So the worst kept secret is out out the bag, Australia and New Zealand have both withdrawn from the World Cup this year.
What a complete disgrace by the NRL who have clearly lobbied the clubs and the players union to get this outcome.
So the worst kept secret is out out the bag, Australia and New Zealand have both withdrawn from the World Cup this year.
What a complete disgrace by the NRL who have clearly lobbied the clubs and the players union to get this outcome.
got to be cancelled. Total waste of time without Aus and NZ
Considering that the Euros, Copa America and Olympics have/are taking place, which are all international events, I don't really see thier argument. If it was last year, I get it, but surely the fact that the other events have taken place with few covid cases, demonstrates that it can be done.
I really do hope that the event takes place with out them, as it might start to reduce some of the power struggle with in the international game. I know they are the pull for the corporate side, but they both know that and act accordingly.
There’s likely to be a knock- on effect on all the Southern Hemisphere teams as well. They source most of their players from NRL teams and the clubs won’t want to release them for a comp they’re not supporting or endorsing
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The general arrogance from fans of NRL clubs is astounding though. Comments such as;
No point having a World Cup without NZ and AUS as no decent players will be involved
NRL clubs should now ban all their players from attending for the safety of those who are not and risking transmission on return of the virus.
The British born players shouldn’t be allowed to attend to play and should be dealt with by the NRL if they ignore the demand. Similar sort of thing being said about South Sea Islanders etc.
Pure arrogance, run the competition without them involved and let them go down in history.
I agree with the Aussies etc. Look how many games are off domestically here . In a few months we expect loads of players staff etc to come to a country with the highest infection rate (or thereabouts) keep them safe. Imagine getting fans to a game only to find half the Aussies or England team out self isolating. Then the Aussies etc having to quarantine back home leaving no time to recover for the domestic season. (Player welfare). Like it or not the domestic leagues are more important especially now when both us an the NRL were/are on their knees due to this pandemic. I have no issues with the NRL looking out for their own interest. In fact I applaud them. The RFL could learn a lot from them. The only reason they want the WC is because our domestic league is poor and badly attended. A WC comp that could be riddled with Covid issues is not a good look. It should have been cancelled ages ago.
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
Had to be cancelled, the only way. The way things are going in the UK and Oz, we're in an unpredictable situation. Doesn't excuse anything the NRL have said which may/may not have been inappropriate, but ultimately the correct decision. Can it now and plan for next year or whenever. It had the potential to be a farce if called off at the last minute. I definitely feel there are different attitudes over here compared to UK re COVID. I guess we're at different stages. The UK has suffered a lot but is well ahead with vaccinations and then we get the controversial decision to open up with little heed for science in the UK. The way it's been reported over here is very negative.
I don't see why they couldn't have waited a little longer before making such a drastic decision, IF the current plan works and infections start dropping quickly after early August which the experts predict, they will look foolish, I seem to remember they were scared to come to England several years ago because of a terrorist incident, they have a very insular attititude with regards to the rest of the world, perhaps it's because of it being a big island in the middle of nowhere.
Australia are sending their union team over in the autumn, biggest team to the Olympics, cricket team are in the West Indies and Bangladesh.
They're saying it's about the cases, but that facade slipped when they said about NRL trial games the other week.
Once more a selfish decision
Either cancel it or persuade Australia and New Zealand governing bodies to allow them to be represented in the completion by super league based players. Not ideal but at least all fixtures and groups would be fulfilled.
You can bet your bottom Australian Dollar that had it been the RU World Cup, the Aussies and NZ would have been sending teams over.
The problem with RL is that the Aussies don't give a flying f**k about the international game and they are far too powerful in comparison to their RU counterparts; even in the unlikely event of them declining to take part in an international RU tournament, it would still be a very competitive competition with the winners able to rightly call themselves world champions. Not so in the world of RL.
Just yet another RL shambles.....the game that seems to revel in shooting itself in the foot
"The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom." Danny Blanchflower.
Might have been written by a footballer about football - but never a truer word............
