Cam Sánchez

There's some shite takes flying around, but 'The Rugby League World Cup is broken' midway through what is quite literally the most watched, most-attended and (just you wait) most profitable World Cup of all time... Got me thinking about all the gibber you read every #RLWC as a hardcore Test footy fan, such as: - People tuning in once every four years and immediately wanting to tear the whole thing apart, despite the IRL having looked at this from every angle for years. Getting all the clubs, who actually own the players (plus the RLPA) to agree is a minor miracle. - 'We need a proper international calendar' when we're currently into year four of a seven-year calendar and it's been there all along if you could be arsed to look. How much calendar do you need?! - 'England need to play more games' when England have played more internationals than any other team competing at this RLWC since the last one (followed by France) - Oscillating between 'every game is a blowout!' and 'there's not enough teams!'. There are only a handful of genuinely competitive international teams and rugby league is an inherently unforgiving sport, so you either get an expanded RLWC with lots of blowouts or a contracted one with fewer blowouts. That's the game. - 'They're all from Western Sydney' as if State of Origin's arbitrary eligibility rules are some universal standard of international sporting legitimacy. The recent 'proper' FIFA World Cup was full of teams reflecting migration and diaspora communities. That's the world, get used to it. - 'This format is shite, here's what I would do' - OK, good fun, but cost it. Actually work out how much it costs to add six teams to the men's tournament (or just cast your mind back to 2022...) and then work out the value add of Ireland 48-2 Jamaica at the World Cup. - 'Nobody cares about international rugby league' when, quite clearly, people who like rugby league care and they're the core audience of rugby league tournaments... - 'We need to grow the international game' when there's more international footy being played than ever before, much of it by people who've never been anywhere near Western Sydney. The Netherlands play so many games they're ranked above France! There's plenty to criticise about international rugby league, but it'd be nice if people understood what they're criticising first.