Quote: JEAN CAPDOUZE "The heartland towns along the M62 are dying fields for cultivating new talent, in part because of the soccer playing immigrants who have moved in.'"
Soccer playing immigrants you say? Nigel Farage missed that one. Maybe if they have a second vote they could use that.
Anyone who cites the PI growth of late as an example of how it happens take a closer look at the birth place of the players from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands...even PNG to a smaller extent. These are heritage players are ANZAC born. It doesn't make them any less Tongan or Samoan BTW, but it does explain where these players learnt to play the game. Chances are they started off in school, then in the Auckland or NSW/Qland comps, as I say, after they attended schools where League was taught.
Try and find a school where RL is played ahead of Union in Samoa, Fiji or Tonga?
Find me thriving domestic competition in any of those Islands........ you won't.
The pseudo french troll saying the way forward is development offices in Dublin and Glasgow is just trolling. If Ireland, Scotland and Wales are to compete and develop interest in the game, then they need to throw the heritage net far and wide.
I am not a fan of heritage players, but put plainly, a team of Tongan born players would be annihilated by most NSW/Qlnd cup sides, so to grow interest in the game, we allow swapping of nations and teams with 98% heritage line ups, but unless we back this up with real money at grass roots level in the PI's, you may as well get them to play in Green and Gold and call them the Australian 3rd string.
