Saturday, 18 February 2012

Rugby League Going Global


Rugby league bosses hope to expand the sport by making games between the leading English and Australian clubs a regular part of the fixture list.

Currently the Australian champions meet their Super League counterparts annually in the World Club Challenge.

"There's room for more of our leading clubs to take the field against their leading clubs," said Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood.

"We've got four, five, six clubs that are the match of the sides in the NRL."

“We have to go 12,000 miles, which complicates the options, but fundamentally there is room for growth in the international club matches”Nigel Wood

Leeds beat Manly 26-12 at Headingley on Friday to become the first Super League team since 2008 to win the World Club Challenge.

The match has taken place in England once a year for the last 13 seasons, but Wood revealed that could change in the not too distant future.

"There has been lots of talk and lots of suggestion about the Middle East or the Far East or playing alternate years in Sydney or the rest of Australia," he told BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

"The fundamental issue for us is that we believe that international club football has got growth in it. There is room for more evenings such as this.

"The players and the supporters deserve an opportunity to see those clubs take the field of combat against each other.

"I'm pretty sure over the next couple of years something will evolve to the satisfaction of both our clubs and the NRL's."

Wood admitted the distance between England and Australia could make the the logistics problematic.

But he believes it is inevitable that the idea will come to fruition.

"It's obviously more difficult in rugby league than it would be in soccer or rugby union where you can play international club football in Europe," Wood continued.

"We have to go 12,000 miles, which complicates the options, but fundamentally there is room for growth in the international club matches.

"You just have to sit down with the Australians and work out what the right formula is.

"We're pretty sure that they will look at this as an opportunity to expand what is a great part of the rugby league calendar."