I'm looking forward to this

Really Cam the whole Cup has been treated as a laughing stock in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

It should have been about expanding the product into emerging markets

Instead it was about who was going to offer the most money to stage a game.

Backfired big time for its emerging markets. Next Rugby League World Cup needs to be a showcase. The Western Force launched on the back of the 5 days of games in Perth that established a core 18-20,000 Rugby supporters.

Imagine what they could have done had they gone beyond short term money gain...

Hate to say it but Egan has a point

The recent history of the RLWC goes a long way to explaining its flaws. I agree that Egan does have a point but expanding to emerging markets of Oz is not it. One saving grace of LU is the international section where there are a few level heads.

International RL is administered by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). The RLIF have very little real power. Unlike FIFA or the RFU they do not have strong independent sources of revenue. They are pretty much a side project of the ARL/RFL/NZRL - these leagues have been unwilling to defer more power to the RLIF to make a strong global body because they do not want to lose their own power base. Think BCCI and ICC in reverse order

The RLIF has one part time employee, Tas Baiteri. It as only had a website for the past year which was crap AND then it shutdown when the RLWC08 website was launched - like they couldn't have two at once? The RLIF gets money when the RFL/ARL/NZRL are doing well. If they make money they are more inclined to skim some for the RLIF. It is a relationship of dependence.

The RLWC is the biggest chance to get money for the RLIF to skim. In 2000 the event went tits up. They expanded to 16 teams, we saw massive thrashings played in front of small crowds and the event lost loads of money. Richard Lewis (not the guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm) stepped in to the chief role at the RFL and declined to host another event in 2004 due to the RFL having to wear the debt from the 2000 RLWC. Instead he decided to have the Tri-Nationas because they made money. The RFL is now debt free and in the black. Lewis is a champion - primarily becauce he is not from the same stock as Australian RL administrators.

Anyway, the ARL decided to host a RLWC as part of the Centenary celebrations. With 2000 in mind the idea was/is to make money and play it safe rather than promote the game around Oz. Any other year and things would have been different. With this in mind, the spread of venues relates to who has the most cash and where people are more inclined to watch RL. The Qld Government bid a bit of cash to get the final there and other events. The spread of events isn't national and so it is to be expected that non-RL heartland media won't talk about it much.

What shits me is how NSW and Qld RL media write off the event because of Australia's dominance and their general ignorance of anything that's not NRL/SOO.

I was in Melbourne in June and the promotion of the RLWC was impressive. St Kilda Junction had a big screen showing the ad for the game every two minutes on continuous loop. A lot of the "events" material you saw at airports, stations and other major areas talked about the game. Unpaid promotion (reports) are probably lacking but I'm not surprised. Colin Love (NSWRL/ARL/RLIF Chairman) has annoyed me beyond belief. He defends Ch Nein when they renege on a promise to show the Pool A Games live. He awarded commercial radio rights to the 2GB network when Fairfax Radio Network offered to broadcast all games and pay more money. He then gave ACP magazines the rights to the preview mag as well as the programme and they are a load of sh*t. I complained and the ACP Editor said we need to load it up with NRL stories because it's an Aussie audience. WTF? Only 4 pages on England and virtually nil on anything non ENG/NZ/AUS. Why are Love and Carr still employed by the ARL? Because the boards that appoint them are full of their mates. Classic problem in Aussie RL adminsitration.

The onfield product has been great so far. With the exception of the Kangaroos game the fixtures we've seen have been close and entertaining. Unfortunately what surrounds it has not matched that.

The next RLWC is due for 2013 in the UK. It will then go every four years thereafter. If Richard Lewis is still there he'll run a great product. He doesn't come from an RL background (he's a former tennis pro and Davis Cup rep). He sees the big picture and understands business. Australia needs people like him in RL.

Rant over.

this world cup is all about,and was always only about making as much money as possible for the RLIF...so then the RLIF can expand the game into emerging nations like the islands,celtic nations, europe etc....

if you want the game to be expanded into WA,SA,VIC etc...then have a whinge at the ARL & NRL.. not the RLIF cos it's not the job of the international governing body to spread the game within australia..

I think that is the best thing so far.
The standard on the field has been pretty good so with another 4-5 years of these teams playing at least 3 times per year it should be better in 2013. I just hope that that don't increase the number of teams in it by much (I think it should be kept at 10 even)
In the UK in London at least there has been more media coverage of the RLWC over the past 2 weeks than for the entire Super League season.
Hopefully with decent people running it in the UK they will be able to build a bit of support for RL and make a profit again

Well the issue was that the NRL obviously did not utilise this Rugby League World Cup to its full advantage. Pay RLIF a fee, and than use it to start launching into emerging markets.

