I remember this discussion a couple of months back as well, nothing has changed, we will put on a three match series that none of the nrl boys will fly back for, play in front of sub-10,000 crowds in 2/3 empty grounds and scrap it after a couple of years and when we do people will complain that it was rubbish and RFL are useless and it was nowhere near as good as state of origin which is a ridiculous comparison to make because it would be impossible to recreate.

Bring back Great Britain!

Okay, so we maybe wouldn't be able to include the players you mentioned, but that would still leave plenty of others that could be selected. And if there are too many games already, I'd rather England didn't bother playing 'Scotland'.

What a great intense game that would be

He did and in fairness, he's right. We play too many of the wrong games.

Yes, you're right. RL should stick only to great and high intensity games such as Australia v Scotland. That was an amazing game that captured the interest of sports fans throughout the UK. How people must envy the lucky 5337 fans that were in Hull to witness such an incredible spectacle.

We don't need gimmicky origin games. We need a fit for purpose International Calendar, with a three week mid-season break backed by both the NRL and SL as to allow the release of players.



The three-week period would coincide with Origin.



Year 1; Northern hemisphere sides (England, Scotland, France, Wales, Ireland) travel to the Southern hemisphere and play three games ( vs NZ, PNG, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga). Year 2; the Southern hemisphere sides travel. Etc etc.



We quite clearly need more games to help get an England side ready to compete. We also need Tier 2 Nations playing whenever possible and against Tier 1/2 Nations as to develop them and help retain their players.



The time where our International Calendar is shoehorned into an 'International Month' needs to come to an end. Football & RU play throughout the season, they can build their sides, the domestic seasons breaks to allow it, they have the consistency in their calendars which allows them to build their fan base, sell tickets way in advance and build their 'brands' as sides. Time to think bigger for a change.

You call English origin a gimmick when it absolutely doesn't have to be so. The Australians have made theirs work brilliantly.



You then suggest an international calendar that, in my opinion, is just ridiculous. What seriously is the point in England etc. going out to places like Fiji and Tonga every two years? People in the UK have little interest in international RL when it's on their (relatively speaking) doorstep, let alone when it's being played the other side of the world, at inconvenient times of day, and against teams that no one really cares about. Not to mention that the only credible northern hemisphere team is England. Scotland are just a joke - it's basically an England/Australia rejects/reserves team.



RL needs to do the opposite of "thinking big". It needs to focus on where its strengths are. It needs to make sure that England or Great Britain plays NZ and Australia more often, and in the appropriate venues. Those are the matches that people who don't regularly watch RL will want to see.

Good for them. Ours would go out with a whimper by Year 2.







Yep, that's the attitude needed to improve the International game - give up on it and play an origin match.





It's about the sporting contest, it's about expanding our International game beyond three sides, it's about new audiences. It's about giving our national sides the games they need, and the chance for the Tier 2 nations to get the vital game time needed to improve and therefore create a more competitive international game. I can't quite believe I'm having to explain this to you.



It's a much bigger picture than what you're painting it out to be, which you're saying is all that matters is what the average SL fan wants?



The average RL fan might not give a crap about Fiji or Tonga, probably because they see them once every few years at a World Cup. They don't care because there's nothing to really care about at the moment is there? I'm saying that needs to change via regular fixtures.







The Aussies aren't going to do it, are they? They have Origin mid-season, hence why I didn't include them. I did include NZ, in the format I described, we'd play them every year. Focusing on strengths is a good strategy, but I don't see a three-team international game as a strength.

And play it in a traditional ground like Batley, Hunslet in leather studded boot, where we can all p155 against walls etc



Can you think of any other ways of taking the game backwards?

Origin works for Austrailia, it doesn't for England. Playing more full England internationals is the answer, play France, go down under and play games mid season, if Austrailia won't play us then play New Zealand on the planned stand alone origin weekend.



Having said all that, if we do (wrongly) decide to go with a orgin type concept, I would have Yorkshire v Rest of The world.

The possibility of entering England as a third state into the origin series should be explored. I think the aussies might actually buy into this - if it's done right. It'd mean the top clubs would lose some players for a while but there are bigger issues here.