“There is an obligation to the Northern Hemisphere game here and especially to help France after this tournament.”
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His New Zealand counterpart Michael Maguire also expressed hopes that the New Zealanders would be able to tour England at the end of 2023.
With NRL CEO Andrew Abdo also endorsing a specific international window at the end of the year rather than the representative mid-year tour starting next season, a tournament in which the Pacific nations will participate for 2023 is also being discussed.
The rise of Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Fiji in the region has fueled the appetite for regular matches, especially given the pandemic that struck soon after Tonga’s giant killing effort in 2019.
Few international matches have been confirmed after this year’s World Cup because tournament results will dictate qualifying matches for the 2025 edition, while ongoing CBA negotiations have also delayed international scheduling.
Mininga left Australia’s contribution largely to the discussions to ARL panel representatives Wayne Pierce and Peter Petty, who attended the two-day IRL conference in Newcastle this week ahead of the World Cup.
But as a longtime supporter of International Rugby League, the kangaroo coach has made his own thoughts on how best to develop the game around the world.
“I would like to see that Pacific-style tournament two years after the World Cup,” he said.
“And from a kangaroo point of view, tour the UK and the Northern Hemisphere in that third year before the World Cup in the fourth year of the cycle.
“Right after the World Cup, it might be your chance to expand things a bit with concepts like the International Nines, bring in other teams, play in other countries, and you can put those teams up to start the next World Cup cycle.
“I’m a big fan of the Nines too for that. There’s no big drain on the NRL clubs, because you can only fit in so much at the end of the year, and that encourages young talent.”
“For other countries to compete, it is easier in this format, fewer players are needed, your teams are not large and not taxing. How it all fits together in the next World Cup and beyond is the big question.”
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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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