Rugby League European Cup.

toomevara · 17-09-2009 9:34am #1

European cup coming up. Bit of a crock as far as I'm concerned as I reckon we should be in the upcoming four nations, following our showing in the RLWC. I reckon a trick has been missed here, should have been a five nations comp, England, Ireland, NZ. Oz and france...but hey, what you gonna do? Still a good day out in Tullamore coming up if anyones about....and the serbians are bloody good, they love their RL over there. Just hope the RLI can get the word out and get some sort of a turn out.

http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=1135

rugbyleague.com European Cup Fixtures:

Round 1
Saturday 17/10/09, Stadio Del Plebiscito, Padova
Italy V Scotland
KO : 15.00

Sunday 18/10/09, Tullamore RUFC, Tullamore
Ireland V Serbia
KO 14.30.

Round 2
Saturday 24/10/09, Tripoli Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
Lebanon V Italy
KO 20.00

Sunday 25/10/09, FK Smedervo Stadium, Smederevo - Serbia V Wales
KO 14.00

Round 3
Sunday 1/11/09, Hughenden, Glasgow
Scotland V Lebanon
KO 15.00

Sunday 1/11/09, Pontypridd RUFC, Pontypridd
Wales V Ireland
KO 17.00

FINALS DAY:
Sunday 08/11/09, Celtic Crusaders RL, Brewery Field, Bridgend.

3rd v 3rd KO 11.00
2nd v 2nd KO 13.30
1st v 1st KO 16.00

Dozen Wicked Words · 17-09-2009 10:15am

I think if Ireland win it at a canter it may well support calls for their inclusion in a 5 nations. My worry is France will be shown up badly by Australia, New Zealand and England and it may well be a short lived experiment, reverting back to tri-nations before Ireland get a look in.

Nationality is a big issue in RL too, the number of players moving from one country to another prior to the last World Cup was farcical. Supposed Welsh/Scots becoming English, Australians becoming Irish etc. Possibly it works in the favour of the Irish but the Welsh/Scots and teams from the Pacific Islands are always going to be losers, and I am doubtful there will be general progress outside the "big 3" until this is sorted. Oh, and Stiffing PNG in the RLWC was outrageous. (Think I might have gone off topic, sorry!)

toomevara · 17-09-2009 10:26am

Only thing with France is a lot of the Catalan Aussies, such as Mogg and Jones may qualify through residency for the tournament. Could give them a whole new level if it happens. Also reckon, for France, the appointment of Bobby Goulding is an absolute disaster...they need a Frenchman, or at the very least someone who has an affinity with France and speaks the lingo in there...Leaves the team open to accusations that there a bunch of foreign mercenaries with no organic connection to france...

Also, from an Irish perspective, unfortunately, the more high profile irish squad members are unlikely to find the euro cup worth the risk/effort at the end of a long gruelling season, whereas had we been in the 4N, I'm sure many Super League based players would be up for the challenge...

Tallaght RL · 17-09-2009 12:35pm

toomevara wrote: »

European cup coming up. Bit of a crock as far as I'm concerned as I reckon we should be in the upcoming four nations, following our showing in the RLWC. I reckon a trick has been missed here, should have been a five nations comp, England, Ireland, NZ. Oz and france...but hey, what you gonna do? Still a good day out in Tullamore coming up if anyones about....and the serbians are bloody good, they love their RL over there. Just hope the RLI can get the word out and get some sort of a turn out.

http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=1135

rugbyleague.com European Cup Fixtures:

Round 1
Saturday 17/10/09, Stadio Del Plebiscito, Padova
Italy V Scotland
KO : 15.00

Sunday 18/10/09, Tullamore RUFC, Tullamore
Ireland V Serbia
KO 14.30.

