The withdrawal of Australian and New Zealand teams from the Rugby League World Cup will come as a shock to millions of fans, who will not be able to see the two best rugby league nations in the world compete for a World Cup title. In response to the news that the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) and New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) have agreed to withdraw teams, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) said that the decision was “a clear demonstration of the declining popularity of the sport.” “The decline in participation in the sport is a concern for the sport, but more importantly for the players, as it is a reflection of the global health of the sport.”
Rugby League World Cup: Australia and New Zealand decision to pull out ‘premature’
On the last day of the Rugby League World Cup in Australia, the game was suspended after two teams, Australia and New Zealand, decided to pull out of the competition. The teams cited financial reasons, but the decision was also criticized because it came at a time when it was already decided that this year’s Rugby League World Cup would be the last event.. Read more about rugby world cup 2021 and let us know what you think.
Australia has won the Rugby League World Cup 11 times, with New Zealand winning in 2008.
According to Australia’s players’ union, Australia and New Zealand’s decision to withdraw from the Rugby League World Cup was “premature.”
According to the Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA), a handful of its players wanted to attend the event in England this fall.
Australia and New Zealand withdrew from Covid-19 on Thursday because to “player health and safety concerns.”
Clint Newton, the RLPA’s chief executive, called the decision “disappointing.”
In a statement, he added, “We have received input from a number of players eligible for these countries expressing their willingness to participate in the event, pending further information being available in the coming weeks.”
“Clearly, those players’ opinions were insufficient to avoid this decision, and we think it was taken prematurely.”
The Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) represents players in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), which includes players from Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa who are still expected to participate in the World Cup.
Newton says he’ll keep working with tournament organizers to guarantee the health and safety of athletes whose nations are still participating.
“Our focus for players from the other participating countries will be to assist in the implementation of proper health and safety measures, as well as to give them with the necessary knowledge to make an educated choice regarding participation,” he said.
“We had hoped that players from Australia and New Zealand would have the same chance, but with last night’s decision, that possibility has been taken away from them.”
The Rugby Football League (RFL) head Simon Johnson described Australia and New Zealand’s withdrawal as a “selfish, parochial, and cowardly choice” with just four minutes’ notice to organizers.
Greg Peters, the chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL), said some of the criticisms of the decision were “misjudged and ill-advised.”
“If caring after your people and ensuring their safety, which I have a legal duty leave alone a human one, is cowardly, then I must be a coward,” he told’s Newsnight. That, however, is not the case in my opinion.
“What this highlights is the huge disparity between what is acceptable pandemic management in the UK and what is acceptable in New Zealand and Australia.”
“In the UK, you might be seeing up to 50,000 cases every day.” With just a few instances, we will shut our borders and put the country on lockdown. Simply put, our people’s safety is essential.
“This isn’t a new topic of discussion. The organizers may claim to have been caught off guard or shocked, but they have known about our concerns since at least late last year. And it’s gotten to this because the problem has been pushed upon us since the tournament starts in less than ten weeks.”
Following a rise in Covid-19 infections, almost half of Australia’s population was put back under lockdown, whereas the bulk of coronavirus restrictions in England were removed despite increasing instances.
Players and staff are also concerned about being quarantined for 14 days upon their return to Australia, since the country’s borders are now blocked due to the epidemic.
Players would only be able to return to their NRL teams two weeks before the start of trial games for the 2022 season under such rules.
As a result, both nations have asked that the tournament be postponed until 2022, despite organizers’ claims that this would create further difficulties due to clashes with other big sports events planned for that year.
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