IT'S tempting to wonder whether the Rugby Football League has got its priorities right.
The powers that be seem intent on widening the sport's boundaries - but at the expense of rugby league's traditional heartland.
The men who run the 13-a-side code have been at it again ahead of the new Super League season, which starts on Friday.
The game's great strengths - speed, skill, power and brute force - will be there for all to see. So will its weaknesses.
Two clubs will be relegated this season as the RFL again tried to secure a foothold on French soil, with the inclusion of UTC - to be based in Perpignan - from the summer of 2006.
While the RFL tries to spread the Super League word, clubs in rugby league heartlands such as Oldham, Halifax, Castleford and Cumbria suffer on the fringes of the sport. This summer, traditional clubs such as Salford, Leigh, Wakefield and Widnes will be looking down at two relegation trapdoors that could open under their feet, rather than just one, as room is made for the French outfit. This does not seem right.
At last night's new season launch, RFL executive chairman Richard Lewis proudly spoke of record crowds in last season's Super League, of a new seven-figure sponsorship deal with assurance company Engage, and of going from strength to strength.
But there is a feeling that the sport should be doing better - that the league is too predictable, and that there are too many one-sided games.
A former tennis pro - and a southerner - Lewis is an unlikely figure to have washed up a RFL headquarters in Leeds.
But he insists that the RFL is doing its bit for the sport's heartlands.
He said: "We are now on a sound financial footing and are investing heavily in clubs in the northern heartland to allow them to grow the game.
"We have a club support unit that helps clubs to generate extra income, and all sorts of things - we are throwing the clubs in the heartland as much as we are elsewhere.
"Having said that, Super League can't afford to stand still. The French club does add a whole new pool of talent.
"There are 6,000 people playing rugby league in the south of France, and it gives us a chance to grow the game internationally."
Connection
We have been here before with the French connection, of course.
The inaugural Super League in 1995 had Paris St Germain, a gang of Aussies who made no lasting impression whatsoever.
And attempts to grow the game elsewhere have not worked.
The Welsh have failed to support several attempts to establish league in the union-mad valleys, while London Broncos are clinging on in Brentford with an average gate of around 3,500.
But Lewis insists the RFL have got it right this time: "Last time we tried to get a toehold in France, we went to Paris, which had no tradition of rugby league.
"It all happened really quickly as the Sky TV money came along and we said `Let's put a Super League club in Paris'.
"We have been in Perpignan for two-and-a-half years. They had to put forward a business plan in competition with other clubs."
There is another glaring problem with Super League. It has become too predictable - anyone with a little knowledge about the game could predict the final placings of all 12 clubs, and they would not be far wrong come September.
Lewis partially accepts this criticism. He said: "I don't totally disagree as Leeds dominated last year - but they didn't win the Challenge Cup.
"Hull were in second place for a long time and now Warrington have the infrastructure to start challenging the top four or five. And not many people predicted Castleford would be relegated.
"Go back to the season before and Bradford won all three trophies, but lost at home four or five times.
"But we would like to see more competition. That is happening - the salary cap is having an effect and the 20-20 rule is dispersing talent. Slowly but surely, the gap is narrowing."
Comments
Login or Register to comment
In response to an article regarding Super League, firstly we need to help the French game as it has been decimated by France Rugby Union. It is a real hot bed for Rugby League and an opportunity not to be missed.
Super League is not predictable, last season 11th placed Widnes beat 4th placed Wigan, any one of four or five teams could get relegated whilst five teams are more than capable of winning the Grand Final. Last season attendances were the highest since 1973, the people who manage Rugby League are making real progress!
Thank You
Tim
The thing is League needs to spread wider than the M62 corridoor.
Teams like Catleford, Halifax, Leigh and at present Salford do very little to enhance the sport.
It is up to these clubs to grow and develop and attract new fans.
A club in London may presently attract only 3,500 per game but its presence gives League a foothold in the south.
We need more teams in places like Wales, Southern Engalnd and other rugby mad areas.
Whilst the crowds generated by the Broncos are a bit disappointing, you need to see what they are helping to achieve down here. This Saturday I spent a very pleasant day watching South London playing West London in the Challenge Cup, followed by a friendly between the Broncos and the London Skolars. There were a thousand people there, plenty of kids, people from all across the community. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Many new clubs are springing up across London and the game is really booming. That's due to a combination of good management, enthusiasm of volunteers and the profile the Broncos bring.
This weekend I was part of a crowd of a thousand who watched West London play South London in a superb Challenge Cup 1st round tie. The Broncos are just a part of a growing, thriving exciting RL community in the capital. Modern RL extends well outside the traditional heartlands.
I think the Super League have got it right with the inclusion of the French team. They have to expand geographically to ensure the continued growth of the game - and hopefully the Broncos won't go down this year as London is also important in the game's quest for a fully national identity. Tough on teams struggling to survive in SL or reach it - but I'm sure as Super League gets better and stronger it can accommodate more clubs. Ultimately, it would be good if Super Leagus is (in some ways) like the US NFL. There they have 32 teams in the league - all starting on a level playing field. (Salary cap, draft etc.) with no relegation to cause the huge financial difficulties of leaving the premier division.
Anyway - good luck to the Reds this year!
Predictability hasn't harmed soccer. Chelsea are out on their own, Man Utd and Arsenal are next and then there's the rest who continue to get good crowds despite knowing they're just making the numbers up. The top group in Super League consists of Leeds, Bulls, Wigan, Saints while Hull, Wire, Giants, Salford and Trinity have all improved and will give the top teams a run for their money this season. SuperLeague X - bring it on - get out and see it.
I'm taking it that Stuart hasn't a great knowledge of rugby league given the article he's written.
The accusation of predictability in Super League may have been spot on three or four years ago, but no longer.
Had he predicted last year that Castleford would have been relegated, that Wakefield would have finished in the top 6, beating Hull in the play offs, that Bradford would have failed to totally dominate the competition as they had threatened to do at the start of the season - he would have been a very rich man.
By the way if it's so easy to predict in which position every club will finish this year, give it a try and see how accurate you are at the end.
And let's nail this one once and for all - Perpignan IS part of the rugby league heartland. Rugby League in the south of france has a huge and proud tradition. They play and watch their rugby league there with the same passion as they play and watch it in Castleford, Leigh, Workington et al.
But it needs nurturing, so that the French can return to a competitive level on the international stage.
If that doesn't happen, Stuart will be writing stories about how rugby league has failed as a sport because it doesn't have a vibrant international stage and is only played in the Northern heartlands with all the attendant predictability.
Stuart asserts that Super League is too predictable. However, the long term trend since the introduction of summer rugby has been one of increasing competitiveness. In the nine seasons of summer rugby league, the Super League has been won by four different teams and the Challenge Cup by six different sides. Contrast this with the last nine seasons of winter rugby league when only two teams won the Championship and two teams won the Challenge Cup (with Wigan completing a league and cup double on six of those occasions).
Re my previous comments - it should read FIVE clubs have won the Challenge Cup (not six) in the summer era.
Cheers!