Last November, the RLIF announced a rolling calendar for the next eight years. While seeing the RLIF planning forward was great, they made a few mistakes. In the latest post, I attempt to fix those mistakes and what I hope will come from the RLIF’s governance review. All that and more in this, the latest international Blog of Cheese.
At the annual RLIF Congress, the RLIF announced a rolling calendar for the next eight years. The rolling calendar will see a mix of world events, regional events and tours. Included in the calendar are; an Oceania Cup in 2019 and 2020, then every two years. A European Championship in 2020 and every two years. A nines world cup in 2019. Great Britain touring the Pacific in 2019, and the Kangaroos touring the UK in 2020. The RLIF also announced a new competition for nations in the Middle East and Africa, the MEA Championship. While overall, what the RLIF has revealed is excellent, several events seem to have been announced without considering how they affect other tournaments or confederations. The RLIF is currently trying to appease everyone and will end up with many haphazard tournaments that mean nothing.
A Pacific/Oceanic Cup is long overdue, with the last tournament being held in 2009 (which was only staged to select the fourth nation for the 2010 Four Nations). The 2019 tournament will consist of Australia, New Zealand and Tonga in Pool A, with Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa in Pool B. Teams in Pool B will be unable to win the Oceanic Cup, with the winner of Pool B promoted to Pool A, to replace Australia in 2020 who will be in the UK. Having half the countries compete in a tournament they cannot win is ridiculous. It would make more sense to have the winner of Pool A play the winner of Pool B in the Final. Given that three of the top four sides in the world are in Pool A, I would reorder the pools so Pool A would be a Melanesian pool consisting of Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Pool B would be a Polynesian pool made up of New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga. Given the Oceanic Cup comes under the APRLC, I would rename the Oceanic Cup to either the Pacific Cup or the APRLC Cup. I would also add Pacific/APRLC Cup B to feature; the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, the Philipines, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Pacific/APRLC Cup C would include India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore and Norfolk Islands. When I would schedule these tournaments will come later in this post.
The Great Britain Lions have a long history in international Rugby Leauge. They started as the Northern Union in 1907. In the 1920s, they became the Lions and Great Britain in 1948. In the 1990s, they were named Great Britain and Northern Island. Northern Island was dropped from the name in 2004. Great Britain last played in 2007. Former RFL Chairman Richard Lewis stated in 2007, on the return of the “home nations” “It will bring consistency. What I am passionate about is the international game being consistent. To me, it has always been illogical that we play as Great Britain for three or four years, and when the World Cup comes along, suddenly we become England. In the major competitions, which will be most years, we will play as England. That will also allow Scotland and Wales to develop.” Bringing Great Britain back could be great for the game, though scheduling is a problem. In 2019, while Great Britain is touring, Ireland and Scotland will be trying to qualify for the World Cup. More than likely, Great Britain will be just England and Wales. Whilst the RLIF Congress happened before Wales qualified for the World Cup, they played Ireland, so the RLIF knew half of Great Britain would be unavailable to tour. When I schedule, Great Britain will come later in this post.
I mentioned establishing the Middle East and Africa Championship in a previous post. However, I now believe that the countries in the Middle East should be split into Asia and Europe. The RLIF has created MEA to give South Africa a country to compete against at a regional level. The MEA makes less sense, given that last month, Turkey (a Middle Eastern country) became an affiliate member of the RLEF. Ethiopia, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Burundi, Nigeria, Cameroon and Congo should make up the African confederation. Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Palestine should be added to the APRLC.
So how do I fix the eight-year cycle? It is challenging for the RLIF for this year and 2020. The RLIF want the World Cup qualifiers done by 2019, Great Britain wants to tour the Pacific, and the RFL and World Cup organising body want the Kangaroos to tour the UK in 2020 to build interest for the 2021 World Cup. To appease everyone is impossible. The only way to fix this would have been for Great Britain tour after the 2021 World Cup. That would allow the RFL to avoid a situation where Great Britain and Ireland will either be England and Wales or Ireland and Scotland will be the second choice to the Lions, which is unacceptable. My solution for the remaining three years is below. The plan for 2022-2025 could be replicated for 2026 onwards.
2019: RLIF 9’s, 2021 World Cup qualifiers, countries already qualified for the World Cup, tour the Southern Hemisphere
2020: Australia to tour England, countries already qualified for the World Cup to tour Europe
2021: World Cup (England)
2022: Great Britain tour.
2023: Pacific Cup, European Championship, Americas Championship (all double as World Cup Qualifiers)
2024: RLIF 9’s in World Cup host nation. The second year of World Cup qualifiers.
2025: 2025 World Cup (venue TBA)
Under my schedule post-2021 World Cup, Great Britain will tour in 2022, with World Cup Qualifiers pushed back a year. Having World Cup qualifiers end 2 years out from a World Cup leads to a situation where Jamaica qualify for a World Cup three years before the tournament. Some players who played in 2018 won’t be part of the Jamaican team in 2021. If the Cricket World Cup (14 months), Rugby World Cup (10 months), and Football World Cup (7 months) can all hold World Cup Qualifiers a year before its World Cup, then so can Rugby League. The first year of World Cup Qualification also doubles as Regional Championships. Having the RLIF 9’s in the host country would be a great way to build interest in the lead-up to the World Cup. Countries already qualified for the World Cup can also play test matches in 2024.
Currently, countries that are members of the RLIF are divided into three categories; Full Member, Affiliate Member and Observer. From the RLIF website RLIF MEMBERSHIP POLICY – According to the Constitution of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), there are two categories of Membership: Full and Affiliate. In addition to these categories, the RLIF ranks Observers as an entry-level category.
The RLIF stated in July that the Governance Working Group was working towards governance reform which was to be put to members in September, with adoption in November. In November, the RLIF said: “The Board and membership of the RLIF have formally approved a proposal to alter the organisation’s governing documents which will allow them to modernise how it conducts its business”. In February, the RLIF revealed that three independent directors will be presented to the membership at an EGM in April. RLIF Charman Graeme Thompson said, “The governance reform process has been detailed and lengthy, which is right and proper, as it represents organisational progression. In particular, it guides how we make future strategic decisions.”
What I hope from the governance reform is greater scrutiny of Full and Affiliate members. Hopefully, once countries reach a membership level, they have to meet the same criteria annually to retain that membership level. Whilst some of the requirements are the same in different years, the variable criteria (for example, annual reports, annual accounts, and domestic competitions) should be sent annually to the RLIF to prove they are being met. It is unfair for countries to reach specific criteria when some members at that level cannot meet them. If a country cannot meet the requirements, it should be dropped down to the next level.
And Another Thing: The following blog post will be on a topic I have already covered a few times next month. Another one may be out in June. Depending on what happens through Rugby League this year, I may do one a month.
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Till next time,
Cheese