Because there are multiple scheduling conflicts (FIFA WC next year), stadiums already booked, hotels and flights booked, sponsors already paid for stuff, thousands of tickets sold and the economic boost especially in the north of England will benefit massively from it, not to mention the sport as a whole.

And players have already come out and said they want to come over and play.

Aye

Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I couldn’t disagree more and that’s fair enough. I think they’re using covid as a convenient excuse to do what the NRL always wants to do and that is to avoid their players taking part in international fixtures. The players should be allowed fo make their own calls (as they are in every other sport I’m aware of) and whilst that may mean a number pulling out, both would still send strong squads and people would acknowledge individual concerns. It’s self interest at its absolute worst IMO.

I really cannot believe what the Aussies/Kiwis,are they trying to destroy RL.We need this world cup for the money also the feel good factor.
As other people have pointed out other teams are coming here union/cricket etc why the f+ck not them.

Totally disgusted with this attitude

I'm seriously wondering how many more self-inflicted wounds this game of ours can sustain.

For the first time ever, I'm starting to feel that I might be losing interest. It's almost as though there's no hope, so why bother?

In Britain, we're a skint joke where the tail ALWAYS wags the dog. We're not a professional sport, we just masquerade as one (and it's only a matter of time before that ends too).

In Aus, so long as they've got Origin, they don't care about anyone else (even though the Origin brand is now totally anachronistic and the two teams ridiculously imbalanced).

Nowhere else on Earth does the phrase 'lions led by donkeys' apply more than in Rugby League.

I'd carry on with the competition regardless.

We should form two representative teams made up from Australian and Kiwi players already playing in super league. I'm sure we could have 2 fairly competitive teams so that the world Cup can go ahead.

just kick them out of international rugby, and dont recognise their teams

It would devalue it by an unbelievable amount for me. I’d like to know the players thoughts Down Under and what potential there is for them to rock the boat and come out and say they want to travel. The NRL says Oz and NZ won’t be travelling but can they stop a group of players coming should they want to? Can they play under a slightly different guise? There has to be avenues they can look at. Trent Robinson threw his weight behind the importance of them coming a few days ago. Get him on board and let him coach a rep team that breaks away.

All hot air with no basis of knowing the possibility of something like that happening but I’d love for there to at least be some effort made.

Said this for ages....there needs to be another SL break-away with new branding.

• Super league has been lost to womans footbal, netball and fantasy football leagues, just like the Rugby WC, due to our ineptitude and failure to trademark it!
• The word 'league' also has negative connotations....just listen to how some in the southern based media say the word 'league' is derisory.
• Most of the media make it clear it is the northern game, and perpetuate old stereotypes of whippets, coal mines, deprived northern towns and eddie wearing!

We need to go the same way as france....ditch league and rebrand the whole game as Rugby XIII, spoken as Rugby thirteens.

It would cause confusion to loads of casual JCL union fans who watch six nations etc to watch our game and realise the product is better, without the negative connotations and the job union has done to it! It would create a new product...imagine a marketing campaign where you went out to buy 1 second slots on national prime time advertising just with a black screen and RUGBY XIII...Its coming! Then expand with occasional adverts showing class snippets of action.

It would do what 'the hundred' is doing for cricket, but would also help us nick those union fans on the fringes, if done correctly.

But, like the hundred, it also needs to be done as part of a brave re brand, appealing to new people and giving people in different regions a team to support- to appeal to wider new fan base but also dispel the myth that we are just run down northern towns that detracts investors...and gives us only Heinz big soup and bachelors peas.

We can be parochial and backward thinking no longer. We need to be brave, and all the clubs need to embrace it.

