Solving the international puzzle

 We were all looking forward to the World Cup. Particularly, the Greece v France game - The Forbidden Derby - in the group stages and what promised to be a great fun event at Leeds when Ireland faced Jamaica.

But as we know now, it ain't happening. Well, not any time soon, and if things haven't changed much in twelve months we'll be back in the same position again. Given how little has changed in the last 18 months, we're not holding out huge confidence in the same issues rearing their heads again.

The big problem was of course the NRL. With Australian quarantine rules, any player coming over would end up missing a chunk of their pre-season, a situation that simply cannot be abided despite the obvious benefits to the global game. If it's not NRL, it's not their problem, and therefore can be treated with contempt, even if the players were up for it.

It's clear that the Australian game doesn't have the best interests of the international game at heart. How many times have the Kangaroos even played since the last World Cup? It's not very many. And indeed, they trampled on a mid-season international break some years ago so even sides willing to play one another would struggle to raise competitive sides.

There's only one solution to the impasse.

Disband the Kangaroos.

Seems a bit extreme, obviously, but if they're not even going to play games, would they even be missed? Let them have their Origin and let the rest of us get on with it. Let James Tedesco play for Italy, Tom Trbojevic for Serbia, Ryan Papenhuyzen for the Netherlands. Let's see teams who want to get it on do so, without that permanent feeling that any second-generation player for an emerging nation will soon be in green and gold. Let's have fun, fun that the presence of the Kangaroos invariably destroys, or at least disrupts.

Bin 'em off, the rest of us get on with it and maybe, just maybe, when they see we're having fun and progressing without them, they might actually get it.