interested in some of the neighbouring countries with Spain and Italy not far from the southern French heartlands of the game.

Next one should be in NZ, then France, US and SA.

That's one hell of a joint bid

It's the type of "innovative" thinking the RFL are known for

Bearing in mind the RLWC is going to grow and grow in the number of teams involved,i think it would be commonsense to give the next WC to aus/nz as joint hosts,then in 2021 bring it back to Europe with games in paris and Barcalona included this time.

The RLWC is the biggest tournament in the game. We shouldn't just give it away at the first flash of a wallet. If the tournament is a flop, it could do some serious damage to the momentum of the international game. There needs to be more than just financial guarantees.

It would be safer to take a Four Nations over there. It would cost far less for a start and guarantee that SA will get a game against the big guns. I'd possibly consider changing that to a Six Nations by including the European and Pacific Cup winners.

The RLWC2017 should be in Aus & NZ, with the big games and the Final in NZ. Build the game further in NZ.

If SA and USA want to bid for the next one, they need to show what they can do for RL by hosting a tournament first.

I would love to see us take a test match or the WCC to Dubai, hell of a lot of wealth in that place.

Nigel wood wants to host a World Cup in china by 2021

1. South Africa: They have used this "bid" to force their governments hand. IF Knock down Nigel is even thinking of considering their bid, he needs to be sectioned NOW.
2. Dubai: Not as daft as it sounds in respect of a WCC or Test Match. Sevens stadium holds 50,000.....if they can fill it for the 7's then they can surely fill it for GB v someone......
3. France: No reason why they wouldn't be able to host this stand alone. Government would need to be engaged, but I see no reason why they couldn't be the first one to crack 1,000,000 attendees.
4. USA: Not in my lifetime....RLIF need to step in and sort out the mess there.
5. China: More chance of USA



As for "Offside Monkey" and plans for RL domination of New Zealand



The National RL Regional Championship Finals took place this week at Mt Smart...this is the highest level of the game here (other than the Warriors)...it was attended by less than 1,000 "fans" who were in general friends and families of the teams for the senior game and the earlier 17's game.....both games were shown LIVE on SKY TV and neither rated.The NZ warriors are sometimes outrated on NZ Television by the Netballers. We shifted 28k for the visit of the Warriors and the Dogs here in Wellington last year, but in reality...and I attend the club/regional games here, we get a hundred at games if we are lucky.

...some people need to get a handle on reality when it comes to the NRL, it's billion dollar 5 year deal. To put it into perspective, the BBC pay the RFU 1/3 of the NRL deal every year for 15 games....the NRL deal is for 300+ games a year.