George Riley of the BBC has revealed that the Rugby Football League is likely to strip a Super League license from one of the clubs currently in the top flight and hand it to a Championship club when the next set of licences are handed out.
This news will come a a bombshell to a number of Super League teams who have not been able to meet the set of standards the RFL set out for clubs to attain and solidify their place in the top flight competition.
The Championship Clubs right now that have met all the requirements for promotion are Halifax, Widnes, Barrow and Batley. If I had to hazard a guess, Widnes would be the front runner among those clubs to gain promotion.
As for the Super League clubs that are in trouble, all eyes are on Wakefield and Castleford. Both teams promised the RFL they would have an upgraded stadium to play out of by now and neither side has delivered on that promise.
Its understood that the local council is willing to move forward with plans to build a new stadium, but on the condition that both clubs ground share. That seems pretty straight forward, but it looks as though common sense is one a victim here.
That means if one of these sides gets the axe, you should not have any sympathy for them at all.
Salford, Harlequins and the Crusaders would all be under some pressure but I’d expect them to all make the cut for one reason or another. In Salfords case though, they would want to be playing out of this fictitious stadium they have been building for the last 25 years or next time around they will be axed and would find it hard to sway the RFL’s opinion that they would ever deserve to be in the top flight again.
I remember when Promotion and Relegation was scrapped, the old flat cappers cried bloody murder and said it would destroy the game. I think this news shows the complete opposite.
The likes of Huddersfield, Hull KR, Hull FC, and the Catalan Dragons have been able to build a longer term future because they know they don’t face relegation after one bad season.
For the Championship Clubs, instead of a year in year out race to an unrealistic goal of being a club worthy of promotion, teams can now build a better foundation and really put forward a stronger, longer term case that they have outgrown their current competition.
I personally hope that by the end of the year Toulouse meets the requirements for promotion, because I think we need another team in France for the long term future of Super League and the game in France too.
It would need a few things to work their way though!
What ever the case, its good to see the RFL is sticking to its guns on the standards it has set.
Finally, I just want to say that its great to see a UK Rugby League journo come up with a real exclusive and some real news! Far too often you see puff pieces put out in the UK media. The type of stuff that you know has been hand crafted by PR types back at club offices.
I’m forever banging on about the lack of true journalism in Rugby League ranks in the UK, so its great to see this type of news hit the internet.
Well done to George Riley, great stuff!
George Rileys Blog:Â Super League licence up for grabs
