Rugby League World Cup: Ireland, Scotland & Wales out in group stage - what next?

While hosts England strolled into the Rugby League World Cup men's quarter-finals with three convincing wins, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were unable to make it past the group stage.

The three teams managed just one victory between them - Ireland's thumping defeat of Jamaica - and having failed to reach the last eight, they will now need to qualify for the next World Cup in France in 2025.

What can be done to improve their fortunes?

• Who made it to the quarter-finals?

• World Cup fixtures, results and BBC coverage times

'It's not a bad idea to have a plan, is it?'

After Monday's loss to Papua New Guinea confirmed Wales' exit, winger Rhys Williams was asked if he would be trying to help his country reach the next World Cup.

"I love every second of playing my country and we need to be doing it more," Wales' most-capped player told BBC Two.

"A few people have said it off the back of exiting the World Cup - we need a plan for every year. We don't know who we're playing or what's going on next year.

"There should be a Five or Six Nations, a bit like rugby union."

There has long been criticism within rugby league of the lack of a defined international fixture schedule, with games often tagged on the end of domestic seasons and opportunities rare for national teams to gather and develop.

"It's not a bad idea to have a plan, is it?" said ex-St Helens and England forward Jon Wilkin.

"'What are we doing next year?' - those are the conversations we're having about international rugby?

"If we want to be taken seriously, we have to have structure and planning behind international fixtures. We need our clubs to really buy into it, and it not be an afterthought where you release players and there's a bit of animosity.

"Get Wales a plan, get them some fixtures. Get Ireland some fixtures. Get Scotland some fixtures."

'The gap has been exposed'

In a discussion about the development of rugby league in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Wilkin posed several questions he feels need answers.

"Where are we getting our homegrown quality from?" he asked. "What's the pathway to go to play for Wales, Ireland and Scotland? How much as a game are we investing in those pathways? And how seriously do we take international rugby league this side of the world?

"Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa are exponentially getting better. The gap between them and the home nations has been exposed in this World Cup, but we've got an opportunity to change that."

Several competing teams outside the established big three of England, Australia and New Zealand have leaned heavily on a rule which allows players to represent a country if they qualify by residency or have a parent or grandparent born in that nation.

For example, Luke Keary and Richie Myler - who have previously played at international level for Australia and England respectively - featured in Ireland's three group matches.

After Scotland's elimination on Saturday, former Bravehearts hooker Andrew Henderson said: "I think we need to see a little bit more from the International Rugby League federation and the European federation in terms of how we can support these nations to grow and develop.

"One thing that is for certain - the heritage rule which a lot of these nations adopt is going to run out at some point in the future.

"We need to be looking at a strategy of how we're going to be able to grow the game in these nations and how we're going to get more players available to qualify for these nations for the future, to ensure we've got a strong international competition."

Former England international Danika Priim believes there is cause for optimism in the short term, however.

"The positive of this World Cup being delayed is that qualification for the next one starts next year," she said.

"That means momentum is building, these teams are going to get together and they can recruit.

"This tournament is all about inspiring the next generation of players and we won't get the next generation at the next World Cup, but we'll get the up-and-coming players - particularly from Wales, maybe from that union group and maybe from other sports."

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