Round 2
Saturday 24/10/09, Tripoli Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
Lebanon V Italy
KO 20.00

Sunday 25/10/09, FK Smedervo Stadium, Smederevo - Serbia V Wales
KO 14.00

Round 3
Sunday 1/11/09, Hughenden, Glasgow
Scotland V Lebanon
KO 15.00

Sunday 1/11/09, Pontypridd RUFC, Pontypridd
Wales V Ireland
KO 17.00

FINALS DAY:
Sunday 08/11/09, Celtic Crusaders RL, Brewery Field, Bridgend.

3rd v 3rd KO 11.00
2nd v 2nd KO 13.30
1st v 1st KO 16.00

Do you know who's in the Irish squad and which clubs they play RL for?

toomevara · 17-09-2009 1:15pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Do you know who's in the Irish squad and which clubs they play RL for?

The RLI site is hopeless (as usual), they've even knocked their Message Boards on the head. Andy Kelly is still managing the squad, and they've been installed as the favourites for the comp, but I reckon the likes of Wales, Lebanon and Serbia will have a thing or two to say about that....here's a piece from Boots'n'All on the comp. Andy Kelly is interviewed at about 2:15 in.....

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,12780_5547714,00.html

In the meantime, I'm on the case......

Scott Grix (Wakefield) is involved...heres an interview at the launch of the comp. He's interviewed around the 3 Min mark. Does say there's going to be a lot more irish players involved;

http://www.rugbyleague.com/video-player/12

amacachi · 17-09-2009 1:41pm

Even if it meant risking the results I'd like to see a few more Irish players on the pitch than there were at the World Cup.

Can't see any decent public transport option to get down to Tullamore for the match alas.

toomevara · 17-09-2009 4:23pm

amacachi wrote: »

Can't see any decent public transport option to get down to Tullamore for the match alas.

Don't know the rationale behind the location but it seems a really, really strange one. I would have tried to get it on in Limerick or dublin myself. Plus I'm heading for London to see the OZ/NZ clash at the stoop in the 4N the following weekend so the timing is unfortunate as well...

Tallaght RL · 18-09-2009 7:50am

toomevara wrote: »

Don't know the rationale behind the location but it seems a really, really strange one. I would have tried to get it on in Limerick or dublin myself. Plus I'm heading for London to see the OZ/NZ clash at the stoop in the 4N the following weekend so the timing is unfortunate as well...

Tallaght Stadium would be a good choice if the RL could afford it!

Plus would be nice to see a curtain raiser game for players actual born in the countries involved at any age group.

mountain · 18-09-2009 11:48am

i have never had a reason to go to Tullamore, until now.....

will make an effort to travel up from west cork for this.

Anyone else interested?

toomevara · 19-09-2009 11:42am

mountain wrote: »

i have never had a reason to go to Tullamore, until now.....

will make an effort to travel up from west cork for this.

Anyone else interested?

Would love to go, but can't get over from Leeds. alas. Might try and get to the game in Ponty.

toomevara · 28-09-2009 12:19pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Do you know who's in the Irish squad and which clubs they play RL for?

Ireland Train-On Squad

Scott Grix (Wakefield), Sean Gleeson (Wakefield), Bob Beswick (Halifax), Liam Harrison (Barrow), Karl Fitzpatrick (Salford), Liam Finn (Dewsbury), Luke Ambler (Leeds), Sean Hesketh (York), Pat Richards (Wigan), Mick McIlorum (Wigan), Gareth Haggerty (Harlequins), Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington), Jason Golden (Harlequins), Eamon O'Carroll (Wigan), Wayne Kerr (Oldham), Dave Allen (Barrow), Marcus St Hilaire (Oldham), James Coyle (Barrow), John Coleman (Dublin City Exiles), Brendan Guilfoyle (Treaty City Titans), Paddy Barcoe (Carlow Crusaders), Tim Bergin (Laois Panthers), Stevie Gibbons (Carlow Crusaders), Shane Mullay (Treaty City Titans), Shane Kelly (Tullamore Knights), Mark Toohey (Treaty City Titans), Alan MacNamara (Treaty City Titans), Tommy Ratahi (Carlow Crusaders).

