FU - Super League 2014
I haven't much to report in terms of actual rugby as I've been on holiday, though will be watching Saints v Warrington later.
Off the field however things are starting to develop next season.
Firstly the World Club Challenge (itself a grand title for a match between the respective winners of two leagues) becomes the World Club Series, with three NRL teams making the trip to play three Super League teams. So far so good but note it didn't say the top three NRL playing the top three SL. The champions will still play each other, but the other two games will be Souths and Brisbane (probably, unless one wins the NRL) playing whichever two teams fancy trying to pull a crowd (so Wigan and Leeds, unless one wins the SL). So its the old WCC plus two friendlies basically.
More pleasingly, the other end of the season will see NZ visit for a three test series, the way they used to make them. Pleasingly because it will be the first time England play at home since the World Cup (and provides lots of 'rematch' / Big Hit II marketing context re the World Cup). Less pleasingly this replaces the mooted GB tour of Australia. I was never fully convinced by this in the first place (returning to the GB brand so soon after killing it off looked a bit desperate), but it proves Australia's lack of enthusiasm on the international front (and the emerging power of the players' association).
Before all that, locally we have Scotland v Wales being played in Workington next month, a pat on the head for Workington's (relatively) bumper crowds for the two Scotland games in the World Cup, and guaranteed to draw a larger crowd than Scotland's real home game in Galashiels.
I haven't much to report in terms of actual rugby as I've been on holiday, though will be watching Saints v Warrington later.
Off the field however things are starting to develop next season.
Firstly the World Club Challenge (itself a grand title for a match between the respective winners of two leagues) becomes the World Club Series, with three NRL teams making the trip to play three Super League teams. So far so good but note it didn't say the top three NRL playing the top three SL. The champions will still play each other, but the other two games will be Souths and Brisbane (probably, unless one wins the NRL) playing whichever two teams fancy trying to pull a crowd (so Wigan and Leeds, unless one wins the SL). So its the old WCC plus two friendlies basically.
More pleasingly, the other end of the season will see NZ visit for a three test series, the way they used to make them. Pleasingly because it will be the first time England play at home since the World Cup (and provides lots of 'rematch' / Big Hit II marketing context re the World Cup). Less pleasingly this replaces the mooted GB tour of Australia. I was never fully convinced by this in the first place (returning to the GB brand so soon after killing it off looked a bit desperate), but it proves Australia's lack of enthusiasm on the international front (and the emerging power of the players' association).
Before all that, locally we have Scotland v Wales being played in Workington next month, a pat on the head for Workington's (relatively) bumper crowds for the two Scotland games in the World Cup, and guaranteed to draw a larger crowd than Scotland's real home game in Galashiels.
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