Oh good. we can all go on enjoying it as we have done for it's 125 years and counting as a "northern curiosity"....

This is so bloody frustrating. My thoughts were that the WC should go ahead without Aus and NZ but I know that was always unlikely and impractical. The NRL has got the game by the short and curlies. They are clearly liars, putting their competition before the international game under the pretext of player welfare and they are using their (undoubted) strength to hold the rest of the game to ransom. The NRL has put the WC organisers in an impossible position but giving in to bullies never ends well. I don’t know how but the RFL needs to take the lead now in shifting the balance of power in the game back towards the northern hemisphere.

Edit - Will moving to a 10 team Super League be the answer? I’m not so sure it will.

It's not what I wanted to see but it's not unexpected. I personally would have ploughed on with it because this has basically killed off the international game now.

Premier League, Serie A, La Liga are all having to deal with the world cup being played in Qatar in the middle of the season next year. Yet our world cup (which will now get zero coverage thanks to it probably ending the week before the FIFA world cup starts) is postponed because one domestic league can't bear pushing the start date back by a fortnight.

Do people still wonder why we get no coverage in the press? We're a gimmick laden joke of a sport that's happy to pee it's heritage down the drain.

What happens next year when Australia is still not at zero cases?

I'm guessing it won't stop the aussies and kiwis sending teams to Birmingham for the commonwealth games but as well all know this decision has shaft all to do with player welfare.

There can never be a power shift as long as players in SL are paid so much less.

It does suck but let's not go overboard.

The sport in the UK not growing has nothing to do with the NRL.

We cant kid ourselves into thinking the world cup was some silver bullet which was going to change the fortunes of the sport dramatically.

As long as the structure of how the sport is governed remains as it is the sport has no chance of growing with or without a world cup.

I think that you should have phrased that "while ever players in Australia are paid so much more"..
Almost the same thing but, it's not as though RL in the UK can afford much more than "we" are paying out.

Even if the cap was scrapped, there wouldn't be any more cash swilling around in the sport.
Although, it may tempt more people to want to have a dabble at running a SL club.

Really ?

But the gap between salaries wasn't always so big. The sport used to be able to sign Australians before they were over the hill as the earnings potential for players was similar.

The fact that SL salaries are no higher today than they were 15 years ago is a joke and shows the sport is getting smaller.

rlhttps://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/rugby-league-has-olympics-goal-as-brisbane-awarded-2032-games/rl

RL 9's at the Olympics would, IMO, get the game in the spotlight more than the World Cup.

Cas laying an 8’s on the table.. Still not sure who is funding it. Plus possibly only available to clubs with academies.

This would be great but I fear the Rugby Union World will be doing lobbying hard to block this.

Coverage of the Olympics generally involves some "expert" or other being dragged out to explain the nuances of synchronized swimming or the high beam and straight away participation numbers and interest in those sports does nothing.....
Wanting Rugby 9's being in the Olympics is akin to wanting Tennis to be be joined by Real Tennis because some fans prefer one sport. 4.41259765625:5