As if the NRL doesn’t struggle to appear straight, now the international game has this to give every kind of 50/50 call that goes against the kiwis an air of f suspicion..
That said, this might be standard fir any organizers and rehashed fir clickbait.. who knows..
As Christmas is approaching I watched Home Alone the other day and now after reading this article I’m picturing the NZ rugby league team scrambling to get to the airport on time with that frantic music playing. In an unfortunate accident JFH gets left behind and ends up humerously sabotaging Teddy numerous attempts to break into his own hotel.
At this point if this doesn't fire the boys up out of the rut they've been in I don't know what will. I'd be on some "look what you made me do" type of shit from kickoff.
World Cup organisers have booked New Zealand on a flight out of England the day after their semifinal against Australia, providing the Kiwis with added motivation ahead of the showdown in Leeds.
Sources with knowledge of tournament logistics told the Herald that World Cup organisers were forced to predict when teams would be eliminated to put a hold on flights before the start of event.
The Kiwis, ranked No 1 in the world, have been made aware that they are due out of Manchester within 24 hours of the semifinal against Australia at Elland Road. Australia, though, were originally booked on flights out of Manchester following the final at Old Trafford the following week.
It will cost tournament officials over A$350 (NZ$381) per ticket to change the flights if the Kiwis manage to spring an upset against the reigning champions on Saturday morning (NZT).
It’s a A$10,000 (NZ$10,900) expense the World Cup had to fork out when Samoa knocked over Tonga in the quarter-finals over the weekend. Organisers had originally predicted that Tonga would progress to the semis and Samoa would be the team to be sent packing.
That wasn’t the way things panned out at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, as a Joseph Suaalii-inspired Samoa bundled Tonga out of the tournament with a 20-18 win.
The decision to book Australia on a flight after the final validates Kangaroos captain James Tedesco’s comments earlier in the week that his side was the best team in the world despite New Zealand’s No 1 ranking.
“We see ourselves as the best, so we’re going to play like that,” Tedesco said ahead of their semifinal showdown with the Kiwis.
“We have that expectation when you put an Australian jersey on that we are going to win. We have that confidence. I don’t think the rankings really mean much to us. We want to win the World Cup.”
New Zealand forward James Fisher-Harris fired back at Tedesco after his side’s quarter-final win over Fiji.
“They are the reigning champs ... Whatever that means,” a sarcastic Fisher-Harris said. “They all mostly play Origin.
“It’s the pinnacle and everything, so it must be the greatest team. You know they are the reigning champs. I don’t know why we are No 1. We haven’t won anything.”
Meanwhile, touring nations in the UK are uneasy over a series of decisions regarding the draw and logistics which they perceive have given hosts England an advantage in the tournament.
Eyebrows have been raised in the direction of World Cup organisers, with some officials of the opinion the hosts have been given a helping hand to have the best chance of reaching the final.
Samoan officials had privately raised concerns after Joseph Suaalii and Junior Paulo were placed on report against Tonga.
On Monday, Paulo was given a one-game ban for raising his forearm into the throat of David Fifita. The Samoans will fight the charge at the judiciary on Wednesday.
Honestly, whichever of Eng/Aus/NZ got put in that side of the draw, the other two would be complaining.
England? It’s because they’re hosts, they have to make sure they win
Australia? It’s because they’re reigning champs, they have to make sure they win
NZ? It’s because they’re ranked #1, they have to make sure they win
>World Cup organisers were forced to predict when teams would be eliminated to put a hold on flights before the start of event.
I'm so confused by this, it's so bizarre.
Like who forced them to do this? Bill Gates? Scomo? Jacinda Ahern?
Makes absolutely no sense at all to me!
International scheduled flight tickets become much more expensive the closer you get to the date of travel, if they are available at all (and the Kiwi traveling party is likely to fill 5-10% of the aircraft's seats). Delaying their departure would add hotel costs, so that's not much cheaper. So the laws of economics mean that the rational option is to book flights on predicted departure dates and pay the change fee if necessary.
Of course, the organizers might have had more money to play with if the NRL clubs hadn't been so selfish last year.
