It was a key part of tours and was an honour for the clubs chosen to play the tourists. IIRC Bradford missed out one time because they put out a reserve team or something like that in order to concentrate on the league.

The last tourist game I saw at CP was when Inga scored a great try opposite Renouf and there was a big crowd that day.

Playing club sides was part of the test a touring side faced. The squad had to be good enough to play the club games and also play the three tests. The club games were not warm up matches but full bloodied affairs and going unbeaten in all games club and test matches was the aim.

The fact the club games were so integral to the whole series is why I'd love it if Rouges plan could happen. I can't see it though. The fact the International game has been neglected for so long is what led to distractions such as the Magic Weekend IMO. I'd much rather watch Internationals than that.

Mind you there is another threat to any sort of International game looming and that is the idiotic proposals on the table for the 12x12 then 8x8x8 league structure. That involves 30+ games a season and that ignores the Challenge Cup. Even if time could be found for any Internationals in that fixture list the players would be knackered anyway.

Just drop the 8 team playoff, first plays fourth, second plays third then the final, 2/3 weeks could be saved there.

Problem is with NZ in a mid season test, they don't seem to bother and only come alive at the end of the season when a trophy is up for grabs.

It must be 10 years or more since they won the Anzac Test, but beat the Aussies reasonably regularly at the end of the season.

If the Kiwi's win today, they have won 4 out if the last 8 tournaments the Big 3 have all played. They also lost the the 06 Tri Nations even thought they scored more tries than Australia, they just didn't land a single conversion.

I wouldn't mind a 4 team play off per se (I'd prefer 5) but there needs to be a decent incentive to finish higher up within the 4 which there isn't with either the current system or yours. If it was a 4 I'd go:

Week 1 - Qualifiers
A - 1st v 2nd
B - 3rd v 4th

Week 2 - Final Eliminator
C - Loser A v Winner B

Week 3 - Final
D - Winner A v Winner C

That way you aim for the top 2 rather than just the top 4 so that you can have either a week off or a second chance. Also you always have to beat every team above you to win

Would be fantastic if in next few weeks, the RFL came out and announced an Ashes 2015, 3 tests, Wembley, Old Trafford and Elland Rd. We'd all be buzzing for that.

I think its critical to develop Tonga, Samoa and Fiji and incorporate them into a comp with PNG and perhaps have the opportunity to play one off tests. If they cleared the programme down under for SOO then players from these countries could play for their nations during the season. Perhaps then we can get rid of the prospect of players playing for several different countries and really broadcast the game to these hotbeds. Games between these nations could serve as a curtain raiser to the SOO game, unless of course they play juniors before the main game.