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Thread: Rlwc

  1. #26
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk The Wee Waa Womble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    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.
    If it had been any other sport there would be more than 4 decent teams so 2 pulling out wouldn’t make a difference. The whole thing is a complete mess and there’s really sod all anyone can do to Australia and NZ about it as there is no World Cup without them unfortunately.
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    I guess we could call it a "Festival of World Rugby" and carry on regardless.

    There's some minor nations who have already been knocked out in the qualifiers maybe they could be invited to join in.

    Its surprising how many nations do play RL but the standard is low it could still be interesting.

    I assume it's due to be shown on BBC so they aren't depending on advertising although they may have been making money selling the games to Aussie TV

  3. #28
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    The whole thing is a complete mess and the sensible thing to have done really would have been to postpone it for another year.

    There's still so much uncertainty with Covid both here and over in the Southern Hemisphere.
    Australia are well behind with the vaccine rollout compared to here and given the increasing infection rate here either we just can't
    predict how things will be in the autumn.

    Ultimately, though the virus isn't going to go away and it's something the world will have to learn to live with now and into the future.

    The attitude of the Australians and the NRL at times is one of superiority and it is a pity that a decision can't be made to say stuff them and carry on without them. If we had more nations playing RL of a stronger standard this would be of course possible. The issue at the moment is that both the NRL and SL are somewhat struggling to complete the season and fulfill league fixtures. I don't think the whole of the north of England clubs could relocate to somewhere else in the Uk to see out the season like the NRL Sydney-based clubs and others have had to do in Queensland. The way things are going here some clubs might not make the end-of-season play off's because they won't have played sufficient games. This issue does weigh heavily on the ability to run a successful World Cup due to match cancellations etc.

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    Terrible news but the world cup should have been postponed anyway.

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    Looks like the NRL haven't read the room, even some coaches and players have come out and said they'll come.. hopefully the RLWC stand firm.

    No doubt NZ and Australia have done well on Covid, but I'm not sure what their endgame is, we've been hammered here with Covid, so the vaccine uptake is good.

    Whereas in Australia - it's not much of an issue, so they may be less willing. Covid is coming their way at some point, and hopefully they'll have enough vaccinated

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    Can’t blame them really, who would want to travel to the UK at the moment. The whole situation is out of control.

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    Beg to differ with the above post, despite alarming figures, it is going exactlly the way the modelling predicted, possibly even slightly better.The vast majority of the positive tests result in asymptomatic results The lurid headlines don't help

    Should be an interesting meeting next time the RFL and ARFL convene, our chairman describing the decision as cowardly and parochial amongst other remarks, quite right too, as for some on here saying it should have been postponed, why? We've just had a successful euro football competition Wimbledon, Golf, the Cricket is now in full swing, Rugby is played in the open air, even Professor Van Tam says he has no problem with large crowds in the open air, the teams would have been in a "bubble" I think we can add spineless to any other insult we can throw at them

  8. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by ffs View Post
    Can’t blame them really, who would want to travel to the UK at the moment. The whole situation is out of control.
    Every team that played in the Euros wanted to get to England, the Oz/NZ players who played in the open, any Oz/NZ people involved in the Grand Prix, or Wimbledon, the RU team is touring later this year.

    So pretty much all athletes except this bunch.

    Don’t be fooled by the player welfare stuff, the only thing they care about is NRL pre-season. Most of not all of the lads who would be selected to play for Oz/NZ would come over given the choice.


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  9. #34
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    Not sure anyone in the Euros actually wanted to get to England more that they had to in order to win the trophy. Individual sports like you mention are a little easier to control so can be made safer. We are probably the only country now saying let’s let COVID pass through the population whereas Aus/NZ have always been tight on bio security measures. No guarantee the union tour will happen.

    I mean, you vote for idiots you do tend to get things like this happening.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woolyback View Post
    Beg to differ with the above post, despite alarming figures, it is going exactlly the way the modelling predicted, possibly even slightly better.The vast majority of the positive tests result in asymptomatic results The lurid headlines don't help

    Should be an interesting meeting next time the RFL and ARFL convene, our chairman describing the decision as cowardly and parochial amongst other remarks, quite right too, as for some on here saying it should have been postponed, why? We've just had a successful euro football competition Wimbledon, Golf, the Cricket is now in full swing, Rugby is played in the open air, even Professor Van Tam says he has no problem with large crowds in the open air, the teams would have been in a "bubble" I think we can add spineless to any other insult we can throw at them

    The state of play over here in the UK is a smokescreen excuse.

    It's all about the impasse of the 8-week player break and when that starts, and the intransigence of selfish NRL clubs.

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    So do you think they would have pulled out if Covid didn’t happen? Interesting. If so surely that would be the death knell for the international game?

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    Quote Originally Posted by ffs View Post
    So do you think they would have pulled out if Covid didn’t happen? Interesting. If so surely that would be the death knell for the international game?



    The 8-week player total break is set in stone over there.

    Due to Covid, there's a 14 day quarantine period on return to Aus.

    The players have said they want the 8 week break to only start after they leave quarantine.

    This would mean they start pre-season 2 weeks later than the owners want pre-season to start.

    The owners have refused this and demanded the players return 8 weeks after arriving back in Aus, and that the 14 day quarantine period is part of their 8 week break.


