Well if the boycott is down to the NRL there are ways round it. Remember the 1997 GB v Aus series, during the ARL v Super League 'war'. The ARL clubs boycotted it and it wasn't allowed to be called the Ashes, so they just had a 'Super League Test Series' with Aus represented by players from clubs who were in the Aussie Super League like Brisbane, Canberra, Penrith and so on.

A combined nations team beat England the other week, surely they can raise a team of Aussies who are already over here. I would put a few quid on Jake Mamo being the world cup top try scorer.

I was listening to Steve Mascord last week and he talked about the pressure that the NRL clubs were putting on their top brass to pull out of the World Cup. There was a reluctance to do that because they had given their commitment to the competition but still had problems agreeing to the arrangements and financing of the players isolation on their return down under. The fact that they held off signing the participation agreement spoke volumes.
As others have said, it looks like they were waiting for the infection rates here to rise to give some kind of credence for their announcement.
Does it prove the British belief that the Australians have no interest in the international game and only participate under sufferance or are they right to 'protect' their people? Mixture of both imo.
Jon Dutton and his team have a huge decision to make as I'm sure that ticket refunds are unthinkable.
(and I've bought tickets for four matches!).

The aussies only care about SOO and the nrl. That's the truth and anyone who thinks this is based on covid cases is deluding themselves.

Surely there is a simple solution here;

Saints Academy could stand in for the Aussies and their Scholarship could replace NZ. ?

I’m not judging you for being anxious about something, but I do have to ask you - what would your solution be?

All the vulnerable are vaccinated, in fact 88% of adults have one dose and 70% have had two. That includes those not really at serious risk from COVID.

It’s clear that even with vaccinations this disease will spread like wildfire and the consequence will be some hospitalisations and some deaths. Just like every disease or health issue. You simply can’t stop COVID you can merely make it less able to kill.

So, with all the vulnerable vaccinated what is your solution to stop cases spreading? Lock down until millions go into poverty and die of starvation? Would you like to surrender your entire pension to give hope to young kids and prevent them from a shorter miserable life in poverty? Not many would. That’s why we have no choice but to open up. We need to accept its here and deal with reality. Wear a mask and avoid crowds if you feel under threat and no one will criticise you for it.

How come the Aussies are managing to attend the Olympics, the cricket and sending their RU team over here?

I thought it was ‘simply too dangerous’?

I wonder what the Aussie/Kiwi plan is in the very long term. I’m talking 5+ years here. It’s not going anywhere, so is that it in terms of their citizens coming and going? The vaccination programme is a mess and will take many many months to have an effect when it is sorted. Is quarantine when going in to Oz a permanent fixture? Will they carry on locking Cities down when they get a couple of cases even after they’ve vaccinated everyone? Just how safe is safe when it comes to them deciding to travel here for a World Cup? If next year they do come and there is a cluster of cases in the North West of England is that it and they head straight home?

I shouldn’t really talk about Covid because as I’ve said I think it’s an excuse for the NRL to hide behind but they wanted to Cancel the Ashes with a view to them being played in 2022, they now want the World Cup to be pushed to 2022 instead but do we need to give them guarantees that Covid will have run off by then? I get the feeling we’ll be sat here in ten years time, with the Aussies going ‘but you’ve had a case in Torquay, so we don’t think it’s safe to travel to Manchester’.

Indeed, the clubs are using the nation’s paranoia as their excuse to not have players back for a full pre-season.

Regarding COVID, I too wonder what the governments will do long-term. They’ve convinced the population it will go away if they just wait. It won’t, and now once they’re vaccinated the public won’t accept ANY deaths associated with it and there will be pressure to shut borders and go back into lockdown.

Bored, so worked out an Aus SL team. Would probably beat England to be fair . . .

Hastings
French
Mamo
Leutele
Sio
Sezer
Maloney
Prior
Parcell
Fifita
Thompson
S Mata'utia
Austin

*Not sure if any of these would be ineligible as a few have played for other countries.

Good question? Cannot really answer. What I think does not really matter. But obviously the Aussies and most other countries think we are trying to move too fast. I would prefer us to try to slow the rate of infection down. As Science has given us a vaccine quicker than we thought I am very hopeful that it will create a way of treating us when the illness hits. The word poverty (pretty meaningless really) is over used and I think we have years before anyone dies of starvation. Personally I am getting out and about but wary. I have family who have medical problems ... so that makes a difference. I don't think we should criticise other people from other countries who do not wish to act as we do.

Austin at loose forward ... here we go again??

The lack of forwards and the abundance of half-backs was a selection issue!

It will bring a lot of beef to the RFL if there's a full house at Twitters, Cardiff and Murrayfield in November.

That's the problem though Smiffy it's not Australia and New Zealand acting as countries as far as I can work out. The antipodeans are here there and everywhere doing other things and when I say here I do mean England and Wales in the autumn series...as if the RLWC and the game in general didn't have enough competition from the other Code already.

You very rarely get statements like the one issued this morning "selfish and cowardly" from a tournament organizer and I'd say in this case it's well deserved.

An Australian female won the singles at Wimbledon.

NZ won the World Test cricket championship here last month.

The All Blacks and Wallabies are over in November.

No Australian/Kiwi player living here as become seriously unwell with Covid from what I gather.

They’re taking the mick.