This weekend sees the Rugby League World Cup kick off, with England taking on PNG in Townsville on Saturday. The Kangaroos then take on the Kiwis, in what could easily be an early look at the final - these are the two sides considered favourites to win, although England might have something to say about that.

This will be the first World Cup in eight years, which just goes to show how insignificant international rugby league is at the moment. Really, only Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain offer any real competition at the highest level.

When you consider the amount of talented Pacific Island boys who play in the NRL and Super League, it's a shame that Samoa and Tonga don't play more regular Test matches. It's going to be interesting to see how they go in the World Cup - we've already seen Tonga play the Kiwis, and it wasn't the best performance we've seen.

Still - the fact that they get to represent their country on the grand stage is important for the growth of the game in the Pacific Islands, and if they can get a few more games under their belt they can definitely start improving. It's important that they can hold onto their star players like Feleti Mateo, rather than having them play in the World Cup and then go off to play for Australia or New Zealand.

We don't have a problem with them playing for Australia or New Zealand if that's who they want to play for, but they can't choose to play for one team and then another - it's just not healthy for the growth of international rugby league.

The rules need to be made clear - you make your choice who you want to play for, and that's final.

The World Cup should be very exciting, and it gives us a great opportunity to see some other countries that we don't get to watch - for the simple fact that they don't play enough league at this level.

Make the most of it, league fans, because rugby league World Cups don't come around very often. Besides, this is the last lot of rugby league action for the year, so absorb as much of it as you can!

We're sure you wont be disappointed.