    None of the above is related to the state of Covid in the UK (Aus requires quarantine on arrival from any country), but the Covid infection rates here now are being used by the NRL to try to justify their pulling out of the WC.

  13. #38
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk DD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ffs View Post
    Not sure anyone in the Euros actually wanted to get to England more that they had to in order to win the trophy. Individual sports like you mention are a little easier to control so can be made safer. We are probably the only country now saying let’s let COVID pass through the population whereas Aus/NZ have always been tight on bio security measures. No guarantee the union tour will happen.

    I mean, you vote for idiots you do tend to get things like this happening.
    I'm not sure that there are many Australian youngsters, who fear that their country's 'zero Covid' policy is going to see them isolated from the world for years, would agree with you.

    Unfortunately, as a country, they've been hoodwinked into following a policy of denial. They believe they can just sit on the other side of the world and ride the storm until the rest of the globe sorts their sh1t out. However, there's negligible vaccine uptake, so they will always be vulnerable to cases slipping through, and their population, largely unvaccinated, with no resistant antibodies, will constantly have to live with lockdowns. For them, there is no end in sight. I'd rather be here.
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  14. #39
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk DD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ffs View Post
    So do you think they would have pulled out if Covid didn’t happen? Interesting. If so surely that would be the death knell for the international game?
    Of course not. It's a convenient excuse. Just like the events of 11th September 2001 led to them cancelling the Ashes tour.
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    Funnily enough Australia do have quarantine free travel from one country, another that applied a zero COVID policy.

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    There are 3 likely choices that could occur as a result of this.

    1. The competition is postponed. This increases the chance of a stronger competition. However Covid in a time bomb and there is nothing to say that it won't be a factor in 12 months. Especially in Australia were the vaccination rates are low. It also enforces the NRL clubs belief that they can just say no when ever it suits them.

    2. Talk to the ARL and convince them to send some sort of team. Relocation of some games would be an option.
    They could be just upset that they have been told and not asked. However it would take a lot for a U turn.

    3. We continue the competition without them or produce Aus and NZ outlaw teams made up of players willing to cross the picket line. The negative of this is the ARL could act aggressively and ban NRL based players from playing.

    It is hard to know what the solution is without insider knowledge of what has already been said. However this is the same self interest that has been killing off the game over here so the RFL can't cry too much about getting a taste of its own medicine.
    I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    Of course not. It's a convenient excuse. Just like the events of 11th September 2001 led to them cancelling the Ashes tour.
    Ah yes, one of the players conceded that they'd bomb the Eiffel Tower

  18. #43
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    [Apparently the RFL were initially informed via a What's App message, didn't even have the guts to have an actually conversation, just shows what a cowardly and spineless bunch they appear to be, sat hiding behind their settee on their big rock in the middle of nowhere

  19. #44
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk DD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ffs View Post
    Funnily enough Australia do have quarantine free travel from one country, another that applied a zero COVID policy.
    That's correct. Unfortunately, many of their young citizens have ambitions to travel elsewhere at some point in a window of youth opportunity that doesn't last that long. If they continue with their zero Covid policy and they can't get the masses vaccinated, then there is no end in sight for them.

    The Government and the people have been complacent and didn't think they needed to rush to get everyone jabbed. However, The Delta variant has changed the ball game. With or without RL players coming over here, it's going to get in to Australia and it's going to get in regularly. Pursuing Zero Covid is a fairytale. If they continue to believe it's a viable strategy. they will be having lockdowns every other week for years.
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  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    That's correct. Unfortunately, many of their young citizens have ambitions to travel elsewhere at some point in a window of youth opportunity that doesn't last that long. If they continue with their zero Covid policy and they can't get the masses vaccinated, then there is no end in sight for them.

    The Government and the people have been complacent and didn't think they needed to rush to get everyone jabbed. However, The Delta variant has changed the ball game. With or without RL players coming over here, it's going to get in to Australia and it's going to get in regularly. Pursuing Zero Covid is a fairytale. If they continue to believe it's a viable strategy. they will be having lockdowns every other week for years.
    I think DD hits the nail squarely on the head, yes in the early stages of the pandemic the isolationism and lockdowns was the way to go. BUT we have seen how devastating COVID is in unvaccinated populations and the Aussie’s poor vaccination record could confine them to endless lockdowns as the rest of the world start to go about their business.

    Of course though COVID is being used as an excuse so the precious NRL can get their warm up games in.

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    Not sure about this. Isolationism is a pursued policy for many countries now evidenced even before Brexit with many government advisors recommending a reduction in globalisation and an inward looking approach.

    Anyway that’s a bit heavy for an RL forum. I don’t blame the Aussies, the pinnacle of the game to them isn’t the World Cup so it doesn’t take much to make them think twice.

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    Reports are now that the players want to come - blows a hole in the player welfare angle.

    Don't think this is over yet

  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by paulscnthorpe View Post
    Reports are now that the players want to come - blows a hole in the player welfare angle.

    Don't think this is over yet
    I hope that’s true and the Pacific Islanders play for their homelands

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    It deems as if the Aussie Rugby League players are well paid serfs, do what your told and dont think.

  25. #50
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    Ahh, the greedy NRL clubs thinking they are all that matters and riding roughshod over the international game again.

    I wouldn't be bothered but the bottom third of that league is dross.

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