18 Nov 2014

Sport: RLIF says appetite for international league still growing

2:12 pm on 18 November 2014

The Rugby League International Federation says there is now a very real appetite for the international game but says any future test programme needs to be well planned and sustainable.

Toa Samoa impressed in the Four Nations competition, coming close to an upset against England and New Zealand before a heavy defeat against Australia.

A number of other nations also played test matches over the past six weeks, including Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Vanuatu and the Philippines.

The RLIF's International Development Manager, Tas Baitieri, says past two months have built on the success of last year's World Cup and he's confident that will continue.

"We don't want to come in and create a programme that we're not going to roll out so we've got to sit down, we've got to assess what has happened, do a debrief and then have a look at where we want to head. I think there will be a programme next year. Don't forget we've got the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea where we've got pathways for the resident players in those countries, but with the end of year calendar I think we will have a May test series again, as we've had in the last three years, around the Australia v New Zealand Anzac weekend and then the back-end of the year in October we're planning some internationals to maintain the momentum, if you like".