RL may not have the pulling power of its rival Union code or football, but a series whitewash against New Zealand is surely worth more than a passing glance.Great Britain have just won a Rugby League Test series against the New Zealand 3-0, which included a 44-0 demolition of their down-under opponents in the second match. However, the series has gone unnoticed as the media moguls of TV and newspapers concentrate on the dismal Euro 2008 performance of England's second-rate football team. Why as a nation do we feed on bad news and always look at the negatives? How often do Great Britain whitewash New Zealand? Yet the series, apart from live coverage on Sky and highlights programme on BBC, gets no public attention. The sport is great! It's fast paced compared to Rugby Union, yet it comes second best in the battle of the codes. Is it because coach Tony Smith's team were representing Britain rather than England, Scotland or Wales? I would be suprised if many people actually know that there is a Rugby League World Cup next year in Australia and although the host nation will be strong favourites, the English boys will look to do what there colleagues did in France in the Union World Cup last month. Unfortunately, the World Cup recognises individual countries and not a Great Britain team, so our chances are severly hampered.The media continues to press on with doom and gloom concerning the bad management style of Steve McClaren and the inevitable missing out on Euro 2008 qualification. TV news highlights the growing list of injured England players set to miss out on the friendly game with Austria this weekend. and newspapers are having a field day. What happened to the back-page headlines on Sunday of Great Britain's Rugby League heroics? We need to give RL the recognition it deserves in this country and need to enjoy the moment - looking at the sporting success we can and do have and not wallowing in self-pity.Next year is the first RL World Cup in eight years, due to financial problems and we need to get the sport's popularity back again, especially as we actually have a decent team and a chance of winning.
Why did the media ignore Great Britain's Rugby League destroyers?
RL may not have the pulling power of its rival Union code or football, but a series whitewash against New Zealand is surely worth more than a passing glance.Great Britain have just won a Rugby League Test series against the New Zealand 3-0, which included a 44-0 demolition of their down-under opponents in the second match. However, the series has gone unnoticed as the media moguls of TV and newspapers concentrate on the dismal Euro 2008 performance of England's second-rate football team. Why as a nation do we feed on bad news and always look at the negatives? How often do Great Britain whitewash New Zealand? Yet the series, apart from live coverage on Sky and highlights programme on BBC, gets no public attention. The sport is great! It's fast paced compared to Rugby Union, yet it comes second best in the battle of the codes. Is it because coach Tony Smith's team were representing Britain rather than England, Scotland or Wales? I would be suprised if many people actually know that there is a Rugby League World Cup next year in Australia and although the host nation will be strong favourites, the English boys will look to do what there colleagues did in France in the Union World Cup last month. Unfortunately, the World Cup recognises individual countries and not a Great Britain team, so our chances are severly hampered.The media continues to press on with doom and gloom concerning the bad management style of Steve McClaren and the inevitable missing out on Euro 2008 qualification. TV news highlights the growing list of injured England players set to miss out on the friendly game with Austria this weekend. and newspapers are having a field day. What happened to the back-page headlines on Sunday of Great Britain's Rugby League heroics? We need to give RL the recognition it deserves in this country and need to enjoy the moment - looking at the sporting success we can and do have and not wallowing in self-pity.Next year is the first RL World Cup in eight years, due to financial problems and we need to get the sport's popularity back again, especially as we actually have a decent team and a chance of winning.
