New GB Rugby League Coach Is...

Leeds Rhinos head coach Tony Smith was appointed as Great Britain?s new supremo on Monday after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The 40-year-old Australian takes over from Brian Noble and will combine the coaching role with that of performance director, heading up the Rugby Football League?s technical department at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Smith will initially be part-time with Great Britain and see out his Leeds contract, which runs out at the end of the season, to give the Rhinos time to find a replacement.

But he is expected to be in charge for the Test match against France on the weekend of June 22-24 and will become full-time national coach at the end of the season.

His first big challenge will come in the autumn when Britain take on New Zealand in a three-match Test Series on home soil before taking charge of England for the 2008 World Cup in Australia.

"It?s a great honour to take on this role and one that I am relishing," Smith told a news conference in Huddersfield.

"This country has some of the best young players in the world and my job over the next two and a half years will be to develop this crop of players into the best team in the world.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my four seasons at Leeds and am proud of what I have achieved there.

"Fans of the club can rest assured that I will continue to give my all for the club until the end of the season, whilst at the same time starting with the Great Britain set-up."

Theirs a great britain team?

Yeah, this is the last season of it though, then it's splitting to England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland again

I thought they were already like that. DIdnt they just play in the 6 nations or something.

That's rugby Union bud. I'm talking about Rugby League. Although rugby union do have GB Lions tours, think it's every 4 years. The last one was to New Zealand in 2005

oh, whats the difference, and why is there a difference?

In League there are 13 players on the pitch with 4 subs on the bench. The teams have 12 interchanges, so they can sway players on or off 12 times.

Union has 15 players on the pitch and 7 subs on the bench, unlike league, once a player comes off, he can't go back on.

In rugby league a team has 6 tackles to try and score a try then the ball is either kicked down field on the 5th tackle or if caught in possesion it's turned over to the other team. Where as, in union, you have as many plays as you can string together without losing the ball.

Why are their different versions. Doesnt that just confuse people and make people not want to watch the sport?

Hmm, I just noticed im wearing my Scotland rugby shirt. Despite the fact Im not a big rugby fan i'm wearing a rugby shirt.

That'll probably be a rugby union shirt i bet.

I'm not sure why there are different versions TBH, but they are totally different games. I play rugby league and although i don't mind watching Union, i've never wanted to play it.

In most places Union is thought to be more of an upper-class game and for gentlemen haha!! Where as league is more of a mans game

i am pleased about the coach but some of the players he has brought into the trainging for gb am not to sure of as in kevin penny like i think this youngster has bin quite a talent for the warrington wolves but in the national league i do not know beacuse it means him against willie mason and daren lockyer and much more talented players than there is in superleague and he strugles in superleague so there will be no hope for him in the games he plays well if he plays for gb.....