To be joint hosted by Australia and New Zealand:

[urlhttp://www.rlif.com/rugby-league-international-news/article/1452/australia-and-new-zealand-unite[/url

I hope NZ get the final, and are seen as the more senior host though, Australia only had the world cup in 2008.

Couldn't see anywhere else getting it to be honest. I'm with you in wanting New Zealand for the senior host role. I don't see why NZRL didn't bid for it on their own though

I predict that Sky will hardly acknowledge the existence of the 2017 RLWC.

It was rolling along the bottom of Sky Sports News at about 8am this morning

I would have liked NZ to have tried to do it on their own, and France on their own next time. Both countries could easily support a WC on their own and draw the crowds. It makes the game look and act small time by constantly including England and Australia in the hosting of every world cup.

They are clearly thinking of the big crowds they can get for the Australia & England games in Oz. I reckon they will go with the same groups as last time, with the Aus/England ground based in Oz, the NZ group obviously in NZ, a Pacific Islands group in NZ and then France, PNG etc in Oz.

I agree France would be a good host next time, but I do feel the French side have to improve to win them the rights to host the Tournament we need them to up their game and become the 2nd best team in Europe, and good enough to make the Semi's. I'd also still host at least one England game in England (probably England-Aus at Wembley) to keep building the national teams profile here.

Well, how, er ...... [iinteresting[/i - that is.

No, really. Thank you so much for sharing that. I'm sure there is probably a point to it, even if it escapes me.

Truly, you are a visionary.

2017 is quite a way away, though. Could you perhaps predict the winner of the 3.40 at Punchestown for me?

I received a notification on my phone from the sky sports app whilst on my way to the station just after 7 this morning.

Considering in October 2012 the ARLC released a strategic plan for the game in Australia that had in it
" the 2017 World Cup in Australia and NZ will be the most successful ever" this decision was clearly made a very long time ago!

In more of a long term view, the region from Barcelona to Toulouse across to Monaco (Catalan/Occitanian regions) would be an interesting option; plenty of stadiums of various sizes, and maybe try to further ingrain RL into the catalan regions either side of the border.

and RL would completely pee off the Spanish and French establishment and burn a lot of bridges permanently.

Why would holding a World Cup around there make them care any less? I'm not saying form a team representing there (again) or even particularly acknowledging any communities in particular, just that those regions are just the nearby regions to where there is already a rugby base in France... they have free border movement so Spain wouldn't be totally off limits to a France based tournament to travel to, and easier to get to than say, Paris or Lille or whatever.

Hell, Catalan have already been to Barca.