Excellent squad with 10 players from the RLI comp. Kelly is at least making good on his promise to build on the WC success. Some really, really good players in there. reckon we can do some damage with that lot. Even a Dub in there Tallaght, god help us:D

Tallaght RL · 28-09-2009 12:51pm

toomevara wrote: »

Ireland Train-On Squad

Scott Grix (Wakefield), Sean Gleeson (Wakefield), Bob Beswick (Halifax), Liam Harrison (Barrow), Karl Fitzpatrick (Salford), Liam Finn (Dewsbury), Luke Ambler (Leeds), Sean Hesketh (York), Pat Richards (Wigan), Mick McIlorum (Wigan), Gareth Haggerty (Harlequins), Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington), Jason Golden (Harlequins), Eamon O'Carroll (Wigan), Wayne Kerr (Oldham), Dave Allen (Barrow), Marcus St Hilaire (Oldham), James Coyle (Barrow), John Coleman (Dublin City Exiles), Brendan Guilfoyle (Treaty City Titans), Paddy Barcoe (Carlow Crusaders), Tim Bergin (Laois Panthers), Stevie Gibbons (Carlow Crusaders), Shane Mullay (Treaty City Titans), Shane Kelly (Tullamore Knights), Mark Toohey (Treaty City Titans), Alan MacNamara (Treaty City Titans), Tommy Ratahi (Carlow Crusaders).

Excellent squad with 10 players from the RLI comp. Kelly is at least making good on his promise to build on the WC success. Some really, really good players in there. reckon we can do some damage with that lot. Even a Dub in there Tallaght, god help us:D

Your right very mixed squad, some over the hill, some new talent, no NRL players, should be fairly competitive if he can get them to gell quickly. No Tallaght lads, perhap next year!

Tallaght RL · 29-09-2009 1:25pm

Less than three weeks to go before the game v Serbia and the bookies dont even know Ireland are playing. Is RL in Ireland a secret!

toomevara · 29-09-2009 1:29pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Is RL in Ireland a secret!

The short answer Tallaght, without being facetious, is 'yes', a particularly well kept one, alas.

old gregg · 29-09-2009 4:51pm

no sign of Fuifui Moimoi and him from Waterford

Dozen Wicked Words · 01-10-2009 3:47pm

I know they aren't in this squad but a couple of players who represented Ireland in the past have switched to England.

Ben Harrison and Chris Bridge have both been called into England Training squad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/8284585.stm

toomevara · 01-10-2009 5:05pm

Just saw this myself..bloody annoying to put it mildly.

WakeyTyke · 01-10-2009 5:35pm

What makes it even more ridiculous is that Danny Brough who switched allegiance from Scotland with big fanfares has been given the cold shoulder, yet Tony Smith can get two of his club players straight into the England set-up by the back door:mad: !!

Dozen Wicked Words · 01-10-2009 5:45pm

This is not going to give international competitions much credibility with this constant poaching of players. Surely at some point the governing bodies will have to discuss this and draw a line.

toomevara · 01-10-2009 6:09pm

dooferoaks wrote: »

This is not going to give international competitions much credibility with this constant poaching of players.

Absolutely agree, totally unacceptable. Once you declare and play for a country, that should be it. Its the only way to retain any credibility for the international game.

Also in an Irish context it makes the national team hard to love as you could legitimately question the motivation and commitment of the players playing for 'their' country. You could legitimately level accusations of mercenary conduct at these guys. Look at Brough, he can captain his country and then turn coat and throw his lot in with England? Absolutely indefensible.

toomevara · 08-10-2009 7:17am

Squad named yesterday. 5 local lads, good to see. Seriously strong squad.

