Nothing will re-enforce the cloth cap image of rugby league more than a 'War of t'roses' competition! An absolute no no is this (and im an ardent a Lancastrian as the next man) International origin by all means and xtend the Exiles concept to include real Welsh and French born players is a great thought for me.

Establish this properly and the away test in France each year and you have the backbone of an international calendar, as well as ticking the need for competitive England matches and French development boxes

I didn't say it would 'magically' do that but it does mean putting more faith in guys and giving them more game time, which MIGHT improve them. Reducing the quota may mean only getting in real quality too.

But it would still lose us lots of players.

I see a lot of people are omittiing Cumbria from their 'grand plans' yet again.

Quite ironic considering out of the 3 counties Cumbria is the only area still with a sense of identity.

Is Cumbria not in West England?

Correct but why would Cumbria want to be associated with Lancashire or Greater Manchester? Much the same as Yorkshire wouldn't want to be 'lumped in' with anyone else.

The resurrection of the County Champ may be a worthwhile experiment, even if it only included non SL players.

What's the worse that could happen? It could even be played throughout the season on one of the many spare weekends and include Wales and France in a 5 nationsesque competition.