How to spend the bailout?

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The Yonner
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How to spend the bailout?

Post by The Yonner »

With today's news that the government has offered a loan of 16 million to save the sport of rugby league, were comments from Hull KR's chairman that there are too many professional clubs, taking into account Super League, Championship and League1.

It is clear from his comments that the Super League clubs will swallow the bulk of this loan and let the part timers go the the wall - you might call it Super League's version of herd immunity.

As a rugby league fan for 50 years, it grieves me to see the state of clubs which were once strong, with big followings like Oldham, Halifax, Featherstone and the cumbrian clubs barely surviving.

If the survival of the fittest policy reaches it's ultimate conclusion, we could start up again with just 12 super league clubs, and all the rest folding or becoming amateur clubs.

We are lucky that Wigan remains one of the select few, but is that really what we want to be part of?

Rugby League came into being as a working class sport, which provided recreation and entertainment for working class people in the industrial towns in the North of England, and did so more or less successfully for 100 years. In the last 25 years the number of northern towns with a professional club has declined from 30 part time to only 10 full-time professional clubs, and probably no part timers if the current crop of owners get their way.

Personally, I think rugby league was holed below the waterline as a separate code of rugby when rugby union went professional; and the best way forward to save rugby in the northern communities might be to consider a merger with rugby union.

Heretical I know, but the reason for rugby league's separation from rugby union has surely ceased to exist. The union game is evolving fast into an attractive spectator sport, following the same trajectory as rugby league did from 1895.

If the sport of rugby league at professional level is no longer sustainable in today's economic climate, all options should be considered, and a unified rugby sport does not seem such a bad idea in comparison with the alternatives.
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Re: How to spend the bailout?

Post by josie andrews »

Is £16million enough to save rugby league?

Adrian Morley and Terry O'Connor discuss what the government's cash injection into rugby league means for the sport

The government has announced an emergency loan of £16million to the RFL to safeguard the immediate future of the sport as it deals with the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Government pledges £16m to rescue rugby league
'No gravy train - RFL will use Government money wisely'
Speaking on the Golden Point Daily podcast, Terry O'Connor said the Government support is enough to save the sport and highlighted league's community service as a vital factor in securing the loan.

"I do believe this cash injection has helped save the game, " said O'Connor.

We are not a rich sport, but what we are, is rich in what we do within the community, and everyone buys into it.

"We may not sell out stadiums week after week, but they have a massive impact on the local area.

"The government recognises the great work that the clubs do for the whole of the community. It is not just about what happens on matchday, but also what they do during the week - whether it be players going into schools, the community department really do get involved.

"I think for Ralph Rimmer to do the job that he has done with the RFL and get the funding for the Super League, Championship, Championship 1 etc is excellent. All these clubs will benefit."

Great Britain and England legend Adrian Morley believes that without the support from the government, the sport would have been in serious trouble.

"The coronavirus has been horrific. For sports that are not as big as other sports - such as rugby league, it could be catastrophic.

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... gby-league
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Mike
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Re: How to spend the bailout?

Post by Mike »

How much is 16M really when spread across the whole game? Payroll for maybe 1-2 months? Maybe more with everyone furloughed and the government paying for most of that. It sounds like a lot but when split across all the clubs it won't last long.
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Caboosegg
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Re: How to spend the bailout?

Post by Caboosegg »

RFL will use it to pay redundancy to themselves.

It could be used to pay the cost of the suggested locations for games behind closed doors.

And on the orginals post section on union. Premiership union is boring to watch, while i will happily sit and watch international union.

The games are different union would not merge they at most would let league fold into union... but no thank you.
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