True but for one sad fact we don't have an international game mainly due to the Southern hemisphere's total lack of interest. until we have the game in Europe will not get TV coverage of any note & will wither on the vine, non of which bothers 80% of the NRL clubs or management.

In which case English RL needs to find a way to grow without Australia. Develop France and create a rivalry equal to that with Australia. Bring across Fiji, png etc and support their strengthening, focus on developing the domestic game into Wales to grow the international rivalry there. If Australia are not that interested then look to other nations to grow the international scene if that is what you think the English game needs.

It was the RFL that decided to shift the game so that we had the same season as Australia. That killed Tours at a stroke, and Super League up here was as guilty as the Aussies in neglecting Test match football.
If we are to build a viable International scene then we have to make a long term commitment to European competitions, and consider Andrew Voss' idea that the World Cup should be every 2 years not 4 so we get competitions in each hemisphere every 4 years.

Looking at the performances in the RLWC a European cup with teams with all those players available would be a great spectacle I reckon.
Eng, ire, scot, Wales, France with full strength teams would be well worth watching, sponsoring and showing on TV. Southern Hemisphere could do the same with a pacific cup featuring Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, PNG, NZ and AUs
Ashes tours v GB
RLWC
Tri nations of eng,NZ and AUs

That should be the international make up.
Throw in a summer sthern hemI world nines tournament and bingo.

If we allowed the ambitious money men like Koucash to fund wages outside of the Salary cap with his own money, then the dozen or so genuine british marquee players would be tied up in no time.
These are the guys who are going to be the target of Rugby union. If they are out of reach, then the union guys aren't going to be digging deep to poach Paul Clough and Daryl Goulding.

Allow player wages funded and guaranteed by a third party to count outside of the cap. So for instance, Warrington sign Sam Burgess/ Sonny Bill Williams and they are actually contracted to SJM Concerts.
SJM allocate the money to advertising.
Simon Moran will be happy as his money will actually go further as it won't get taxed when he takes it out of SJM (awaiting verification).
Should SJM go bust or become unable to honour the contract, the player becomes a free agent.

Clubs will then be able to fund high wages without crippling financial commitments and the risk of insolvency.

Bring this in and watch the chairmen race round with their begging bowls - they'll find sponsorship from everywhere.

If the company they register the players to is based in the Seychelles then the players will avoid tax too giving them a further advantage! It's the first time I've ever heard of using shell company's for navigating the salary cap!

How many genuinely world class players have we actually lost to Union? The likes of eastmond and tomkins (j) we're good players, but it's hardly like they were the complete article when they were "poached" - potential to be, but we'll never know. If burgess goes it would be the first major win they've had. Juniors in the other hand I have no idea.

Nrl is the far bigger threat to top quality in super league at the moment. And that is a problem that runs thicker than money.

It had become evident by the 1988 tour that the ARL had started to focus on its competition as in the tour games the clubs put out reserve grade players, we never came across the top players until the test matches. the whole thing started to fall apart after that. I would love to be able to get by without Australia but it is the only other pro league. Union it is the international game that actually supports the game down under as it would collapse without international games. Just as we will here without a radical rethink, I just don't think the NRL clubs give a dam about us at all.

Burgess took a pay cut to go to Souths.