Hybrid Rugby has reported RLIF Chairman Nigel Wood was approached to stage a Hybrid game of rugby between the Australian Wallabies and the England Rugby League team. The match was to be held in February at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia with the RLIF earning $2 million fees to participate.
It has since been confirmed that English clubs Wigan Warriors and Hull FC will be coming to Australia in February to host the first ever Super League match in Australia to be held in Wollongong NSW. They will also be participating in an NRL / Super League doubleheader featuring South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George-Illawarra Dragons at ANZ Stadium.
Investment into International Rugby
Now personally, I'm a League guy through and through. Union bores me in ways League may bore a union fan I guess. However, I believe a $2 million investment into international rugby league, if dispersed correctly, would do a lot more for our game than two games being played in the NRL off-season by English rugby league teams would. The RLIF could have even kept $1,000,000 for their coffers and given a $200,000 grant to five emerging rugby league nations. It might not sound like much but I can assure you that the international bodies that run our game in Canada, Ireland, Serbia, Wales and Scotland could really do with a cash injection like that which would do wonders in helping their respective domestic leagues.
Whilst by no means does League need any assistance from Union in Australia, it must be said that Union also by no means needs any help from League in Europe. The facts are, individually the ARU & RLIF need all the money they can get and a one-off exhibition game of Hybrid Rugby paying a $2 million appearance fee is a pretty easy way of gaining the much-needed cash injection both parties sorely need.
Video: Video: Western Suburbs Magpies (League) vs Randwick Galloping Greens (Union) Hybrid Rugby also reported that the New Zealand All Blacks have challenged the Australian Kangaroos to a Hybrid event slated for after the Rugby Union World Cup in 2019. This exhibition match would be played in Japan on the grounds that both teams win their respective World Cups.
Now, although these two sides aren't short of funding, the ARL could take a hit for the good of international rugby league by playing this game and use the money to provide further funding to the smaller Pacific RL nations.
My view is to play these type of matches and use the money Rugby League gets to assist with the growth of international Rugby League by providing more funding to the nations that show commitment to our game.
Let's hope when the time comes that the ARL commission approves the match against the All Blacks and don't do what I've come to know as...Doing a Nigel.
