The year is 2014 and a bloated Super League includes 14 clubs. After 27 rounds London Broncos and Bradford Bulls finish last and second last respectively, winning a combined total of just nine games out of 54, and are both relegated.
In the same season, with Nigel Wood as Rugby Football League chief executive, the clubs vote to end the licensing system and cut the competition from 14 to 12 teams for 2015.
The aim is to create a more competitive league, reduce mismatches and improve the quality on the field.
Fast forward 11 years and history repeats itself. The controversial Wood is back in charge at the RFL, after a bloody coup led by the owners of Leigh Leopards, Leeds Rhinos and St Helens – as exclusively revealed by The i Paper in February – overthrew the board of the governing body in March.
Wood, who is also part-owner of Bradford, and who was kicked out by a majority of the clubs in 2018, is tasked with running a strategic review into the sport.
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The RFL amends its articles of association to avoid Sport England’s questions over governance and appoints Wood. Included on his panel reviewing rugby league are several of Wood’s associates and former RFL employees.
Behind the scenes, insiders claim for months that Wood and his cabal already have the answers for their review pre-ordained – the expansion of Super League from 12 to 14 clubs, a merged competition with regional divisions for the Championship and League One, a sidelining of partner IMG and its controversial grading system that is similar to licensing, harsher terms for French teams in the RFL structure, and major cost-cutting measures that include the end of Rugby League Commercial.
The beneficiaries of a new 14-team Super League? Sources insist that Bradford, York and London, now owned by Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington, will be in, with struggling Salford Red Devils relegated and Toulouse Olympique XIII overlooked.
Media reports revealing this weeks ahead of time are regularly dismissed and discredited by those in power, with threats and insults fired off.
Salford Red Devils fans made their feelings clear in February (Photo: Getty)But then on Monday 28 July came the official announcement like a lead balloon: “The 12 existing Betfred Super League clubs have today voted to extend the competition to 14 teams for the 2026 season, subject to conditions.”
Cue the meltdowns. Shocked, the rugby league world certainly was not.
But the kicker came in the next paragraph: “This would be done by combining the Club Grading System introduced to determine Super League membership as part of the sport’s long-term strategic partnership with IMG in 2022, with an independent panel to be chaired by Lord Jonathan Caine, who was recently elected as a member of the Rugby Football League Board, and the Strategic Review Sub-Committee.
“The top 12 clubs under grading at the conclusion of the 2025 domestic season will be joined by two clubs recommended by that panel – provided the panel judges there are two applications of sufficient merit against the set criteria.”
Super League effectively confirmed that IMG’s grading will only be used for the first 12 teams – basically ensuring Salford will be kicked out – with an RFL panel to decide the remaining two spots.
Wood and his group believe a 14-team Super League, with the elimination of loop fixtures, will make the competition a more attractive proposition and earn a better broadcast deal from Sky Sports.
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The kicker? According to several sources, Sky has not been consulted about this expansion, is displeased, and there is no guarantee they will offer more money to televise the sport in the future.
Along with broadcasters, the fans and the players, the employees of the clubs have not been consulted at all over these changes. Many are appalled and angry over the lack of transparency and fairness of the process.
At the crux of the whole issue is money, power and control. Wood and his supporters now wield complete influence over UK rugby league and remain convinced that an expanded Super League will be a financial windfall.
The problem is, history and evidence suggest otherwise. Not only have the developments from 2014 not been learned from, but the local player pool is even weaker now than it was a decade ago. The issues of popularity and participation are not being addressed.
The regurgitation of the same failed leaders and individuals, over and over again, shows that self-interest and self-righteousness reign supreme. The paradox of rugby league remains ever-true – yearning to be bigger than it is, but its M62 owners are unwilling to loosen their grip over the reins.
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