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Rugby League World Cup


wolfie

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I realise that this should be under General Sport, but I think it would have been missed by our two Rugby League 'experts' Safe and Latch.

 

It is now 30 years since a British club side beat the Australians tourists. When Super League was introduced 13 years ago it was hoped that the benefits would result in a stronger British team and a possible Test series win. :roll::roll: neither of which has happened :(

 

So what are Englands chances in the RL World cup later this year?

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As you say,but the competition within SL has created the need for quick fix solutions ,namely overpaid underperforming imports keeping our homegrown players out of the domestic SL therefore limiting their first team experience, hence when international competitions come along we are left wanting just as in football. Hopefully,the pressure being taken off regarding relegation should allow clubs to include more home grown talent & improve our game accordingly as an international team.

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GB RL has failed for years mainly by attempting to beat the Ozzies at their own game i.e. brutal strong arm stuff devoid of much of the old fashioned skills. I for one couldn't care less if we never beat the Ozzies, I would much prefer the old ways of pace, sidestep, the selling of dummies much of which is based on kidology. The modern game is an 80 minute bashathon and far too many injuries are being incurred as a result. What happens in Australia doesn't concern me very much. I would rather the game in England be an an entertaining spectacle rather than a glorification of violence, with the all important emphasis on winning the *collision*

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I'm afraid I am a bit negative where this ermmmmm.. "World Cup" is concerned.. our game is too parochial to warrant the title.

Lets call a spade a spade Australia will win against either us or the kiwis .End of story all this Ireland Scotland Wales etc etc is absolutely farcical.

We are not a world wide sport and never will be, lets accept this and stop leaving our game open to ridicule.

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To encourage fast open football a try scored in a sweeping movement from inside your own half a try would be worth 8 points. At the moment the method being used to score tries consists of unattractive one pass dullness and a speculative kick leading to geting within a couple of yards of the opposition's try line and then a barge over from a thick skulled numbnuts forward. Skill rather than strong arm tactics would be far more entertaining then what's on offer at the moment. 40 years ago I wrote to a newspaper and suggested the teams be reduced to 11 a side to make the game more open. It's even more relevant today than it was then. If it was violent confrontations that I wanted I'd go down to Bridge Foot on a Saturday night.

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I think we are all guilty of looking back wistfully at past era's,

But being perfectly truthful "Knocker"Norris taught me as a kid to run onto the pass from the acting half back and just charge into the opposition,lets not forget the likes of Bill Payne & Freddie Hill barging into the opposition time after time.And in that same era I witnessed the Wires last 0-0 match(Workington early 60's)

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I started this thread in the hope that someone could convince me that the game was improving and that Super League had achieved what it originally set out to do.

 

Unfortunately I am even more convinced that the game has gone backwards. In the 80's Rugby Union was dead and buried and it's top names were looking to play in Rugby League eg Jonathan Davies, Frano Botica, Jason Robinson, Martin Offiah etc. After 13 years of Super League with an average attendance of just 10000, and Rugby Union is miles ahead. 2 weeks ago at the start of the Union season 2 matches had attendances of 50,000 plus. The TV viewing figures are 3 to 4 times that of Super League, and yet the RL are determined to spread it to areas of even fewer viewers at the expense of the Rugby League heartlands.

 

I totally agree with Latch

Lets call a spade a spade Australia will win against either us or the kiwis .End of story all this Ireland Scotland Wales etc etc is absolutely farcical.

 

30 years, with millions of Sky's money pumped into the game and the RL have achieved nothing apart from split a GB team up to warrant holding a World Cup competition. :roll::roll::roll:

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Both codes have been too much formulated and over coached. RU like RL makes great emphasis on winning the *collision* at the expense of some horrific injuries requiring extensive surgery and long periods of recuperation. In modern parlance I believe it's called the *crash ball* It's all well and good that players are being coached in this method but the coaches aren't the ones who are being badly injured. Both codes should be more like boxing where the first thing that young boxers are taught is to avoid being hit. A little more brain and a lot less brawn wouldn't go amiss.

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  • 1 month later...

Well here we are hours from the big kick off and not a shred of interest or excitement to be detected anywhere around Warrington.

Is it because of the kick off times and the fact sky still have a relatively small audience?

Or the previously discussed reasons on this thread?

 

A bit of both is my guess......

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Mightily impressed with Stanley Gene. He played the full 80 minutes flat out and it begs the question why in the English game it's a given that we need two hookers. In the hooking position the players aren't covering a huge part of the pitch and should be able to play the full 80 without a spell sat down. Gene must be very near as old as myself and he has no problems. Clarke and Higham are around 28 years old so should be able to play a full game without spells as spectators. England were very poor this morning and Pryce went AWOL which he tends to do in big games. McGuire should be starting stand off.

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Although I spent most of the game yawning at the TV there were one or two bright moments. One was when one of the commentators who seemed to be struggling with the metric system declared Australia were only 8 kilometres from the NZ line, the other one was the advertising ribbon which went around the pitch with the legend *I could have scored that one* Please instal this at the HJ.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The rot sets in for the English when the team starts to rotate. Why a hooker can't play for the full 80 is a mystery to me. I was talking to the Saints physio last night and even he can't give a reason.If it's not broke don't fix it. Mickey Higham could turn out to be be a really good signing for the Wire. He's still only 28 years old and a top quality player.

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Higham could prove to be one of the best signings for a long time...Not being a Lowes fan doesnt stop me from recognising that at least as a former international number 9 he knows whats required in that particular department of a quality side and that Higham will be the catalyst for a new vastly improved Wire side in 2009 ......... ahhhhhh well I can always live in hope :wink:

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There is a possibility that England will end up fourth in their group and yet are in the semi finals :?:?:?

 

After a total lack of reports in the National Press my paper had a full column about the World Cup.

 

It ripped it apart saying it was a total farce stating that after losing to New Zealand, England would now play errrrr...... New Zealand in the semi finals :roll: and that the World must begin in Perth and end in Sydney :oops:

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Well thats it....over and out

 

"Australia coach Ricky Stuart insisted England have gone backwards since the last World Cup in 2000 and accused Super League clubs of selfishness by packing their teams with overseas players at the expense of British talent."

 

GUESS IT'S TIME TO GO...............

 

 

 

20051212rube_goldberg_450.jpg

 

...BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD :(

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