Forty20’s May rugby league diary

BOTH the Betfred Super League and NRL have been increasingly unpredictable this season – with apologies, Wakefield fans.

More clubs are making a case for the big prize down the line, which is what we’ve craved for so long here and makes the sport more marketable. You can’t just rely on action anymore, though.

Two incidents have gone viral already this month, reaching massive audiences and triggering awareness and curiosity. Bernard’s bulls breaking free on the pitch before Catalans played Saints had over two million hits on Twitter. It was reported in media outlets including the New York Post,India Today, ESPN, Reuters and all the UK papers.

Similarly, Jake Wardle crashing through the advertising hoardings at Warrington during the England international and emerging safely before playing on hit a much wider audience than the Test itself.

It is in just these sorts of areas that IMG’s expertise can expect to make a significant difference.

Their grading proposals were passed by the RL Council with a majority of 86 per cent in favour although, in typical RL fashion, two clubs, Salford and London Skolars, wanted to change their vote afterwards. Clubs like Featherstone and Barrow who voted against also issued later statements saying that if there was resolution over the criteria for promotion, if clubs of similar grades were vying for a spot in SL, reverted back to onfield performance then they would be fully in favour, but endorsed the general direction of travel.

IMG are being guarded over the next steps and appear a little sensitive to having a lack of speed of change pointed out.

They are to bring forward proposals to revamp the Challenge Cup, propose a new event, instead of Magic, and drop loop fixtures, while also helping to facilitate an international calendar.

DISAPPOINTING though it was to see the celebration of 100 years of Wembley totally ignore a sport with a statue outside, that says more about league’s lack of profile these days rather than a deliberate slur.

Indeed stadium management and RFL congratulated each other on the contribution to its history. Another one for the IMG in-box.

SOMETIMES goings-on in other professional sports can offer handy and salutary views of league’s likely direction of travel as well. EFL clubs, for example, have unanimously approved a record domestic soccer broadcasting rights deal with Sky Sports worth £935million over five years – a record number of games for any club football agreement, £40m of which will be in marketing benefits.

In total, 1,059 EFL matches are to be broadcast exclusively across their channels or live via streaming.

Assuming there is anything left in the coffers – or schedule – Super League is next across the desk.

Subscription streaming broadcaster for Championship matches Viaplay, meanwhile, have just reported an operating loss of SEK454m (¤40.1m/$44.2m) in their international markets for the first quarter of 2023, but says they will make a full-year profit in 2024.

Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season.

However, after that deadline, clubs will still be able to feature gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.

The announcement follows a consultation between the league, its clubs and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of the government’s ongoing review of gambling legislation and is widely expected to be rolled out to other sports, like rugby league.

In cricket, the ICC has relaxed its rules re gambling sponsorships, allowing international teams to display betting brands on their kits during bilateral Test cricket and one-day international matches.

Meanwhile, in rugby union, a £50 million bombshell looks destined to sink the RFU administration and leave them in dire financial straits.

The shockwaves from a quarterly financial report presented to the RFU Council reverberated around Twickenham following the disclosure that the RFU, not long ago touted as the richest union in the world, is in mounting fiscal peril.

The Premiership clubs have a combined debt of £508m.

FINALLY, former World Cup CEO Jon Dutton has been appointed to a similar position in British Cycling.

That organisation’s chair is Frank Slevin, who occupies the same role on the RL Commercial board.

An historic deal for women’s sports in Australia has seen Channel Nine secure every NRLW game for 2023, in which a trio of English players will be involved.

That means over 100 hours of live and free coverage from July 22.

The women’s salary cap has also risen from $350,000 to $900,000 and will go up again to just over $1m in 2024 and $1.518m by 2027.

The minimum salary for an NRLW player has been set at $30,000 in 2023, increasing to $34,000 in 2024 and by 2027 it will be $50,600.

Hence the appeal for our top players.

DISAPPOINTING that the short list for the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards for rugby doesn’t include a league title, but maybe not surprising as it states it is run in association with the Rugby Union Writers’ Club.

THE RFL has ordered a number of junior fixtures to be played without spectators on touchlines in coming weeks, due to persistent unacceptable behaviour by parents or guardians of players at the clubs involved.

Kerry Simmons, the RFL’s safeguarding manager, said: “This is not a decision the Safeguarding Case Management Group ever wanted to take. However, we have been dealing with more instances of unacceptable behaviour than ever before in the early weeks of the 2023 season.

“We adopted a number of less drastic approaches with consistent offenders, but they did not achieve the necessary change. We all have a duty to protect the welfare and enjoyment of children. Junior players and match officials do it for fun, to build friendships and learn. We ask all adults to remember this.”

How sad that it has to say so.

THE GOVERNING body will also reaffirm its commitment to clean sport later this month, by backing UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week campaign (May 22-26).

LEARNING Disability Super League has returned, with the first festivals of 2023 being split over two regions.

Leeds Rhinos Foundation host one and Wigan Warriors welcome teams to the Robin Park Arena for the other, each including 15 clubs entering a combined 30 teams.

And LDRL will be part of Magic Weekend again, with matches on the pitch at St James’s Park on both days during half-time of the second fixture. There is also a festival planned at Kingston Park to coincide.

FORMER Forty20 columnist Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE is in even greater demand. The busiest man in the sport has been appointed to two board positions; in the new role of observer for the RFL – seeking to bring in someone with experience at the elite level to attend meetings, support discussions and to assist in succession planning. 

And his former club Leeds have made history with JJB’s appointment to the club’s board of directors.

He will now be the club’s first director of culture, diversity & inclusivity and becomes only the second ex-player in the 133-year history of Leeds CF&A Co Ltd after Gary Hetherington to join, and the first nonwhite member of the board.