By STEVE MASCORD

THE Netherlands recently had their own equivalent of our afternoon at Birchgrove Oval in 1908 when the first domestic competition kicked off.

For now it’s just three teams over a short season and Rotterdam Pitbulls had a big 60-14 win over Amsterdam Cobras.

The third team is Den Haag Knights with Harderwijk Dolphins to be added next year.

You might thnk it unusual that the Netherlands have planed internationals before having a domestic competiton but it happened almost the same way in Australia.

The 1907 New Zealand All Golds took Dally Messenger to England with them and on the way home played teams of converted rugby union players, with the Sydney premiership kicking off a few days later.

New South Wales played long before any of the foundation clubs made their debuts.

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AFTER the Challenge Cup, France’s Lord Derby Cup might be our most famous surviving knockout competition.

And this year’s final has been run and won. Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan beat Limoux 33-16 at the Stade Albert Domec in Carcassone, with two tries from man of the match Antoni Maria.

The Lord Derby Cup has been contested since 1935.

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BURUNDI is the sixth African nation to join the rugby league family.

Burundi Rugby League president Jean Du Christ Rusiga said: “We believe that rugby league can be a promoter of peace and development in Burundi and even within Africa itself. If we get together with our partners around the continent and work with them, there will be more and more opportunities for the sport.”

The other African nations playing our game are South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.

Filed for; RUGBY LEAGUE WEEK