Adverts around the ground today for next year's games, good idea.

Not knowing specifically when or where these games take place or when tickets are going on sale, bad idea.

It needs sorting.

I hope we can get games at St James Park, the Etihad and Olympic park. I'd have the Scotland game at the DW or the KC.

No idea when the games are going to take place, really?

I reckon it'll kick off with a double header of NZ V Aus / Eng v Sco maybe at Newcastle.

Really need to ramp it up early not just after the Grand Final.

I think the double header at Newcastle is a good idea cos people up there know about thus sport a bit more now and we would have a good chance of filling that ground. Also it is close to Scotland and we all know that there will be a game in Scotland as well.

I will just throw in a debating point here: They are gonna take a game to Scotland, that we know but they wont be able to get 20,000 in a ground up there so I would say that they might consider putting the double header at murreyfield. I'm not saying I want that but you know, its a thought.

Newcastle on the opening weekend with England playing Australia and New Zealand playing Scotland would be my choice.

Week two I'd go England verses Scotland at the KC with the Aussies and Kiwis playing at Langtree Park.

Week three I'd have another double header at Olympic Park.

The final I'd play at the Etihad.

I'd live to think they can pull that sort of schedule off.

I would like to see and think we should go for

Eng v Scot @ Headingley
Aus v NZ @ DW

Eng v Aus@ Olympic or Wembley
NZ v Scot@ double header

Eng v NZ @ Etihad
Aus v Scotland @ KC

I'd be amazed if Man City, Newcastle or West Ham allowed RL to use their grounds in the middle of a season.

What's the point of Scotland been in it really

Man United allow us to use Old Trafford. Man City allowed the Union lot to us the Etihad, Newcastle allowed them to use St James Park and Aston Villa allowed them to use Villa Park.

I agree it may not be easy but it's not impossible. I'd hope West Ham would have little choice by the way given that they've been handed a stadium built from tax payers money.

It is daft isn't it; they are going to get beaten 3 times and 80-0 each time. Like I say as well, in the past there has been a game in the other European country so prepare for a crappy attendance in some shed of a ground in Scotland somewhere.

In the end you have to blame Wales but mostly France for losing the European Championship to Scotland. I know they have Danny Brough but France should be winning that comp most times and should be beating Scotland 9 times out of 10.

Which of course comes back to the fact that we need to be playing these countries regularly. A mid-season break of a couple of weeks to play both Wales and France twice.

I think I'm right in saying Man City don't own the Etihad and West ham don't own the Olympic stadium, so it's not their decision to make whether or not we can use the stadium.

Still can get my head around why the previous European Championship winners have got a place and not the current winners Wales, it's not not like the tournament has been planned out ages in advance we still don't know the dates or venues.

As for grounds I'd agree that St James' Park for an opening match of Scotland-England and Australia-NZ is a good idea. Market the hell out of it during the magic weekend, hand out free tshirts advertising the game to the thousands of people wandering about in Newcastle city centre. Do what RU and the Olympics did and stick a huge ad on the Tyne bridge.

Then I'd say Olympic Park for England-Australia, the Etihad for England-NZ. One Scotland game in Yorkshire, the other up in Scotland. Final at Elland Road (have to go slightly smaller for that one due to the risk tha England don't make the final)

For the first time in years the RFL can big the England team up as winners, let's go big with the grounds and sell em out.

why not have Scotland v England in..Scotland?

play the partisan stuff and get the scots behind "their" team

there are enough grounds in Scotland that hold 15-20,000 that could accommodate this.

The Four Nations should be entirely on the road, not at Headingley, the KC, the DW etc. The Etihad, Newcastle, Anfield, etc should be looked into.

Newcastle is an out of the way place for England to play.

One England match must be in London. The crowds are always biggest there. The Oz v NZ game should also be in London. Whether that's via a double-header or at a smaller venue. I would prefer a smaller venue in West London for Oz v NZ and then England v Oz at a bigger London venue on different day (the tournament opener if that is possible).

The problem is what to do with the Scotland games. I can't see them being competitive or attracting crowds, so small stadia but where?

England should play their NZ game in RL territory.





Then you need to decide

I think this all the time, a couple of weeks off to just play a few internationals. It was pointed out in the build up to the NZ series that this year football played 10 internationals, union 16 and we have played... 4... Even if we only got that number to 7-8 it would help and would give the international game more publicity which is the key here.

Yep, and make it a regular event at the same time of year. It gives both spectators and organisers certainty. It allows the French and Welsh to plan, knowing that every year in, say, June they've got 2 games against England and against each other. It gives England a chance to get together for 4 extra games (probably without NRL players but it's still better than nothing).
It gives the French and Welsh something to plan and play for other than just being a hastily arranged warm up. And if they perform poorly one year they can start planning for the next. It's the best way, in my opinion, to both give England more games and exposure and to help France and Wales develop.

Don't know if it's the same situation with West Ham and Olympic Park, but City lease the Etihad from MCC for £3m/yr and are paying for a £1bn redevelopment of the stadium and surrounding campus area (which City do own). Any concerts or other events that go on at the Etihad, after the bands/whatever else is paid for, go directly to City's profits and City just continue to pay £3m/yr to MCC. City decide what goes on at the stadium.

Im certain City would welcome a Four Nations final at the ground next Autumn.

Totally agree. It's time we started to bridge the gap between France/Wales and us.

I mentioned in another thread the other day that compared to other major England teams we play less than half of the games that they do.
Since the turn of the decade England football have played 68 games, England rugby union have played 72 games and England cricket have played 73 games...while England rugby league have played 30 games.

It's nowhere near enough. And I don't know how many games France and Wales RL teams have played but I'd bet it is even much lower than England RL. That's not good enough, it's nowhere near enough for them to improve.

Three double-headers for the group fixtures

England-Scotland, New Zealand- Australia at the Olympic Stadium.

England-New Zealand, Scotland-Australia at St James's Park

England-Australia, Scotland-New Zealand at Anfield/Etihad

Final at Elland Road. Good transport links, right kind of capacity, in the RL heartlands.

You can't play the final in a downgraded facility from the other games.

Having all the games as double headers maybe a good idea though. The RFL will probably want a game in Scotland though and there will be murders if at least oneEngland game isn't in Yorkshire

Scotland v New Zealand - Ibrox
England v Australia - Olympic Stadium

England v Scotland - DW
Australia v New Zealand - KC

England v New Zealand - St James'
Scotland v Australia - Easter Road

Final - Etihad or OT

Think big