Opinion - World Cup and Four Nations

can take rugby league forward

Rich Cowley (RUGBY LEAGUE PLANET) 3/1/2010

As we are greeted by a new decade, I wonder whether rugby league has positioned itself well to grow the international game over the next 10 years? Now if you asked a bunch of rugby league fans you would get more questions then answers, "What! Is rugby league played outside Australia, New Zealand and England?", "Won't an Independent Commission fix everything?".

If you are adventurous enough you could bait a rugby fan with the same question. Their response is predictable, "League doesn't have an international game!", "Our World Cup is bigger then yours". If you wanted a comical answer you could ask an Aussie Rules fan and their response would probably be, "AFL is going international as soon as it takes over the Gold Coast and Western Sydney." For a truly balanced answer, you can't go past the trusty football fan, "There is only one world game and stop calling it soccer".

In Australia the international game has taken a back seat since the introduction of the State of Origin series in 1980. The State of Origin series in many Australian eyes puts the best 34 players in the world from the best rugby competition in the world up against each other. The series is a big money spinner for rugby league in Australia and is so big it's just about on par with the NRL grand final.

Australia's domination over the last 30 years has made it hard for the international game to gain any sort of momentum. Great Britain and New Zealand do occasionally surprise Australia but until recently it has been very rare indeed. The turn-around for the international game was the re-introduction of the Tri-Nations series in 2004. The 2004 Tri- Nations series didn't end Australia's domination but went a long way to rebuilding the battered image of international rugby league. The 2005 Tri-Nations saw New Zealand break Australia's international domination with a win in the final. The 2006 Tri-Nations saw the final go into extra time with Australia winning the Tri-Nations title back.

The shining light for the international game was the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. The pool rounds were well formatted playing to rugby league's strengths. Good crowds attended the games. The participating nations provided high quality entertaining rugby league. The biggest and best injection for the international game was left to the final with New Zealand winning the World Cup for the very first time and ending Australia's domination.

The success of the 2008 World Cup has led to many positive changes for the international game. The Tri-Nations has been expanded to a 4-Nations competition. A Pacific Cup, European Cup and Atlantic Cup were introduced to build up the 2nd tier of rugby league playing nations that are popping up all over the world.

For the first time the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) have money to put back into the development of the game abroad. The Rugby League European Federation (RLEF) has overseen remarkable growth of rugby league throughout Europe. In late 2009 a new rugby league board was formed. The Pacific Rugby League Federation (PRLF) will co-ordinate the growth of league in the pacific while taking on Rugby and the aggressive advance of Aussie Rules.

Unlike before rugby league now has marketable products to take to an international audience. The World Cup, Four Nations, European Cup, Pacific Cup and new kid on the block the Atlantic Cup will all have parts to play in the growth of rugby league popularity. The two jewels in the rugby league crown the World Cup and Four Nations have the potential to launch rugby league to a place it's never been before.

The 2nd instalment of the Four Nations is due to take place in Australia and New Zealand in 2010. On the back of the inaugural 2009 series in the UK, the 2010 Four Nations will provide international rugby league a chance to kick-off the next ten years and provide a platform for the international game to stay in the spotlight. Australian and New Zealand rugby league fans fixated by the 2006 Tri-Nations and the 2008 World Cup have been waiting for the return of an international series to southern shores.

The 2013 World Cup will be the defining moment for International Rugby League. If the UK can put together a successful tournament then the game would have really moved forward in leaps and bounds since 2000. Along with the Four-Nations, the 2013 and 2017 Rugby League World Cup's can take international rugby league forward like never before.

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