IMO we need to rebrand most teams, still playing in the usual towns, same grounds and initially to largely the same fanbase, but allowing them to play an odd game in their wider region each year, to create opportunity for growth

Imagine a SL of the following;

Leeds Rhinos
Liverpool Saints (St Helens rebrand, still based at Langtree park in St Helens etc, but showing presence)
Manchester Fords (Salford rebrand on the same premise as Saints, with Fords being a throw to Salford) If Salford are too parocial and not brave enough then a new Manchester club.
Cheshire Wire (Warrington rebrand- same premise)
Lancashire Warriors or possibly Wigan Lancs (due to the strength of the Wigan brand)
Hull East Yorkshire
London SW Broncos
Tyne Thunder Newcastle rebrand, promoted to SL
Wales / Celtic Crusaders Back at Wrexham, where they were successful and actually starting to get crowds.
Catalan Dragons
Toulouse Olympique who will probably be in next year anyway

Most of those clubs are already in place and ready to go, but with some smart re-brands you are appealing to huge areas of the country, rather than a few hundred thousands in deprived northern towns.

You may add another one or possible 3/4 teams to that on a franchise model and on the basis of appealing to wider areas.
It Toronto can sort themselves and ultimately get Ottawa in, they would get places.
If cas sorted a new ground you could have West Yorkshire Tigers....otherwise if they want to remain parochial in their hovel of a ground they would play in a strong re-formed British Championship

British champions get the opportunity to apply for a SL licence should they wish every 3 years, upon condition of appealing to a wider area. Ie/ if york came in they'd be York North Yorkshire - Sheffield - South Yorkshire etc.

Yes it takes a huge mindshift, yes you need to be brave, but do that and the game can survive.....carry on and we're dead in the water in 10 years, back to semi pro and amateur.

Sadly its a commercial world, and the SL i have put together there would command probably twice the amount of the new deal, plus more as it grows....simply on the basis of population you are appealing to. Same consideration with sponsors. Some say its pie in the sky, it'll never happen because fans would be in arms, but IMO i would be prepared to lose the 20-40/50% who can't see the bigger picture....they can be replaced rather than hold the game back and ultimately kill it!

If you're that childish and parochial you won't go if your team re-brand to represent a wider area, your a massive reason why the game is dying in the first place. Ultimately the game has to lose some of this deadwood to survive IMO.

Wonder if we can get waney earlier now?!?!

Oh dear.

Elaborate mate or it means nothing.

Not saying it's right or wrong, but I'd assume he's saying it's a bit drastic.

I know I'm odd, but when it comes to British RL I'll watch Wigan and that's it. If Saints Vs Leeds is on the TV, I'll switch over. I have zero interest in anything that isn't Wigan. I'm completely tribal and it's all about us. If Wigan aren't on the TV, then they should be etc. If there's a podcast, like the Out of Your League one, I'll listen to the Wigan ones but can't think of anything worse than listening to them interview a Darryl Powell or Leroy Cudjoe etc.

When it comes to the NRL I'm the opposite. I'll watch every game and spend my week listening to podcasts about it etc. It's just better. The players (on the whole), the fitness, the tactics, the production, the stadia etc. It's what the game should be and then you switch to Cas Vs Hudds and it's like watching a knock-off version of the game.

Me too

I guess that’s what he means also and I don’t think it is drastic if you’re a fan of a British Rugby League Club. This is NRL driven and could have a dire impact on all British rugby league clubs, including our own. We need this tournament and we need it this year. We have wall to wall coverage lined up on the BBC, coverage we won’t get next season (confirmed by the chair of the rugby league earlier) because the BBC has other things to show. As a British rugby league fan I certainly wouldn’t be supporting a competition that is trying it’s best to stamp out international rugby league. I’m sure they’re not overly reliant on a British TV deal but still. It shows it no support year in year out and is now hiding behind covid as an excuse.

I’m the other way on the NRL, I don’t know how people can be so passionate for it over here without a connection to a club. The old line was always how competitive it is but it’s been anything but this season. Melbourne and Penrith are miles clear of the rest and the number of blow out scores has been a shambles. Even the meaningful Origin games were poor.