Watkins is one of the few centres we have who comes close to the Aussie or kiwi centres physically. All the talk of the likes of Gildart and Percival being better at this stage is madness. It'd be men against boys.

Watkins has often been up against Greg Inglis for Australia, one of the biggest and strongest outside backs our sport has ever produced. I shudder to imagine some of the names mentioned against him.

In fact Australia's pure physicality, particularly in the threequarters, is often overlooked. Whoever they pick the backs will be fast and strong. We need backs who at the very least can mix it physcially, which is why the likes of Hall, Watkins and McGillvary have to be there ahead of the likes of Eden (looked a complete wuss playing for the Broncos), even if they are in poorer form at club level.

Indeed. Many said last year's Australian back line was one of the weakest ever, but it was certainly the biggest I've seen. All of them are at least 6'3 and over 100kg. The thought of scrawny kids like Percival, Crooks, or Gildart defending against them is frightening. I've not seen anyone in the academy grades who looks like they could one day provide that physicality at the moment.

The game will apparently be available streamed on line for a fee and not live on the BBC who wanted to screen it which is about dumbest idea I have ever heard.

RL is completely locked in a mindset of squeezing a bit more out of the same people and doing nothing to attract new fans. Few existing fans are going to pay for this game, attendances are being propped up by subsidised away travel, SL is locked behind pay tv.

International RL is the easiest hook for a new fan. Whether they have seen a game or not they already have an affiliation. It should be spread as far and as wide as we can. FTA live broadcasts get us audiences of millions. It is our greatest possible marketing tool.

Ridiculous decision.

I'm sure there will be a free stream somewhere online and because us northerners are quite tight.

The RFL will then not make any money from this folly.

Do the BBC already have the rights to broadcast international friendly matches?
If not, were they willing to pay for the broadcasting rights?

Regardless they should have been given the rights, more international games is how we are going to grow the game. It won't grow the game however if there only seen by a few hundred die hard fans online. Incredibly short sighted decision to try and make a couple of grand out of this.

Not sure I agree. How are you supposed to enter into future negotiations for broadcasting rights etc. and try and paint your sport in the most positive light if you've been giving broadcasting rights away for free in the past?

If the BBC really did want it for free then I can see why the rfl might have said no / asked for a fee.

Complete joke! As if we are turning down free publicity just to squeeze a few £'s out of diehard fans! This game should have been on BBC and streamed live online via the iPlayer.

It would be far easier to go to the BBC and say, "we got C2m people watching the last game, you need to pay for this one" than " we got 5000 people paying a fiver last time, give us money"

There is nothing wrong with investigating streaming as an option but the infrastructure isnt there yet, the market isnt there yet, and the game isnt set up to have all that much to sell. The FA tried it with England v Ukraine in 2009 and it was a disaster.

If the RFL are looking at streaming long term the problems and hurdles are many. They will take on the risk because they will need to outlay the costs of broadcast, they will need to take on responsibility for marketing, nobody is going to stumble upon the game, casuals will be put off, advertising revenue would be less, the value proposition is lower. We are nowhere near ready for that switch (and actually can't do so for another 5 years anyway) which leaves this as nothing more than a short term money grab that will make a relatively miniscule amount and will cost the huge free advertising of a game live on the BBC

Actually getting them to pay for it is an entirely different matter altogether. As has been mentioned, if they were such a vanguard of publicity for RL why don't they have the rights already?