I guess its official now the English will be playing the Exiles. The MENA cup kicked off as well and Halifax have applied to host the World Cup. Also the Rep season in Australia has been launched already. So lots of news in Rugby League this week.
This week test tickets for the ANZAC test went on sale. This test was originally scheduled to be played in New Zealand but with the recent earthquake it was moved to the Gold Coast in Australia. One thing that got me thinking, why couldn’t the game have been moved to somewhere else in the country and have some free tickets given to victims of the Earthquake. Wouldn’t it have been a moral pick me up for those in NZ to still be able to see the game and despite the horror be able to have some fun? Anyway, also in Albury the NSW City Country game was launched. This is the trial game before State of Origin and is a chance for many players to shone and show selector’s they are worthy of a Blues jumper. A crowd of 10,000 is expected.
Halifax announced earlier this week that they are applying to host games in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. This would be a big boom for them as they have applied for a super league licence as well. Speaking of which we should know soon who gets the next round of licences, my money is that Wakefield will drop out and that Widnes will be brought in.
While the Donnybrook Cup was being played, across on the other side of the world in Lebanon the Middle East and North African U16s Championships kicked off. This is a tournaments that has Lebanon, Palestine and Saudi Arabia playing. In Last years tournaments the Saudi’s sprung a surprise by winning the tournaments. Last week the Lebanese took on the Palestinians and were triumphant 26-4. So the table stands as:
| Team | P | W | D | L | B | PD | Pt | |
| 1 | Lebanon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Palestine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -22 | 0 |
Next week MENA sees the Palestinians and Saudis play and then the week after the last match Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
So looks like the Exiles will be playing the England team. Sorry but this is a completely stupid and farcical idea. Not only does it damage the French and Welsh cause, teams that need just as much exposure to the top, but it makes a complete farce of the international game. Sorry but this is one of these cases of one step forward two steps back.
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