We would still have the same old players who would be selected for the test squad come what may even though some one else has played far better.Until those same old players dont get selected automaticly and know their place is at stake then things wont change as far as the England squad goes.This Exiles game could be good and worth while if the England coach chose a few other players to see what they could do but that wont happen.

Most of what you say may well be correct but, if the "Roses" game(s) were a direct line into the national team, then surely the "Lancashire" players would "give a toss".

The main gripe with the England team was the total lack of thought into the selection from our national coach. Six out of form Leeds players, including Peacock, who will be past it when the world cup comes around and Sinfield at stand off ??
I know players out of position is nothing new with either England or Great Britain (we played Farrel at 6 so many times) and this has more to do with the coach than the concept, but this does cause the fans to question what is going on.

The idea behind the Exiles games is good, but how can we make the games have more intensity and more popular with the punters ?

Spot on

You can't take it seriously when just two games in, Rangi Chase has played twice, once for each team. How can you expect fans to have any kind of loyalty to the international game when it's clear the players haven't?

You see it is a path into the England team but for the Exiles!

Not sure it was any better than the majority of Trin games this year.

The Roses games were scrapped to early they were the games that we needed to give some time to groW and create something from over time the Lancashire players would begin to care once a bit of tradition and rivalry has been established. How is the Exiles ever going to be sustainable if we are serious about lowering the number of imports in our game?

I agree.
Also, 2 Enlish teams playing against each other, with international jerseys up for grabs would certainly have the younger players chomping at the bit and putting pressure on some of the more experienced players.

I agree.
The thing the RFL don't seem to get about State of Origin is that it was built on the back of State games where Queensland used to get battered because all their best players played in Sydney.
When they made it Origin they gave Queensland a chance to proove the lar-di-da types in Sydney that Queensland was something special in Rugby League.....which they did. It was important to them.
Once they started winning it because important to NSW to prove they were better because Queensland were making a big deal about it.....and the rest is history.

Same would have been the case for Yorkshire v Lancashire....or Cumbria.

I think Exiles could be an identity if managed correctly but the problem is, when they are better it makes us look poor. When Queensland are better it doesn't affect Australia.

Also with 2 English regions playing against each other the in game atmosphere should improve. Another negative about the exiles format which (I dont think) has been commented on so far is the lack of atmosphere in the crowd.

The exiles will never have a vocal supporter base (unless we play in Aus/NZ!) so immediately the game seems lacking in atmosphere and subdued when watching on TV, it seemed painfully quiet at times!

The reason it will never be anywhere near Origin is that you don't have 2 sets of supporters who are fanatical about their teams winning and getting one over on the 'enemy'. This won't happen overnight with any kind of intra UK battle but if you imagine the East vs West for arguments sake, at least we're going instantly create 2 fan bases which have more interest in their teams than the Exiles camp does currently in this country.

That's why I said decent.

The Roses games had been running in one form or another since RL began, not sure exactly how much more time they could be given.

To answer both you and Wrencat I make two points.

1: NSW and Queenslanders are fiercely proud of their home States. Yorkshiremen along with Cornishmen are unique in having any real affinity with their County of birth. People from what remains of Lancashire don't, or not in numbers that matter. As far as I'm aware there are no SL teams in Lancashire anymore?? I'm afraid it takes two to tango and in the WOR there is only one.
You simply can't create a rivalry that died even in cricket many years ago. The one that would possibly work in this country is North v South but for that to happen would mean the unification of the two codes. We have to be realistic, we simply don't have a none club rivalry to match SOO. That said they don't have the club rivalries we have, why that doesn't translate into better players I'm not sure - maybe our game is super parochial rather than just parochial.

2: The WOR were never really a pathway to the national squad - in fact what ruined them was the sheer number of players especially from the dark side who dropped out - either knowing they were GB players or putting club first.

Sorry one other point and that's credibility. Everyone in Aus seems to accept that the two teams are picked on form, not club or reputation. Judging by the reaction on this and other forums every time a representative team is picked not many in the UK feels the same. The WOR used to stink to high heaven of jobs for the boys, and I'm not one of the paranoid ones. I don't recall many young players getting their big break in WOR

I'd love the WOR to be a winner, but history suggests it isn't - sorry.