The Rugby Football League went out of its way to free up this weekend so that England could play the Exiles team and have the best possible chance to prepare for the World Cup at seasons end. That makes me wonder, what happened to Scotland, Wales and Ireland this weekend? Why did the Rugby Football…
Once again the International Origin match has failed to provide the game with what it needs. England has not got the hit out it wanted, the Exiles team is getting worse and worse as the quality of Super League imports falls, fans are simply staying away and not buying into the concept…there is simply no…
The British and Irish Lions Rugby Union team is currently touring Australia. While Rugby Union in Australia might be a small sport that struggles to get a share of the spotlight, crowds have been good for their tour matches as Rugby Union fans come out of the woodwork and support the game. Steve Mascord this…
With just 3 wins from their 17 games, the London Broncos find themselves on the bottom of the Super League ladder. As someone that has stressed for years the importance of the London Broncos to the future of Super League, even I find myself questioning the future of the club. Where are they headed? What…
There were good games, close games, a few bludgers, controversy, and big crowd numbers that were able to be posted. To the bean counters at the Rugby Football League, it had everything you need to throw together a nice little press release that you can send out to the few media outlets that still care…
It is the worst case scenario and something that can not be tolerated by the Rugby Football League With scores tied up between Hull FC and Hull KR in their Magic Weekend derby game and just seconds remaining on the clock, Hull FC put a bomb up from just within their own half of the…
This weekend see’s Super League clubs take an entire round of games to one stadium, Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City. The concept was born as a way to try and open up expansion markets in Wales and Scotland. The Rugby Football League would take over a major stadium for one weekend and put on…
Right now there is a lot of talk about restructuring the Super League and Championship competitions. Some of the idea’s on the table seem alright. Others are completely ridiculous and should not even be up for consideration. The problem with all of the options being put up for discussion right now is that they do…
With NRL clubs now turning their attention to Super League players in an effort to boost depth in their squads, many within Super League had the same reaction. Raise the salary cap. Forgetting that a handful of clubs have gone belly up in Super League over the last few years with the salary cap set…
Who would have thought that after last years debacle the RFL would still press ahead with its disastrous International Origin match! You’ll have better luck putting a bet on Kentucky derby horse racing than you will predicting what the RFL does these days. The powers that be in England carry on these days like a crazy person that doesn’t realize they…
There is a stark reality that Super League fans and clubs need to accept. The days of buying decent players from the NRL are over. The days of picking and choosing who they would like to have in their sides are long gone. The days of big name imports have gone the way of the…
The Melbourne Storm have won their second trial match in 2013 in what was clearly a much needed hit out against the Leeds Rhinos. I’m not going to go into some huge breakdown of this match because it was only a trial game. The Storm had played one trial game before this match, against the…
In life, the ability to say the word “No” is very important. In fact, I’d go as far as to say our ability to say the word “No” is what our entire society is based around. You see, for things to run smoothly you need some level of control. You need to be able to…
An investigation by BBC Inside Out has found that Super League clubs have a combined debt of around £68.5 million. Sports Finance expert Rob Wilson explained the situation as “There are too many teams generating insufficient turnover and generating too much cumulative debt”. Incredibly, the Rugby Football League’s director of standards and licensing Blake Solly…
The ridiculous “International Origin” series set up by the Rugby Football League has been scaled back to just one game in 2013, no doubt a sign the series is already on its way out. This year the game will be played on Friday the 14th of June at Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington. Tickets will…
If you are part of a management team that decides to give away the naming rights sponsor of a competition that is struggling for money for no money what so ever, you should be fired. When you go back to your superiors and tell them about the great deal you “negotiated” that will see you…
Sport England has announced that they have slashed funding to the Rugby Football League due to a failure in reaching participation goals it has agree to with Sport England from 2009-2013. Sport England was to have given the Rugby Football League £29,408,341 during that period. Instead the RFL will now recieve £27,563,684, a drop of…
The 2013 World Club Challenge between the Melbourne Storm and Leeds Rhinos will be played at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. Shocking I know… It was mid October when the same old people in England started talking about trying to play the World Club Challenge in Australia. I wrote that The World Club Challenge Won’t Be…
The problem a lot of Super League teams are faced with is spending more money than they make. That is the simplistic answer to the financial issues dogging the likes of Salford, Castleford and Hull KR. The salary cap sits at £1.65m. That means that clubs can spend up to that limit on wages and…
It is an issue that fires up a lot of fans and one I think is pretty clear cut. What happens when a clubs finds itself in a perilous financial situation and is fighting for its life. Should a governing body step in and take control of the situation, or should they stand back and let things…
With the Salford City reds currently await a winding up petition hearing and the recent spate of big clubs going bust, it begs the question, what does the future have in store for Rugby League in England? Last season we saw one of the biggest clubs in English RL History, the Bradford Bulls arrive at…
English Rugby League fullback Sam Tomkins has narrowly avoided death after being attacking by a white lion in South Africa. Tomkins, who is part of the English squad that is currently undergoing altitude training incorrectly thanks to the RFL, was taking in some of the local wild life when the vicious animal snapped and almost tore his…
It happens every single year… After a Super League champion has been crowned the attention of the English Rugby League media turns towards their participation in the World Club Challenge. Every single season we hear the same thing from Super League clubs, they all say they would love to play the World Club Challenge in…
The Leeds Rhinos have defeated the Warrington Wolves 26-18 to take out yet another Super League title. The game wasn’t all that great in terms of quality but English fans seemed to enjoy it. Both teams had their chances to go on and win the game but at the end of the day Leeds experience…
The Rugby Football League’s licencing system has come under fire recently after the financial collapse of the Bradford Bulls showed it up for what it really was. The grading of clubs in such black and white terms was completely ridiculous. Putting clubs into different categories was always going to lead to problems simply because so…
The Bradford Bulls will stay in Super League in 2013 but me “monitored”, what ever that means. Probably would have been handy if they were “monitored” in the lead up to them going into administration, but hey, what do I know! This decision will rub a lot of people up the wrong way but it…
The Rugby Football League are very serious about winning the 2013 World Cup. So serious that they are looking to become pioneers. They are looking to go to extremes to get that winning edge. They are willing to go to all ends of the Earth to make sure they are the best prepared team bar…
The Warrington Wolves have defeated the Leeds Rhinos 35-18 at Wembley Stadium to claim the 2012 Challenge Cup Final.The game will probably be remembered for an incredible change in the weather in the first half. Kicking off in sunshine, part way through the first have of the match a massive thunderstorm passed over the ground…
Yesterday the RFL announced that it would be ending its naming rights deal with Stobart that saw them give away one of their biggest assets for stickers on trucks. It is interesting to look at the reaction to the news and the way some people have tried to defend the deal or revise their previous…
The Administrator in charge of the Bradford Bulls has made members of the clubs front office and coaching staff redundant today, including head coach Michael Potter. Assistant coach Francis Cummins is the only member of the coaching staff left to prepare the squad for their next Super League game. What a mess. It is a…