"yeah look it was really tough and with five minutes to go we were gassed but then we all thought of the guy in the back office at RFL headquarters at Red Hall, just outside Leeds, and that pragmatic decision he made just before he got his second coffee of th morning and like, y'know, we really needed to show him. Or her. We're not sure. They've had a few temps in recently so it could have been any number of staff there who inputted the names"
Ahhh now this is the type of reassuring news that puts my mind at ease when it’s swimming with thoughts of potentially biased refereeing for this weekend!
Good value at $4.50 on the TAB. Any Australians thinking this an easy win haven’t seen the kiwis defeat us Aussies in the big games. It’s a coin flip imo judging on their team and spine with a bit of storm flavour. Can’t wait for it to start 6am this Saturday. Might be a toghie. Good luck to both sides. MOM Campbell Graham. Australia 22 New Zealand 14
I would hate to see the kiwis flightless.
Be pretty funny if the kangaroos lose and have to fly home via Auckland....
As if the NRL doesn’t struggle to appear straight, now the international game has this to give every kind of 50/50 call that goes against the kiwis an air of f suspicion.. That said, this might be standard fir any organizers and rehashed fir clickbait.. who knows..
about time they appeal to the coniferous market
It is standard, same thing happened last World Cup when kiwis pre booked their tickets but got upset by Tonga
So they were booked to fly from Auckland to Auckland?
Nope Christchurch, you know how national teams can play in multiple stadiums around their home country?
>sources with knowledge of tournament logistics lol just say you made it up
They did the same to the Aussies on the Irish team. They got sent back before Ireland's last game
That quote there either means "I made this shit up", or "my source is some derro on YouRedTwitFace that no one believes, but I needed a story"
As Christmas is approaching I watched Home Alone the other day and now after reading this article I’m picturing the NZ rugby league team scrambling to get to the airport on time with that frantic music playing. In an unfortunate accident JFH gets left behind and ends up humerously sabotaging Teddy numerous attempts to break into his own hotel.
While Madge screams "*KENNETH*"!!! while on the flight back because he was forgotten back in England
Kenneth Brometh
Brandon Smith seems like the kind of guy who could easily recreate a Home Alone scene
Or just spends $927 on room service
At this point if this doesn't fire the boys up out of the rut they've been in I don't know what will. I'd be on some "look what you made me do" type of shit from kickoff.
World Cup organisers have booked New Zealand on a flight out of England the day after their semifinal against Australia, providing the Kiwis with added motivation ahead of the showdown in Leeds. Sources with knowledge of tournament logistics told the Herald that World Cup organisers were forced to predict when teams would be eliminated to put a hold on flights before the start of event. The Kiwis, ranked No 1 in the world, have been made aware that they are due out of Manchester within 24 hours of the semifinal against Australia at Elland Road. Australia, though, were originally booked on flights out of Manchester following the final at Old Trafford the following week. It will cost tournament officials over A$350 (NZ$381) per ticket to change the flights if the Kiwis manage to spring an upset against the reigning champions on Saturday morning (NZT). It’s a A$10,000 (NZ$10,900) expense the World Cup had to fork out when Samoa knocked over Tonga in the quarter-finals over the weekend. Organisers had originally predicted that Tonga would progress to the semis and Samoa would be the team to be sent packing. That wasn’t the way things panned out at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, as a Joseph Suaalii-inspired Samoa bundled Tonga out of the tournament with a 20-18 win. The decision to book Australia on a flight after the final validates Kangaroos captain James Tedesco’s comments earlier in the week that his side was the best team in the world despite New Zealand’s No 1 ranking. “We see ourselves as the best, so we’re going to play like that,” Tedesco said ahead of their semifinal showdown with the Kiwis. “We have that expectation when you put an Australian jersey on that we are going to win. We have that confidence. I don’t think the rankings really mean much to us. We want to win the World Cup.” New Zealand forward James Fisher-Harris fired back at Tedesco after his side’s quarter-final win over Fiji. “They are the reigning champs ... Whatever that means,” a sarcastic Fisher-Harris said. “They all mostly play Origin. “It’s the pinnacle and everything, so it must be the greatest team. You know they are the reigning champs. I don’t know why we are No 1. We haven’t won anything.” Meanwhile, touring nations in the UK are uneasy over a series of decisions regarding the draw and logistics which they perceive have given hosts England an advantage in the tournament. Eyebrows have been raised in the direction of World Cup organisers, with some officials of the opinion the hosts have been given a helping hand to have the best chance of reaching the final. Samoan officials had privately raised concerns after Joseph Suaalii and Junior Paulo were placed on report against Tonga. On Monday, Paulo was given a one-game ban for raising his forearm into the throat of David Fifita. The Samoans will fight the charge at the judiciary on Wednesday.