Hey I don't really give a stuff if they come here or not, but when a Rugby League World Cup does not get any attention...somebody, somewhere has missed a golden opportunity to promote it to the hype noobs of the country.

Of course the Rugby League World Cup is not the status of the Union World Cup, but it could have been a legacy building cup. Instead a 10,000 sized crowd in Townsville and a mostly empty Canberra Stadium was chosen...

These games could have been sacrificed. They weren't.

Whoever's fault is not important, at the end of the day it is a golden opportunity that League in general has lost.

If they were in the black, it was a perfect opportunity to risk again with the emerging markets.



RLIF also needed to look at Legacy Building. League being pushed and established around the nation, brings more money to the table for the ARL, which means a larger dividend for the RLIF into the future.

thats cos it's nothing to do with the NRL....

the ARL are running the comp on behalf of the RLIF

Been a great couple of days. Tonga v Samoa was a ripper of a game. Tonga again failed to impress blowing several opportunities. A cracker of a game thouh in front of nearly 12,000 at Penrith.

Fiji ripped through France despite being lean on big name players. The French were shithouse compared to the Scotland game. They didn't throw the ball around and the Fiji forwards belted them. 9000 odd at Wollongong. My mate managed to hoist his Jets flag (2m x 1m) on one of the flagpoles on the WIN Stadium hill. Took stacks of photos and loads of people had a good laugh.

Either Fiji or Samoa look set to qualify for the semis unless Scotland or Ireland and win well.

Australia v England soon. Can't wait.

What an embarrasment for the Poms. Shows how far ahead Australia are of everyone else. Doesn't give much credit to the concept of the world cup.

It was dissapointing, I was looking forward to a strong performance. Hope its different if we meet again.

NZ v ENG will be interesting.

Spud, are you alright?

spanking

adjective
1. quick and energetic; "a brisk walk in the park"; "a lively gait"; "a merry chase"; "traveling at a rattling rate"; "a snappy pace"; "a spanking breeze" [syn: alert]

noun
1. the act of slapping on the buttocks; "he gave the brat a good spanking"

2.

Aus 52 v England 4 .......2/11/08

52-4, now that was embarrassing wasn't it I mean, if that is the best England can do right now they are in big trouble.

I know they have only played 2 games in this WC so far but privately I have always questioned the wisdom of the poms not playing as Great Britain. As England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales they have effectively weakened their chances I believe. Though it is good that Ireland, Wales & Scotland are represented as separate countries.

You know, former Wigan & Roosters & GB player Phil Clarke quit the GB coaching staff in 2006 because he believed that there was a "lack of leadership and direction" for the Great Britain team, and the lack of improvement in competitiveness against international opponents; adding that "Despite what's been said by the RFL and certain parts of the media, we're no closer now than we were 15 years ago." It seems that nothing has changed really. I hope he's wrong.

Rugby league needs a strong international competition. I love Australia winning, but I would also love it if other teams were more competitive against us.

It was excellent. Australia were red hot. They probably can't play better.

England made mistakes they often make. When they fall behind they cannot regroup. Discipline goes out the window in an attempt to chase the leaders.

That said the game could have been a lot different. I thought Inglis knocked on, Wellens didn't scoop the ball dead (didn't see it on TV) and the second Aussie try came from a dodgy play the ball. If those calls go England's way plus they score a try in at the end of the first half you could. However Unfortunately games aren't played on ifs and England could not regroup. It reminded me of the 2004 Tri-Nations Final.

The stadium was great. Loved seeing all the English fans. Looking forward to Newcastle.

I don't think it is a fait accompli that Australia will win. Probably 90% but the beauty of it is that the final comes down to one game. Australia could make the final with four wins from four and a +200 goal difference but they still have to win the final. England and NZ will get better.

Ireland v Samoa on Wednesday at Parra. I'm crossing my fingers for Ireland. Similarly I hope Scotland beat Fiji. The Bati smashed France who beat Scotland but they have a 5 day turnaround. They Scottish Bravehearts have a good side and will be better for the run together in Canberra after a ten day break.

What Irish, Welsh and Scotish players would you have in the GB team ahead of the current England side?