International Rugby League

"What's that?" I hear you ask.
"Exactly" you should hear me answer.
In the constant argument of "which footy code is the best" the same agrgument is repeatedly trundled out from each side.
AFL points to it's phenomenal crowd numbers at the game which can't be argued with.
Rugby League then points to it's strong television ratings and spectacular "State of Origin" success which can't be argued with.
Rugby Union then points to the fact that their sport is international which it is.
Each of these sports has levels of success in each category, but one excels in each as pointed out.
For example, AFL is only really played here in Australia, but it plays a hybrid game against the Irish Gaelic Football team to give it some level of international competition. Rugby League is played well in essentially 3 major countries. Rugby Union, for all it's bluster, is played well in about 5 or 6 major countries (although Union fans would have you believe that it's the second most wordly sport behind Football!)
But something that has struck me of late is that for all the arguments, the codes that are not leading in each category aren't really doing all that much to try and match the leading code.
Sure, League and Union are trying to increase their crowds all the time, but they're not even close to threatening AFL and they don't expect to get there.
And the same goes for each category.
It seems though, that the most likely option for one to catch the other is for Rugby League to catch Rugby Union in the way of meaningful international competition.
You'll note I said meaningful. By that I mean that in the Rugby Union World Cup, there are only 5 teams that can realistically win it.
In Rugby League, there are 3 teams.
So it begs the question, if Rugby League as a sport is to take that next step, what can they do?
Well if they wanted to go for a quick fix and try to get there soon, they could always look at making people actually play for the country of their origin which would increase the success of some of the smaller pacific island nations, but would weaken places like Ireland. It would also only help to a certain point. If the game is looking to the long term and to become a more genuine international sport then it needs to start with the youth, and it needs to be pushed through the NRL and or Super League clubs.
When you look at the major international team sports such as Football or Basketball, all of the players skill and improvement is done at the club level in the major competition(s).
Now I know this idea may seem a little out there, but hear me out.
There should be incentives for teams to bring players from overseas into their clubs at junior levels to help give them the skills development needed to play top class football.
A club could send a scout to a counrty that is not one of the big 3 (Australia, New Zealand, England). Let's say he goes to France (just to make it interesting and not too easy) and identifies that there is potential for say 10 players, that are between 16 and 18 years old, if given the right guidance to possibly be good Rugby League players. You might think 10 players is a large number but this is in the whole country not just some individual local club.
So scolarships are offered. At such a tender age there would likely be reservations from parents to send their children off, but obviously schooling would be offered at whatever level necessary along with a modest salary and housing etc as part of this scholarship.
So obviously you would be fairly unlikely to have all 10 willing to take up the offer, so we'll say we get 6 of them willing and able.
Going on with this example, we have 6 young Frenchmen who have a language barrier to cross. So anyone with a firm grip on the French language and an understanding of the game of Rugby League has just found themselves a great new job!
So they spend 2 years training and learning from some of the best and playing in the clubs junior sides or feeder clubs when ready and or necessary. Some would likely get a bit home sick, but there are 6 of them so they at least have each other. Also, at that age, Pre season all the way to end of season won't be any longer than 8 to 9 months, so they can spend a good chunk of the year back at home anyway.
Either way, for arguments sake, we'll say that one of them can't handle it and heads back home.
2 years later - we'll take some liberties and say that we've got 3 players that have been assessed as being probably good enough to play in the third tier of football here in Australia at the moment (Jim Beam Cup) but not likely to ever really make that step up to first grade. They can then choose to try and stay in the country and have a go at it or head back to their home country. Either way the club would have to approve any deal where they could simply release the player or essentially allow them to play for another club, while still holding the rights to the player for a period no longer than 2 years. If the player unexpectedly starts to come into his own, the club then doesn't lose out on the hard work they have put in and could reap any benefits. You would expect these players to go back to France for the most part where the ability to play even at the level of Jim Beam Cup would make them a good player in the French League, helping to improve the standard of football played there.
Of the other 2, we'll say that one has just turned 20 and looks like he may have potential but isn't ready for first grade yet. He could be sent on a year or two loan to a French side to be a team leader, if that is the type of experience that the club is looking for him to get, and then come back as a squad player ready to have a crack at first grade. If not, keep him here and monitor his progress in a feeder team, possibly in the QLD Cup perhaps. We'll also say that there is a very promising 19 year old, who could play in the Toyota Cup side for the next year and may be ready to play First grade the following year so he stays with the club.
Obviously alot of this will require some good talent identification, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who can do that job.
Now, I'm well aware that one of the big sticking points on this is the money it would cost to do this, and for that the only vague soultions I can come up with is an NRL incentive based payment (perhaps after a new TV deal is negotiated to get more money in the game) or to look at it another way if you could get a French player to come over and become a solid player, you would have a whole other nation ready to support your team. Make your jersey available to them and you have recouped a fair bit of money.
Also if you think about it, that example that was just given is only the class of whatever year it would be, there's another group coming through the following year. What that means is that each year you could be sending a few players back to the French competition much better than when they left the country. After only 5 years you could possibly have up to 20 players trained by NRL clubs running around in the French league for their clubs, sharing their knowledge with their team mates and I guarantee you'll have a much better French national team (particularly if you throw in one or two players that have made the NRL or English Super League)
I said at the start to hear me out and I'm aware just how outrageous all of this sounds.
Is this the final solution? Even I highly doubt it
Should someone be talking about it? Most defeinitely!