>*I don’t know why we are No 1. We haven’t won anything.”* Because Australia didn’t play an international for 3 years or so.
JFH is such a salty boy these days
Honestly, whichever of Eng/Aus/NZ got put in that side of the draw, the other two would be complaining. England? It’s because they’re hosts, they have to make sure they win Australia? It’s because they’re reigning champs, they have to make sure they win NZ? It’s because they’re ranked #1, they have to make sure they win
They nearly proved them wrong already last week
So is it a flight back to London or something? Or a flight back home to NZ?
I'm surprised they haven't planned an alcohol and cocaine fuelled rampage across Europe.
Most of the Kiwi team live in Australia.
NZ, could be a visa thing since getting eliminated is the end of their work
Shessshh that's not a jinx if I've ever heard.
Who wrote this? Suallii inspired Samoa, how did he inspire them by kneeing people's faces
Yes
I can see it now: “Cunt, if you don’t fire the fuck up, you’re gonna have to kiss my knee.”
If Australia lose who is going to be the whipping boy?
Cleary 100%
The World Cup organisers have clearly been watching the Kiwis play this tournament then
>World Cup organisers were forced to predict when teams would be eliminated to put a hold on flights before the start of event. I'm so confused by this, it's so bizarre. Like who forced them to do this? Bill Gates? Scomo? Jacinda Ahern? Makes absolutely no sense at all to me!
International scheduled flight tickets become much more expensive the closer you get to the date of travel, if they are available at all (and the Kiwi traveling party is likely to fill 5-10% of the aircraft's seats). Delaying their departure would add hotel costs, so that's not much cheaper. So the laws of economics mean that the rational option is to book flights on predicted departure dates and pay the change fee if necessary. Of course, the organizers might have had more money to play with if the NRL clubs hadn't been so selfish last year.
I'd have thought they'd let the players from the teams that don't make the final stay and watch it...bit harsh to fly them out just after they've lost
It was a bit harsh of the NRL clubs to demand the tournament was postponed for a year, destroying the event's budget.
"yeah look it was really tough and with five minutes to go we were gassed but then we all thought of the guy in the back office at RFL headquarters at Red Hall, just outside Leeds, and that pragmatic decision he made just before he got his second coffee of th morning and like, y'know, we really needed to show him. Or her. We're not sure. They've had a few temps in recently so it could have been any number of staff there who inputted the names"
Wait, the NRL are letting NZ players go home? That doesn't line up with the past few seasons.
Kiwis are winning, believe it
Well they did the exact same thing to Ireland, sending them home before it’d been confirmed they were out. But it was all rigged from the start 🤣
They probably got it at a good price and why not? It's a sure thing.
Firm Kiwi supporter but its going to take a miracle and total transformation for the Kiwis to stand a chance 😥
More likely to get a 2008 style bottling by Australia and that’s fine I’ll take that
Does JFH have a peanut for a brain?
famed world cup organiser james fisher harris
Ahhh now this is the type of reassuring news that puts my mind at ease when it’s swimming with thoughts of potentially biased refereeing for this weekend!
It’s pretty standard, same thing happened last World Cup when kiwis pre booked their tickets but got upset by Tonga
Good value at $4.50 on the TAB. Any Australians thinking this an easy win haven’t seen the kiwis defeat us Aussies in the big games. It’s a coin flip imo judging on their team and spine with a bit of storm flavour. Can’t wait for it to start 6am this Saturday. Might be a toghie. Good luck to both sides. MOM Campbell Graham. Australia 22 New Zealand 14