Less than two weeks ago the good, the bad and the influential of rugby league could be found in a bar in Las Vegas, overlooking the Strip and the famous Bellagio casino. Powerbrokers from the Rugby Football League (RFL), Rugby League Commercial, the National Rugby League (NRL), Super League and other key figures were meeting under the warm Nevada night sky at a crucial time for the sport.
It was the evening before rugby league officially returned to the United States in style, the second year of the NRL’s bold blueprint to increase its global footprint. The alcohol was flowing freely and smiles were shared ahead of the ambitious event at the Allegiant Stadium.
But behind the scenes the political maneuvering and deals continued at pace. For months English rugby league had been quietly tearing itself apart, with a large group of clubs quietly angling for the removal of RFL chairman Simon Johnson and director Sandy Lindsay, and the appointment of Nigel Wood as interim chair, as exclusively reported by The i Paper in February.
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Johnson was spotted in Vegas in deep talks with Gary Hetherington, chief executive of Leeds Rhinos, one of the key plotters seeking to enforce change at the RFL.
He spoke at the party about how he was against the plot and how the return of the controversial Wood, who was turfed out as RFL chief executive when Super League split from the governing body in 2018, was the wrong call.
It has all proved ultimately in vain with Johnson announcing his intention to resign yesterday, a day before the RFL Council was due to meet in Wakefield and where it is expected he would have been voted out. The Council meeting was cancelled after Johnson quit and Wood’s appointment was confirmed.
Johnson’s exit followed a shocking week for the governing body after Lindsay also stepped down and it was confirmed that director Rob Hicks, suspended for the past six months following an investigation, had also left after a “mutually agreed” departure.
The RFL has been engulfed by crisis after crisis in the past few months.
Critics of the organisation can point to its inept handling of the Salford Red Devils ownership saga, which has still not been resolved and has overshadowed the start of the season, its lack of leadership and communication, its running of the women’s game after England were thrashed 90-4 by the Jillaroos, and RFL vice-president Danika Priim stepping down from her role after being charged with sexual assault. Priim has not yet entered a plea and is due back in court on Thursday.
It is a sorry state of affairs that has only been compounded in the past few days by the emergence of a new payment crisis at Featherstone Rovers and the publication of a scathing open letter from a group, purporting to be from the “Women of the RFL and RL Commercial”, slamming the attempt to overthrow the leadership of the governing body.
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The letter states: “We, as a group of women who represent the RFL and RL Commercial, are reaching out to express our profound concern regarding the possible reinstatement of several former senior men into leadership roles within our sport.
“If these rumours are accurate, we fear their return could severely undermine the significant progress made in advancing the women’s game, our careers, and the inclusive workplace culture we have tirelessly built.”
It is believed the group were worried about the return of Wood and potential cuts that may follow in funding to the women’s game. Several former Featherstone players have alleged the club owes them money, including winger Greg Eden and prop Samy Kibula, echoing last year’s payment crisis that engulfed the Championship outfit.
This has all come under the backdrop of the widespread glow of the Vegas event and a potential NRL takeover, with the positivity generated by the American adventure quickly dissipating by constant in-fighting and missteps.
Where the sport in the UK goes next is anybody’s guess. While the splinter group of clubs, led by Leeds Rhinos, Leigh Leopards and St Helens Saints, and supported by Hull KR, Hull FC, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity, had the necessary support to force more change at the RFL and install Wood, some opposition remains. The i Paper understands Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants were against the return of Wood, and numerous sources insist the NRL remains wary of the Bradford Bulls part-owner.
International Rugby League chairman Troy Grant on Tuesday described the international game as “suffering a telling period of selfish amateur administration, lack of vision and strategy and poor governance” when Wood was in charge. Wood has been contacted for comment.
The bloodletting may not even be over. Speculation persists that the position of RFL chief executive Tony Sutton is also under threat, and that Hicks could even potentially return in the future in a senior role at RL Commercial. In a sport as Machiavellian as Game of Thrones, anything appears possible.
While the bodies pile up in the boardroom the players, fans and commercial partners watch from the sidelines. UK rugby league tore itself apart seven years ago and after the Covid-19 pandemic realigned again in 2022.
Less than three years on no lessons have been learned from that painful episode.
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