Ireland Squad

1. Scott Grix (Wakefield)
2. Bob Beswick (Halifax)
3. Liam Harrison (Barrow)
4. Karl Fitzpatrick (Salford)
5. Liam Finn (Dewsbury)
6. Luke Ambler (Leeds)
7. Marcus St Hilaire (Oldham)
8. Pat Richards (Wigan)
9. Mick McIlorum (Wigan)
10. Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington)
11. Jason Golden (Harlequins RL)
12. Wayne Kerr (Oldham)
13. Dave Allen (Barrow)
14. Sean Hesketh (York)
15. Ryan Boyle (Castleford)
16. John Coleman (Dublin City Exiles)
17. Brendan Guilfoyle (Treaty City Titans)
18. Paddy Barcoe (Carlow Crusaders)
19. Tim Bergin (Laois Panthers)
20. Stevie Gibbons (Carlow Crusaders)

SabAlliance · 08-10-2009 5:08pm

toomevara wrote: »

Squad named yesterday. 5 local lads, good to see. Seriously strong squad.

Ireland Squad

1. Scott Grix (Wakefield)
2. Bob Beswick (Halifax)
3. Liam Harrison (Barrow)
4. Karl Fitzpatrick (Salford)
5. Liam Finn (Dewsbury)
6. Luke Ambler (Leeds)
7. Marcus St Hilaire (Oldham)
8. Pat Richards (Wigan)
9. Mick McIlorum (Wigan)
10. Tyrone McCarthy (Warrington)
11. Jason Golden (Harlequins RL)
12. Wayne Kerr (Oldham)
13. Dave Allen (Barrow)
14. Sean Hesketh (York)
15. Ryan Boyle (Castleford)
16. John Coleman (Dublin City Exiles)
17. Brendan Guilfoyle (Treaty City Titans)
18. Paddy Barcoe (Carlow Crusaders)
19. Tim Bergin (Laois Panthers)
20. Stevie Gibbons (Carlow Crusaders)

If that's the same Tim Bergin who was a few years below me in school then he's an amazing talent. Would have easily made some of the provinces in Union had he not gone to Scotland for university.

toomevara · 17-10-2009 9:19am

Folks I'm off to the wilds of N.Yorkshire for the weekend where the internet is but a rumour and satellite TV some weird, as yet misunderstood, magic. If anyone who reads or contributes to this forum makes it to Tullamore this weekend to see the game, a match report of any sort would be greatly appreciated. Massive brownie points will ensue. C'mon Ireland.....!!!!!

amacachi · 17-10-2009 9:32am

toomevara wrote: »

Folks I'm off to the wilds of N.Yorkshire for the weekend where the internet is but a rumour and satellite TV some weird, as yet misunderstood, magic. If anyone who reads or contributes to this forum makes it to Tullamore this weekend to see the game, a match report of any sort would be greatly appreciated. Massive brownie points will ensue. C'mon Ireland.....!!!!!

Would be delighted to oblige if I could get to the game. Bus would have me arriving in Tullamore 10 minutes after kick off. Or I could go Train-Bus-Bus-Train-Train to arrive 13 minutes before kick-off.:rolleyes:
So yeah, anyone else wants to provide a report it'd be great.

Dodge · 17-10-2009 4:07pm

toomevara wrote: »

Also in an Irish context it makes the national team hard to love as you could legitimately question the motivation and commitment of the players playing for 'their' country. You could legitimately level accusations of mercenary conduct at these guys.

If people within RL have that feeling, just imagine how it looks to the people Rl are trying to attract to the game.

Sadly, Ireland is no more than an England/GB training team for many players

drzhivago · 18-10-2009 5:04pm

toomevara wrote: »

Folks I'm off to the wilds of N.Yorkshire for the weekend where the internet is but a rumour and satellite TV some weird, as yet misunderstood, magic. If anyone who reads or contributes to this forum makes it to Tullamore this weekend to see the game, a match report of any sort would be greatly appreciated. Massive brownie points will ensue. C'mon Ireland.....!!!!!

