But what should be most troubling for anyone with any sort of power within the sport is that these comments are not recent: they were made by the then Kangaroos coach, Ricky Stuart, almost two decades ago. Stuart was speaking after England’s men were beaten in the semi-finals of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup but, as the national team head home from the tournament once again, his stance still holds weight today. England have failed to make it to the last four for the first time, having failed to qualify from an albeit farcical group-stage format.
But to point the blame solely at the format, or even the players and staff involved, would be missing the point entirely. English rugby league has been allowed to coast internationally for years; knowing the only real threat was from Australia and New Zealand and if they lost to either of those, well, that’s fair enough given the money and power the NRL possesses. Things are different these days, though.
Samoa and Tonga have risen as new powerhouses in the world game; it is not inconceivable to suggest they could contest next weekend’s final. England are now the fifth-best nation in the world and they risk drifting further. English rugby league is in dire need of systemic change, with the early exit the clearest warning sign yet.
The Rugby Football League have paid the humiliation lip service by opening an inquest. If there is one thing English rugby league remains best in class at, it is a review: the postmortem of 2008 determined things actually weren’t that bad, while a detailed “strategic review” last year was nothing more than a disguise to increase Super League to 14 teams. Herein lies the deep-rooted problem for English rugby league.
You had to get as low as point 131 within that review to find the first mention of international rugby league and a plan for the England team, below pressing points including, but not limited to, creating a Nines event and once again needlessly tweaking the format of the Challenge Cup. That strategic review is a metaphor for how those in charge of the sport – the governing body and the clubs, given how the latter hold most of the power still – view the England team as a priority. And in a world where the best are getting better, and England’s best players are treated as an afterthought, what do we reasonably expect will happen come 2030?
Picture the reaction in any other sport where the England team prepared for a World Cup without a single warm-up match, a mid-season Test or even a solitary training camp. Where the players and staff met each other in-person for the first time days before their first match. The FA, ECB or RFU would rightly be ridiculed: the RFL and those responsible must now face the same scrutiny.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
