I'd rather England and France - if it worked. But despite having a presence in SL for 20 years the French remain an international walk over. This isn't about what's good for French RL, it's about giving England the best possible chance of pushing Australia. And by the way, I think you are under playing the rivalry. I believe we still play Roses games at both amateur and academy level so it's not like it's something that's dead to the sporting culture. Just check out the attendances for the T Twenty cricket matches if you think it can't be sold to folk. Anyway, it looks like it's going to happen, so I guess we won't have to wait too long to gauge its appeal.

Need a big sponsor to pull a good Roses series. Hadn't considered the wages factor but that is key. Big match fee and prize money would certainly help.

That's why it's so important that IMG drive this. It's something that could be a success if it's properly worked through, as opposed to the usual "it's a bit sh*t, but it will do" approach RL traditionally prefers.

Needs a carrot dangling in front of the clubs too to release the players otherwise as previously mentioned earlier in the thread certain clubs will suddenly pull their players or they'll become mysteriously unavailable.

Would you want to shout about it?

Without a doubt