Sinfield named RFL rugby Director

[BriH]

My first question is this:
Was the job advertised?
Secondly, I would have thought that relevant experience would be a prerequisite for such a post. Does King Kev have such experience?
Third, I would love to know how many staff the RFL has and what is their salary bill?
How does it compare to a similar sized Company with the same revenue?
For Dr Koukash and others to pursue.
Like others, it smacks of 'Jobs for the boys' and further strengthens the White Rose influence and, by inference, Leeds.

[robbobillinge]

Following on from BRH, was there a job description?, How widely was the job advertised?,(Oz, NZ?), was there a short list?, who was on the Appointment Panel?, what are the Terms & Conditions of Appointment. I have no problem with anyone being appointed provided that they are the best person for the job. I have no evidence so far that this is the case.

[bill.inger]

How many of you would have been so cynical had this position had gone to Lockers. There's nothing wrong with Sinfield in this position and I don't understand the pro-Leeds sentiment involving Sinfield and his new position.
Had, just supposing, that Lockers was now in that job, the only criticisms would be from Leeds and Aints supporters and we would all think how biased they were, all because the RFL had made a decent appointment for once.
Get real, it's a job Sinfield will have to grow into and I think it's a wise appointment.

[SJ]

I think your missing the point Bill. Brih and Robo raise some poignant questions that the RFL needs to address not withstanding whoever was appointed to the Job. There are proper procedures to go through if the RFL wants to secure its credibility

[Nezza Faz]

I think your missing the point Bill. Brih and Robo raise some poignant questions that the RFL needs to address not withstanding whoever was appointed to the Job. There are proper procedures to go through if the RFL wants to secure its credibility

There could have been attempts made by rugby union to have him involved in some capacity, such as Marketing, Player/Schools Development Officer, etc so would that not then have been a much publicised loss to our game, and would people not have said how could the RFL have let him slip through the net to ru, after all his years in league ?

It also refers to his involvement in the England squad, a move perhaps to balance Bennett's NRL player involvement, which could be controversial with so many non-English names mentioned.

I've no real problem with his move, it could be a good strategy to have someone of his experience on board at both domestic and international level and agree with other posters that whoever was selected, fingers would have been pointed by other clubs fans. Sometimes you do just have to see the bigger picture.

[SJ]

I hear what you say and your speculative comments may be the case but I still think like Bill your missing the points raised by Robo and Bri as to procedures theRFL may or may not have adhered to. My opinion is very much concerned with "the bigger picture" which exceeds the considerations you refer to. Be that as it may hopefully his appointment will be successful for RL in general.

[markill]

It's got nothing to do with Leeds and I don't see Sinfield as that sort of character to do things purposely to favour his former club, but I don't understand his role. Was this something they were looking for already or have they just done it for some kind of headlines and credit. The RFL have certainly gone big on publicising the deal.

You can hardly blame the RFL when Sinfield gained so much attention last season and did so well in in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Vote.

Any good publicity for our game cannot be bad when you look at the way sport news is now dominated by the overated and overpaid game of Football.

But the more cynical will say they now know why the chips were stacked against Wigan winning last year's Grand Final with the Hull KR supporters thinking the same about the Challenge Cup Final

But the appointment has to be useful and purposeful beyond the publicity element alone. Any publicity is good, but Sinfield isn't doing the job for free and that money could have been used for some other types of publicity events if the job isn't really needed. I just want to understand the way the role was created and it's purpose/scope a bit more before I pass judgement on whether or not it is a great appointment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to understand things more before expressing an opinion on it.

On Sinfield himself, I do think he has things to offer and I do know that he has undertaken studies outside of the game and been looking to gain some sort of experience to help prepare him for a role in sports administration. I've heard him on 5live and radio Manchester talking about it. Whether or not he is the best person for this job I don't know, because I don't really understand what the job is and what the criteria was for the recruitment/appointment.

[fozzieskem]

Im glad I'm not alone in wondering what his job will/is going to be,it's a rather broad brush that's been used one,frankly I feel has been created rather than was needed,I find it amusing while the RFL have seemingly created this role,they still haven't filled Blake Sollys role as super leagues manager

[moto748]

I'm pleased that a figure of Sinfield's stature is not being lost to the sport, too. And I don't think there's a point-missing going on either.

The points about advertising, job descriptions, etc are not unreasonable ones to make, but again, hand on heart, would any of us be quibbling about that if it were Lockers who was being announced for the job?

[bill.inger]

Touche moto, but I still think Sinfield would have been better employed being fast-tracked to grade one referee status then offered a position at HQ in five years time.