I can't think of any Welsh/Irish/Scottish players that would get in the England team so will it not just be the England team with a GB kit on?
Grace in a few years
The only player really would be Brough but it may well be a bit late for him given his age.
Morgan Knowles if he keeps going, Grace is another for a few years time..
Always think GB sounds better
Nigel Wood has a fabulous time traveling around the world and being well paid for it. Yet he's been a disaster for the game since by some miracle he was allowed to take charge. Only in rugby league would that happen. No wonder the game is virtually dead.
Ben Flower?
It doesn't matter if a Lions squad consists of only English players. The GB Lions are part of the history of our game, and we became synonymous with the GB brand. You only had to mention that GB were playing Australia and people knew you meant RL. It is a welcome return to something that should never have been ditched in the first place, and personally I am delighted that we are getting proper tours back. If the Lions squad is 100% English I couldn't care less.
I think, looking back, that was always the case bar a few Welsh union converts which we don't have any more.
That said, it's more the tradition of Great Britain and a proper tour calendar being brought back and I'm glad it has. I used to love the Aussie and then NZ tours. Anything that gets us playing the Aussies and Kiwis more is great, and I like the 3 test matches series more than the 4 Nations.
I'm happy.
Think I might head over for the 2019 tour.
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Surprised you think that way mate. Would you have ditched the GB Lions in favour of England a decade ago? And if so, why? I appreciate the financial decisions regarding Sport England, and I get that four home nations allows more teams to compete at World Cups etc. But as a RL fan do you actually prefer us being England instead of the GB Lions? Is it really a nostalgia trip to re-awaken something that was hugely successful, gave our sport a unique international presence and encouraged thousands of people to travel around the World to see Ashes series? When in the last decade has the England team even come close to matching the emotional and historical connection that RL fans had to the GB Lions?
It's good to see that an actual international calendar has been published for the next 4 years.
Some won't agree with me here, but i'd like us to play a few friendlies during the season. Not a ridiculous amount but add a few in, as long as they're announced well in advance so that they don't appear to be an afterthought. I don't mind whether that's over here or in Australia. Maybe 2 games over consecutive weekends vs Samoa/Tonga/Fiji/PNG in Australia or France/Wales/Scotland over here.
Obviously that will bring up the problem of players travelling to Australia and not playing like we had with Percival and Walmsley. If two games were being played it'd mean that they'd get a run out. If injuries occur, it'll obviously be frustrating, but they can occur at any time.
Spot on. An absolute disaster. Only the RFL could put the national team behind a paywall and then not even publicise how to pay for the event through advertising in the League Express. Pathetic.
I notice they do not want to go into figures re. The numbers who paid but I think it's fair to say they will be laughable.
I think even League fans are sick of being taken for mugs by the RFL and SKY. Total amateurs and Nigel keeps stuffing his pockets and his face.
He is failing on all the barometers of success he put in place only 3 years ago.......crowds, TV audiences, participation levels all in decline. He's still there though!!
In the meantime Barry Hearn rescues darts, Leyton Orient and Snooker while we drift into apathy and insignificance. Total joke.
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Tom Davies. He also qualifies for Wales through grandparents.
I expect he'll be in the running for young player of the year.
http://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugb...ords-1-8516237
Richard Lewis may have been a bit of a toff but he did the game of RL a great deal of good nationally and internationally. Sally Boulton should have taken over but the boys club stepped in.
Hence Nige and his enforcer Ralph Rimmer two good old Yorkshire boys together and both savvy enough to know you keep Leeds happy at all costs.
This tour is welcome to me but I do fear the Lions brand will be wrecked with the talent pool available. Recent years saw Farrell Scully Joynt. Before that Welsh wonder players yet look around now it's not good especially on Aussie soil.
If only we could go a step further and have GB playing Australia and New Zealand at home then that would be perfect.
I've never warmed to the England moniker for RL because it inevitably leads to a comparison with Rugby Union and inevitably that comparison doesn't look good. In the old days of GB there was no comparison. 'Great Britain' was an instantly recognisable Rugby League brand name. When people heard that 'Great Britain' were playing there was no need for anybody to ask what sport they were on about. Everybody knew.
I don't believe the Wales, Ireland, Scotland thing has offered a positive bean to the game. The only thing it does is give fans of the other code an opportunity to laugh at our laughable attempts to match their set-up. League will NEVER match the Union international game so why try? Concentrate on the areas that we are strong.
The Four Nations is something that a lot of people have bought into and I understand that, but it's never really done it for me. Familiarity breeds contempt and playing Australia and New Zealand in group games three out of every four years has just led to a stale product and there's only so many times I can watch Australia beat New Zealand 30-12. Three or four meetings every single season bar one is too much.
I loved the novelty and excitement of the Tours. Getting to see Australia play in our country every four years was a good cycle and that works for the Kiwis coming here and us going over there too. There's uncompleted business out there for many of us. I never really gave a stuff whether we won the Four Nations (I'm not sure why), but the history and heritage of the Ashes in particular made it magical and the fact that winning a series was such a Holy Grail made it even more so. One off results can happen but beating a team over three Tests was a real marker and as a result those Test series' meant far much to an RL Fan of the day than any four team World Cup.
The biggest problem we have now, of course, is that a lot of water has gone under the bridge in the quarter of a century since we last had a Tour to Australia and what was a superbly anticipated and supported event then wouldn't be now because the international team of ours is a crock of shite. This team now has to perform in the New Zealand series at least to make the 2019 Tour marketable and sell it to the new and young fans of the game who have no real concept of what it means to us fans of much longer standing.
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
I love the idea of a proper tour. And doing it the other way too, I enjoyed watching Saints and even the pies take on the Aussie national team