Yes, I know. That's why I said it is something that is sadly lost forever.
I still remember (as a young lad) watching in awe at the older guys at work (and wanting to be part of it) who were sticking a few quid every week into the 'Rugby Tour Jar', which over a four year period would pay for them to travel to Aus for 3-4 weeks and watch them playing Tests plus NRL teams midweek, it just doesn't seem the same with England and the World Cup / 4N tours.

I didn’t get to follow GB to Australia and I really do wish I could now. Without the midweek matches, it may not be the same as a full Lions tour but I do intend to follow England to a World Cup or 4 Nations though (will still be one of the experiences to remember)

Never being to an international outside Hull. However I've now booked 4 tickets to watch England at Wembley and I can't wait for it.

I'm the same, an RL world cup abroad is on my sporting to do list!

Why are the tours not possible now?

I would love to see an England or GB side playing midweek against NRL sides.

I will do. I will also go to the Ireland games except the game in Limerick which clashes with the Wembley double header.

I loved going to GB games. I don't findEngland games of any interest.

As a Welshman living in Ireland, why would you expect to have any interest in England games?

With the seasons running in parallel, that would mean England taking a squad out to tour Australia during the Super League season. Can any of us see that happening?

If you want to see the single difference between the success of the International games in the two codes, take a look at the Union World Cup – all the Home Nations and France have sent their top players to New Zealand for a two month World Cup just as the club seasons are about to start. It is inconceivable that would happen in Rugby League

You can say all you like about history, stadiums, media coverage and the like – Rugby Union is prepared to invest and make sacrifices for the development of its international game – fans and clubs alike. Until we adopt the same attitude, we will always struggle to keep up and I cannot see it changing

Which is a huge shame as success internationally would benefit the game immensely and that benefit would be seen at all levels of the game in terms of popularity, investment and coverage. I’m afraid as a sport, we are a little too narrow minded to get there

Great. Still doesn't mean it's not a farce having a World Cup where only 2 teams are competitive. I'd say the same about any sport with a similar competition.

How you can't understand that I don't know.



Do you think I'm someone else?

I don't understand why you responded that to the quote of my post...

Exactly.

Were you a RL fan pre-super league?

I actually do understand it – and I agree that it would be great if half a dozen teams or more were capable of winning the World Cup

What I would also like to add is the following

In order to grow the game internationally there has to be a competition that will generate interest within the developing nations and one where they have a chance to play against the superstars of the game

Fundamentally for me... while the winners of the World Cup will absolutely come from within very small selection of teams, it doesn’t mean that the group games will not be competitive in their own right. Despite the eventual outcome of the competition being (relatively) easy to predict, it could and should be celebrated as a festival of Rugby league

To sum it up – I agree that the World Cup has (at a stretch) only three realistic winners, but I for one will not therefore just label the whole competition a farce as a result

No question, nor would the fans in Fiji no doubt who watched the semi on big screens in Suva, with streets closed down and TV aerials sold out.

The ability of RL fans to talk down their own sport never ceases to amaze me.

International RL is perhaps THE most important factor if our game is to survive and prosper. Why people can't see that is beyond me.