‘They were bullied’

Jamaica Reggae Warriors head coach Romeo Monteith says he believes the organisers were bullied by other participating teams to postpone the 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC).

The tournament was set to take place in England, with the opening game in Newcastle on October 23, but the organisers announced on August that the tournament will be postponed to 2022.

This took place two weeks after Australia and New Zealand pulled out.

“Many in our game believe the RLWC organisers and the International Rugby League (IRL) were bullied by the power of the National Rugby League (NRL) – the pro competition in Australia – which is the world’s premier rugby competition,” Monteith said.

“Everyone knows the professional clubs in Australia would be inconvenienced by players returning to preseason late if they went to the World Cup, due to quarantine rules in Australia, and the clubs decided to oppose the World Cup going ahead, using COVID-19 as the scapegoat.

“This position was adopted by the Australian and New Zealand governing bodies. We don’t share their position, we believe the tournament could have been held under secure biohazard conditions as promised by hosts.”

GOOD MOVE

However, he said this was a good move by the organisers in terms of making the competition an economic success.

“Sponsors and fans want to see the best players in the world, and the NRL provides plenty of those players,” he said.

He said he and his team are disappointed with the postponement of the RLWC three months prior to the start of the games because players, especially the United Kingdom-based ones, sacrificed much.

“Some players were planning on retiring from the game after the Cup. They have given over 10 years’ service to Jamaica and wanted to end on top,” he said. “For domestic players, it was disappointing as well; however, we have had no rugby league games in 16 months on the island, so postponement gives our local lads hope that they can return to play. We see other sports given the green light – track and field, football, basketball [and] we are still waiting for the opportunity to be allowed to do what we love.”

Monteith said the Jamaica Rugby League Association is now doing what it can to keep the team competition ready.

“We are trying to arrange two games in England in October to keep our players, fans and sponsors engaged,” Monteith said. “Hopefully, we get to play some games in Jamaica as well and maybe a game against the US or Canada in 2022.”

Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors are in Group C with New Zealand, Lebanon, and Ireland.

Sharla Williams