Dont want the brownie points but do want the brownies

Half Time Ireland 46 serbia nil

full time Ireland 86--

poor text messages from game

bergin, fitzpatrick and harrison played well

toomevara · 18-10-2009 6:29pm

drzhivago wrote: »

Dont want the brownie points but do want the brownies

Half Time Ireland 46 serbia nil

full time Ireland 86--

poor text messages from game

bergin, fitzpatrick and harrison played well

drzhivago, you're a star. massively appreciated.

kellco88 · 18-10-2009 7:14pm

good performances from all the local lads great to see john coleman and tim bergin scoring on debut and stevie gibbons getting man of the match

also match report should be on rte.ie shortly.

toomevara · 19-10-2009 7:26am

Match reports here:

http://www.rugbyleague.com/rugby-league-news/ireland-power-past-serbia.html

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2009/1018/rugbyleague.html

Tallaght RL · 19-10-2009 7:45am

Great result. Looked like five irish born players in the team? Ireland had to many professional class players for Serbia to handle, good line breaks, although for a squad made up of Serbian nationals they didnt do to bad, just couldnt get any go forward, so were defending all the time.

More Irish home games with more irish born players in the side would be good to see.

RLI need to pick up their game. No signs for the game from Naas to Tullamore or in Tullamore itself. Saw the three new RLI 4x4's in the Car Park at Tullamore RU when they should of been out & about before the game in Tullamore etc. If they cant sort themselves out maybe its time for RL in Ireland to join GAA as one of their sports.

toomevara · 19-10-2009 8:23am

Scotland put 100 on italy as well this weekend. There should be a 4 nations comp in RL every year in Europe. Ireland, Wales (who really made England work on Saturday eve), Scotland and another nation perhaps Italy or the Leb. It would raise the profile of the game in those countries.

kellco88 · 19-10-2009 9:40pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Great result. Looked like five irish born players in the team? Ireland had to many professional class players for Serbia to handle, good line breaks, although for a squad made up of Serbian nationals they didnt do to bad, just couldnt get any go forward, so were defending all the time.

More Irish home games with more irish born players in the side would be good to see.

RLI need to pick up their game. No signs for the game from Naas to Tullamore or in Tullamore itself. Saw the three new RLI 4x4's in the Car Park at Tullamore RU when they should of been out & about before the game in Tullamore etc. If they cant sort themselves out maybe its time for RL in Ireland to join GAA as one of their sports.

The jeeps were parked out in the Tullamore court hotel before they went to the game as far as i know. I agree they had no signs up and should have had some in Tullamore at least

Tallaght RL · 20-10-2009 11:23am

Was anyone else surprised that less than 200 turned up to watch?

toomevara · 20-10-2009 3:21pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Was anyone else surprised that less than 200 turned up to watch?

In a word, and alas,...no.

Tallaght RL · 20-10-2009 5:06pm

toomevara wrote: »

In a word, and alas,...no.

What have the attendances been like at previous games played in Dublin?

toomevara · 20-10-2009 5:51pm

Unfortunately the precedent is there. In the, admittedly appallingly run, 2000 WC, in which Ireland made the quarters..a number of games were held in Ireland. We beat Scotland in Tolka park, the attendance was a miserable 1,732. we beat samoa in Windor park belfast where 3,000 turned up and when we beat the NZ Maori, again in Tolka park only 3,000 turned up. Paradoxically the best attended Irish game was the England/Ireland quarter final here in Leeds with over 15,000 showing up.

When we played the lebanon in the qualifying for the 2008 RLWC a grand total of 140 people came along.

kellco88 · 20-10-2009 6:21pm

not suprised so few turned up given the location. plus the fact that the result was more or less decided when the draw was made.

Given that the sport is a minority here i think 200 isnt too bad could've been a lot worse.

It would be nice to see more games played here to build up the profile a bit.

drzhivago · 20-10-2009 9:50pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Great result. Looked like five irish born players in the team? Ireland had to many professional class players for Serbia to handle, good line breaks, although for a squad made up of Serbian nationals they didnt do to bad, just couldnt get any go forward, so were defending all the time.

More Irish home games with more irish born players in the side would be good to see.