Considering the NRL and Aus RL have had a long-standing agreement that players who don’t ply their trade in Australia are not eligible for selection I’d say this is a no go. Only NZ could do this and I don’t think they could field a team. The World Cup sadly has been cancelled by the selfish money men at the NRL
Castleford will also announce today that all of there contracted players will not take part in the WC as they need a rest and Castleford will choose which games to play and not to play next year also?
I wonder if the Australian and New Zealand athletets will take part in the Olympic Games.
There are some people who would like to give control of the game over here to the Aussies. Can you imagine how they would treat our game ? We would be their bitches (can I say that ?) We would be expected to supply all of our best talent very year, expected to play as & when it suited them who knows what else.
There were some calls last year for it to be postponed, with hindsight it looks like they were right.
To be fair most of the top players in the men's Super League may be glad of the rest.
It may also open up the opportunity of postponing our GF so that we can play the games that have been affected by Covid and not have to rely on the percentage system.
It must be disheartening for the Women's team and the Wheelchair teams who have been building up to this.
In general as much as I am trying to be positive about Covid, I think there is a strong possibility that, if infections keep rising, we may have a November lockdown to try and slow it down prior to winter
Yes, they are taking part in the Olympics. though there's a little disquiet about it. Personally, I think the Olympics should have been canned.
I wonder how long before the northern hemisphere falls in on itself and announces bankruptcy? It won’t be long behind.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
People will probably keep getting covid just like we do the Flu. The question we all need to know is how many are dying from covid who have had the 2 jabs? And would those people who died had medical problems leading up to there death-and we are just calling it Covid to save time?
We need to keep the economy going, can't shut down again. For me you get covid stay at home for 10 days, everyone else get on with your lives.
Two things here.
If this had been any other sport, would they have pulled out? I doubt it very much. I suspect this is quite simply a case of the NRL leading the way and bailing out of a competition that they have never really had much interest in playing.
However, if we take away that cynical side, Australia and New Zealand seem to be pursuing a zero Covid policy. Is this sensible in the long run, especially in Australia where a very high percentage don't seem to want to take the vaccine. There will have to be a change of policy from them as countries sooner or later because Covid isn't going away. I'd be quite worried if I was a youngster out there now, because they seem to think that the entire answer to everything is to isolate for ever and a day.
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
Disgraceful, cowardly decision that's riven with self-interest.
I'm far from being a Covid denialist, but with the vaccine roll-out we have to learn to live with the virus going forward.
That Australian and NZ sports teams have been competing in competitions across the globe throughout this year shows this decision to be driven by other factors.
The NRL player's union were demanding that the 14 day quarantine period on return to not be classed as part of their 8-week total break from rugby, so effectively demanding a 10 week break and therefore a 2-week delay in returning to clubs for pre-season. The NRL clubs would budge; the player's union wouldn't budge.
The result is that the British game, that is desperate for money and exposure, suffers massively.
But they don't give a toss. If the sport was only played in Australia, they'd just shrug. Parochial, short-sighted shithouses.
You're probably right. However, except for the tourist industry, the economy has been booming here over the last 18 months since lockdown finished in May 2020. Who knows what the future holds, but the government here in NZ are keeping the borders closed for at least another 5 months until vaccination increases. By then we'll probably know more about the success of vaccination programmes. Most people are quite content sitting this out with closed borders until we see what's happening elsewhere. I've got family in St Helens but there's no way I'm travelling internationally at the moment.
We’ve really not helped ourselves here. Our season has been pathetic. I saw all the calls of this last year but in comparison, this year has been a complete farce from day one. We’re on about 15 games now cancelled because of Covid and another couple for teams unable to raise sides. It doesn’t particularly send out any message of confidence in our ability to run a tournament, does it?
I appreciate the sacrifices that the NRL players have made to keep their competition going though. The NZ Warriors not playing at home for something like 16 months and being in Australia for most of that, Melbourne have barely played in Victoria and now the competition has upped sticks to Queensland to get it completed. I can also appreciate another six weeks in bubbles the other side of the planet isn’t ideal either but when the players haven’t been consulted, as it appears, it’s a little disappointing.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club