Hodkinson is a fantastic player and England should jump at the chance to make him a part of the squad and partnered with Widdop could be the partnership to have us compete with the aussies

You are correct.

Who could possibly argue that Kevin Sinfield is a better player than Trent Hodkinson?

Oh, hang on...Steve McNamara is still the coach and selector of the England team.

We need to move on from sinfield. Hodkinson is top quality and I don't see any others at his level, him and widdop may form a top quality partnership that we've been waiting years for.

Usually when England play Australia I agree the England score is near Zero!

Can I just point out Lebanon is in Asia.

The one team I want to see in there above any other is the USA. Not only were they the success story of the last World Cup but I think that is the area we need to crack if we want international rugby league to be successful. If we can get the americans to buy into it in the same way they have with soccer then we could have another team to compete with the big 3 in 15-20 years time.

You will never crack the USA so long as there is no competitive continental European nation. That is because the USA will only embrace a new foreign sport when they think that significant other nations, especially European ones, play the game. The only candidate for that status is France. However thanks to the RFL's reactionary, insular and parochial ruling clique led by Nigel Wood, France is not being given the support necessary to become a competitive European nation. Wood apparently doesn't care whether there is a 2nd French team in Super League or no French team in Super League. So France is not given the developmental boost that having both Catalans and Toulouse in Super League would provide for the French national team.

Thus the Americans look at rugby league and consider it a boutique little game played professionally in just over half of Australia, 20% of England, and 20% of New Zealand ... plus in the rather obscure and backward nation of Papua-New Guinea. Thus the game is not something that has impressive foreign great nation credentials. Until France becomes a competitive power, and Britain manages to resuscitate professional rugby league in London and other parts of southern England, Americans will look on the game in the USA as a mere hobby for eccentrics.

Rugby union is to big in France for rugby league ever to be a success even if we had ten French teams in super league

Rugby union is to big in France for rugby league ever to be a success even if we had ten French teams in super league

So what do you suggest? Should we just close up shop and cancel all rugby league?

The fans like those posting in this thread are the reason why RL struggles. Never happy and always shouting loud to put RL down whilst claiming to be a fan of the sport.

The game would be better off without you.

I think you will find that most posters who "put the game down"

are actually people who love the game and want to suceed.

Each , intheir own way, does their bit to help the game but when the people who actually run the game at various levels, do not the have the knowledge, training or sadly the capability to run and develop the game, then people will speak out.

It isn't easy to run the great game, but surely the challange is to make it easy. Too many different factions, pulling in too many directions allied to massive egos make it extremely difficult but you have to keep chipping away.

Lets face it, any sport that wants to be truly international and develop the sport worldwide first has to playing to the same rules.

As a game from amateur to International level the game can't even agree on the rules and if the game as a whole can't get that simple situation right what chance the rest?

I love rugby league I just think international rugby is pointless as there aren't enough quality teams as was evident by last years quarter finals in the world cup I would just do the great Britain tours and that's it