Great Britain, Little England

Great Britain, Great Britain, Great Britain. They're two words you simply can't escape at the moment. Not England, but Great Britain, the great Olympics nation. Not plucky Brits but golden Brits. Not beaten Brits but brilliant Brits. Have you seen the papers ? Union Jacks everywhere - no Cross of St George - celebrating a few days of intoxicating and sustained success in Beijing, on boats and bikes anyway. The British Lion - the one synonymous with Great Britain rugby league before the team and logo were mothballed after last year's New Zealand series victory - has been gloriously rampant. British pride is bursting out everywhere - not English pride, note.

At least one paper advises us to post its front page to a friend in Australia showing the gold medal count, currently Great Britain 12 Australia 11. As for England, aren't they the team that didn't qualify for Euro 2008 this summer, the team humiliated by the All Blacks, the team who lost to South Africa in the recent Test series ... the team we're investing so much hope in for the forthcoming rugby league World Cup ? Typical, isn't it. As we leap aboard the England bandwagon, wouldn't you credit it, everyone is British all of a sudden. Is it too late to change back ?

Comments

[TrevorH]

We should stick to Great Britain. I was proud of the fact that Rugby League was one of the few truly national teams. Fair doos if eventually Alex Salmond gets his way, but until then I would have preferred Great Britain - thats the country we live in, you do not see Australia sending Queensland or NSW teams on tour.

With one proviso - we should get a decent strip. The projected England strip looks pretty corny. Australia have a great strip and they do little to meddle with it. GB have has numerous efforts over the years and all look weedy to me.

You cannot expect a team in a naff strip to play well.

[Army Man of the Hawthorn Pub , Warrington Town]

I think they should have stuck with Britain, after all we all spend the GB pound, have a British Government and a British ARMY!

England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are not proper nations anyway.

[Douglas Ring-Kells]

Forget the Olympics Chris; it's sport for people who don't like sport. I bet branches of M & S up and down the country are empty this week with all those housewives following events from Beijing so avidly.

We shouldn't be surprised that the BBC are getting excited- they've got naff all other sports coverage left. Tellingly, Sky Sports News, which is dedicated to coverage of sport 365 days a year and is viewed by people whose interest in sport extends beyond a fortnight every four years, had the announcement of the new ENGLAND football captain as its lead story yesterday evening. I'd view this as a truer indication of where sporting interest in this country lies.

[michael]

would your newspaper give the GB Lions the same kind of treatment it has afforded the olympic team if they won the world cup?.. would a montage of peacock, senior, burrow, pryce etc appear on the front cover?..we all know the answer to that..

personally i havent seen any union jacks flying anywhere, nor have i seen stickers and banners in cars and shop windows, nor will we see thousands in the streets cheering the olympic success.. scenes we would see with a triumphant england team, certainly in football, and hopefully come october/november in rugby league

[Jannerboyuk]

"Only in rugby league" someone says. Err only in rugby union, football, cricket (kinda) and every major sport able to stand on its own two feet outside the over subsidised silliness of the olympics.

[MR G HOTEL]

Why do you keep publishing the drivel posted by "Mike Hunt". Its not funny, not informed nor constructive. He is either a hater of our game disguising himself as a league fan, or sadly is more typical of the countless whingers who constantly bombard RL phone ins and letters pages.

[mike hunt]

Covered all this before when the League launched that bloody stupid logo. Maybe they should have done a poll amongst fans but that would have been to clever for the idiots that run our game!

[Big Bully Booaza]

Great Britain have a nicer looking flag?

Still a welsh team in the superleague now and plenty of juniors in the principality are more likely to become interested and begin participating if they can aspire to play for wales rather than a GB team full of lads from the North of England.

[LondonLouis]

I don't have any problems with the breakup of GB. It's part of the international development of League. Having a Welsh team will support the impact of the emergence of the Celtic Crusaders in Wales. State of Origin in Australia shows the benefits of having strong competition between different parts of an overall nation.

In any case, the existence of Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England within the Union hierarchy means that anyone coming from a background of the Rugby codes will accept this apparent fragmentation.

Wales in the era of Jonathan Davies showed that it could be possible to develop a Welsh team which would ultimately be competitive with England - though the hurdles will be high.

[Numptyboy]

Ireland and Scotland would have something to say about it but your dead right. We missed the boat again. Just as Great Britain comes back into fashion, we ditch it for England - which might as well stand for useless. Only rugby league ..

[Smitty]

I do recall Great Britain winning the World Cup in 1972.
Come on you Lions!

[Steffy]

I don't recall Great Britain playing in the last world cup.