WINNING the Rugby League World Cup in 2000 is definitely a realistic aim for Great Britain.

You should not be in the arena unless you're there to win and with the right kind of preparation and hard work Britain can achieve that in two year's time.

Last year's World Club Championships were a tough wake up call for the game over here and a lot of lessons have been learnt from that.

If Andy Goodway is given the room to bring through the individuals he wants and to develop his Great Britain side in the run-up to the World Cup then he should have an excellent side in place.

The raw talent is there, now he needs the time and preparation to mould that into a world beating side.

New Zealand have just paid the price of not thinking long term in the Union Tri-Nations. Too many old players have been kept on and new blood hasn't been brought through so the team has fallen behind. That's the complacency factor.

The teams that succeed on the international stage are the ones that develop and strengthen as a constantly on-going process. Even a winning coach must always look at where he needs to make changes.

The key issue here is vision and that's what Great Britain need to succeed.

A successful World Cup could be a massive boost for the game in this country and just what it needs in terms of raising the profile of the game and getting new faces through the gates.

Goodway has a big test ahead of him but I think he's showing a lot of the right ideas and as long as he's given the room to think long term then it should be promising.

It's important that he not be afraid to lose a few games in order to carry out the experiments he needs along the way. Losing the Test series to the Kiwis shouldn't matter too much as long as you understand why and grow from the experience.

International Rugby League was shot out of the water in recent years by the dispute in Australia between Murdoch and Packer but now that's over and it's one game again, the scene is set for some fascinating rugby.

The four year plan of Tests between Britain, Australia and New Zealand next year followed by the World Cup, Tri-Nations in 2001 and the World Cup in Australia in 2002 has got to excite anyone with an interest in the game.

Fans love the big stage and this summer's soccer World Cup showed the enormous interest it can generate. Now we've got a feast ahead of us which emphasises how vital it is to go into it properly prepared.

The recent Emerging England game was a good move and I think there should be more like it. I'm sure they could easily organise three games against Wales a year and why not get a Kiwi B team out here this year to play them?

Bobby Fulton coached the Australian Test side for nine years until he stepped down recently and his record of never losing a Test series in that entire time is unique.

He was a outstanding player and learnt his coaching techniques well from greats like Jack Gibson. He thought in the long term and reaped the rewards.

Fulton was from Warrington originally, of course and perhaps his home town should have wooed him back!

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.