“You all need to have a good look at what’s happened with the international game over the last five or six years,” said Wayne Bennett after the Lions lost to Papua New Guinea. “You’ve seen the emergence of Tonga. You’ve seen how much Papua New Guinea and Samoa have improved. So, while we’ve got to swallow a bitter pill as Great Britain, on the other side of the ledger I see the game getting stronger.”

Having more competitive teams at the top is undoubtedly fantastic for the world game. For the first time since the late 1970s, the best four sides in the world can – and do – beat each other. “We are seeking to have at least eight fully fledged contenders for every World Cup,” said IRL chairman Nigel Wood this week on the International Rugby League Podcast podcast. With the rise of Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, that is feasible.

But there is an unspoken concern as the southern hemisphere roars away from the north. What do the rising forces in the game bring to the sport? Excitement, crowds, colour, passion and style? Yes. Money? Not a lot.

A leading administrator in the game told me recently that rugby league’s problem is that it is popular in poor countries. Not only that, but even if everyone in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji watched the NRL every week, that would only be 1.2 million pairs of eyeballs. There are potential sponsors, but not a massive audience.

Papua New Guinea has a big population of more than 8 million, many of whom are obsessed by league, but it is hard to monetise that support when GDP per capita is £3,250 (137th of the 181 countries ranked by the World Bank). Papua New Guinea is rich in so many ways, but finance is not one of them.

As Wood says: “We should celebrate the success of the Pacific.” Their love for the game is awe-inspiring, but it should also worry him that Tonga and Papua New Guinea drew the biggest international crowds this season. And when the Cook Islands (population 17,459) beat the USA (population 330 million) to the final World Cup 2021 place, what impact does that have on the sport?

Rugby league needs some big guns to bring in more lucrative TV deals and sponsors. “One of our strategic aims is to work in at least two new G7 countries,” says Wood. “We are also in active discussion with the Middle East to understand those markets. North America is clearly of great interest and we also have a long-established presence in France, which presents a further opportunity.”

Yes, Canada and the USA have potential, but in the next few years the authorities should focus on what they can do to support France and Italy, the only other G7 nations who have qualified for the next World Cup.

The game’s leaders should take Toronto Wolfpack’s top-down approach. In the Pacific, sporting and economic conditions have enabled the league national teams to be stronger than the union ones. The same could happen in North America and Europe. What can the game do to ensure France are at full strength and achieving media-grabbing results, rather than being humbled time and again? Italy have never reached a World Cup quarter-final in either code. If they had James Tedesco, Nathan Brown and Paul Vaughan back from the Kangaroos, the rugby league side could. National pride in a rugby league team can open doors.

“We have to work out how to develop local players in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France to bolster the international game in the northern hemisphere,” said Wood. “But nations have to take responsibility for their own performance. We cannot be responsible for everything.” In which case, expect little and you won’t be disappointed.

Foreign quota

There is a general rule in rugby league: the team with the most NRL regulars wins. Failing that, it’s the team with the most NRL and Super League players. That hierarchy was smashed to pieces last Saturday when a Papua New Guinea side with a majority of players from the Queensland Cup and third tier English clubs, turned over Great Britain’s NRL and Super League stars.

To fulfil their potential, every country now casts their net far and wide, dipping into their pool of heritage players. The best sides have a mix players brought up in different cultures with different styles and physical attributes, usually creating a melting pot of athletes. That is what Papua New Guinea have done, bringing height to the middle of the field by calling up Australia-born players Kyle Laybutt, who has only played two NRL games in his life, and Dan Russell, who has just signed for North Queensland Cowboys. With South Sydney flier Alex Johnston at the back, they look a far more balanced side than at the World Cup. Doing it on a November night in Middlesbrough may be a different matter.

Clubcall: Hull KR

Having survived relegation by the skin of his teeth, Hull KR coach Tony Smith has taken the logical step of signing a new team for 2020. Highest profile of the 15 new players is Kiwi international Shaun Kenny-Dowall, who, still only 31, arrives with a stellar NRL career under his belt but with miles left on the clock. Other signings include Jordan Abdull and Matty Gee from London, Ireland flier Ethan Ryan from Bradford, Toronto’s Nick Rawsthorne, and Castleford pair Greg Minikin and Will Maher. Of the ten leaving are the retiring Danny McGuire, and Joel Tomkins, who rejoins his brother Sam at Catalans Dragons, where he will reunite with Josh Drinkwater, returning to Perpignan after a year at Rovers. The new team will have a new look too: the Robins have unveiled a classy (in my eyes) navy away shirt with a scarlet band.

Goal-line drop-out

According to the new world rankings, the best 14 international teams on the planet will be at the 2021 World Cup. Serbia rose four places to 15th despite being annihilated in their qualifying pool, showing the weight given to competitive games. The Cook Islands’ hard-fought win over the USA in Jacksonville on Saturday night sees them take the final spot despite being officially only the 23rd best team. Their ranking reflects that they just don’t play enough. The same goes for Jamaica, the other qualifier outside the top 16, who have slipped seven places to 20th. Busy Turkey have flown up seven places to 24th. You get more points for losing than not playing at all, which is why New Zealand have overtaken Australia to become No 1 again, despite losing to them this month.

Fifth and last

Four years ago, the stand-out players at the Commonwealth Nines – an Under-19 tournament in Cumbernauld - were Australia’s Joseph Manu, Papua New Guinea’s Stanton Albert and Scotland’s Harvey Burnett. In the past fortnight, Manu and Albert have both played in wins over Great Britain (Manu for his native New Zealand). Burnett had his own memorable match last Sunday.

Fighting lung cancer, Burnett was on kicking duties for the South XIII at London Broncos to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. More people were there to support Harvey than were at the World Cup qualifier in Jacksonville. Among those watching or playing were his former teammates now playing for the Broncos, Skolars, Batley, Sheffield and Salford (Dan Sarginson, running water for the South).

Nine weeks after most club’s seasons ended, that brought the curtain down on my 2019 season. But don’t panic – it’s only six weeks until pre-season friendlies begin! Enjoy your Thursday and Friday nights out and your Saturday morning lie-ins.

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