RLI need to pick up their game. No signs for the game from Naas to Tullamore or in Tullamore itself. Saw the three new RLI 4x4's in the Car Park at Tullamore RU when they should of been out & about before the game in Tullamore etc. If they cant sort themselves out maybe its time for RL in Ireland to join GAA as one of their sports.

Few points here
7 Born by my reckoning on the squad
one of the 4X4 was one of the players also development officer so hard for him to br drumming up before hand
They went out to local schools to drum up interest handed out 700 free tickets and schools rang them to say kids were going to county hurling or football final that day as local teams in it

RLI dont pick the dates here

Instead of picking holes better to help
If we fight with each other when we are 3 men and a dog the dog is gonna get a hammering very time

drzhivago · 20-10-2009 9:53pm

kellco88 wrote: »

not suprised so few turned up given the location. plus the fact that the result was more or less decided when the draw was made.

Given that the sport is a minority here i think 200 isnt too bad could've been a lot worse.

It would be nice to see more games played here to build up the profile a bit.

bear in mind its the same day that thousands turned up locally to watch a GAA final, some of those are sports people who would have watched a sports event, any event if marketed when nothing else was on

Tallaght RL · 21-10-2009 7:39am

drzhivago wrote: »

Few points here
7 Born by my reckoning on the squad
one of the 4X4 was one of the players also development officer so hard for him to br drumming up before hand
They went out to local schools to drum up interest handed out 700 free tickets and schools rang them to say kids were going to county hurling or football final that day as local teams in it

RLI dont pick the dates here

Instead of picking holes better to help
If we fight with each other when we are 3 men and a dog the dog is gonna get a hammering very time

Had a feeling there were a couple i had missed!

RLI I assume picked the venue & KO time.

I think you will find that most of the too few RL clubs in Ireland spend a lot of time promoting the game previously in Tallaght's case without any help from the RLI. The introduction of the Development Manager has changed that, Tallaght RL having been contacted in the last few weeks. Its the first time in three years of trying to keep Tallaght RL going as a club that I have been contacted by anyone from the RLI in a positive way. There is a lot of animosity towards the RLI in Ireland hopefully that can change, it wont happen over night!

Tallaght RL · 21-10-2009 7:47am

toomevara wrote: »

Unfortunately the precedent is there. In the, admittedly appallingly run, 2000 WC, in which Ireland made the quarters..a number of games were held in Ireland. We beat Scotland in Tolka park, the attendance was a miserable 1,732. we beat samoa in Windor park belfast where 3,000 turned up and when we beat the NZ Maori, again in Tolka park only 3,000 turned up. Paradoxically the best attended Irish game was the England/Ireland quarter final here in Leeds with over 15,000 showing up.

When we played the lebanon in the qualifying for the 2008 RLWC a grand total of 140 people came along.

1700 against a team like Scotland I would of said wasnt too bad. So it looks like the venue location was to blame for the low attendance?

What would the attendance have been if the game had been played at Tallaght Stadium assuming RLI could afford to rent it?

kellco88 · 21-10-2009 10:32pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

1700 against a team like Scotland I would of said wasnt too bad. So it looks like the venue location was to blame for the low attendance?

What would the attendance have been if the game had been played at Tallaght Stadium assuming RLI could afford to rent it?

Tallaght stadium is simpoly too big at the moment. and too expensive. There was nothing wrong with the crowd that showed up in tullamore. Tallaght isnt a rugby area. its a soccer area

drzhivago · 21-10-2009 10:43pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

Had a feeling there were a couple i had missed!

RLI I assume picked the venue & KO time.

I think you will find that most of the too few RL clubs in Ireland spend a lot of time promoting the game previously in Tallaght's case without any help from the RLI. The introduction of the Development Manager has changed that, Tallaght RL having been contacted in the last few weeks. Its the first time in three years of trying to keep Tallaght RL going as a club that I have been contacted by anyone from the RLI in a positive way. There is a lot of animosity towards the RLI in Ireland hopefully that can change, it wont happen over night!

I presume the time would have been picked alright
As for venue not a lot of choice as far as I understand
The demands of clubs in Dublin for cash are massive, money RLI doesnt have to pay to rent a ground, even the likes of Tolka PArk when no guarantee of any significant crowd coming to pay expenses

I think the decision was made to go to one of the areas where clubs are actually playing rugby league and try and boost development that way

There are a number of teams in midlands, Portlaois, Tullamore, Carlow, Kilkenny to name a few

Having an international there may not draw the crowd from Dublin but may solidify development in one area for some time and attract people

Unfortunately even if all the players in the league turned out to watch that would be a start

cant comment on TAllaght RL as know nothing about it but have ever seen the name on list of teams for RLI league, do remember Tallaght tigers in mid 90's but thats it

drzhivago · 21-10-2009 10:46pm

Tallaght RL wrote: »

1700 against a team like Scotland I would of said wasnt too bad. So it looks like the venue location was to blame for the low attendance?

What would the attendance have been if the game had been played at Tallaght Stadium assuming RLI could afford to rent it?

That last quote is the best bit, assuming

A few years ago the game was played in Dalymount PArk
At the time supporters and alickadoos of individual clubs were asked to give a personal guarantee of financial support if the gate receipts did not cover the costs

Hard lessons learned that day

couerdelion · 25-10-2009 1:44am

There was a severe lack of marketing for the event, not only by the RLI, but also by the organising committee. This meant the was very little profile for the game and thus the paying public were not aware of the event.

This will probably change as the next round games are going to be televised and shown on Sky.

It's always going to be difficult to get players down to watch an international during the RU season as most play both codes. The whole RU playing pool should be a target audience and the games should be planned around their top level fixtures.

From my point of view paying to watch SL players represent an international team that seems to be being used as a stepping stone to play for England is a joke. Until the International board introduce rules to stop players switching nationalities then international RL can't be taken seriously. If they want to represent Ireland then I have no problem, but don't run away when England come knocking.

drzhivago · 25-10-2009 4:42am

couerdelion wrote: »

From my point of view paying to watch SL players represent an international team that seems to be being used as a stepping stone to play for England is a joke. Until the International board introduce rules to stop players switching nationalities then international RL can't be taken seriously. If they want to represent Ireland then I have no problem, but don't run away when England come knocking.

Think you have to look a bit beyond the obvious here

What club do they play for
Who is their club coach
Who is the england coach

How do you refuse in such situations?

kellco88 · 25-10-2009 10:29pm

Wales beat serbia 88-8 would be hard to guess a winner next week from this result

couerdelion · 26-10-2009 3:00pm

drzhivago wrote: »

Think you have to look a bit beyond the obvious here

What club do they play for
Who is their club coach
Who is the england coach

How do you refuse in such situations?

So we can expect Tyrone McCarthy to leave and play for England if Smith thinks he is good enough and fulfilling his promise?

I can't say that I wouldn't do the same but the option should not be there in the first place.

Fingers crossed Ireland beat Wales next weekend. If its a close as the A match at the end of the season it should be a cracker!

toomevara · 26-10-2009 9:36pm

couerdelion wrote: »

From my point of view paying to watch SL players represent an international team that seems to be being used as a stepping stone to play for England is a joke. Until the International board introduce rules to stop players switching nationalities then international RL can't be taken seriously. If they want to represent Ireland then I have no problem, but don't run away when England come knocking.

QFT. Couldn't agree more. Makes a mockery of international representative RL, and does little to endear the game to prospective fans.

amacachi · 26-10-2009 9:44pm

What date is the final on? Wikipedia says Friday the 14th but the 14th is a Saturday, and I can't find it on BBC or elsewhere. Would be nice to know so I could keep an eye out for cheap flights.

toomevara · 26-10-2009 10:03pm

Finals Day, 8th Nov, Brewery Field, Bridgend

Rugby League European Cup.

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