What’s that old saying about the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Yet that has not stopped the return of Nigel Wood, a man who the RFL willingly parted with £300,000 severance for when he resigned in 2018, to a position of power at the top of rugby league in the UK.
The governing body’s former chief executive and part-owner of Betfred Championship side Bradford Bulls will head up a club-led strategic review of the sport and become interim RFL chair following Simon Johnson’s resignation from the role after months of manouvering behind the scenes for regime change.
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“The clubs overwhelmingly supported the proposal of Nigel Wood OBE, who served with distinction at the RFL for 17 years, to chair a committee to undertake this work, addressing the challenges we all recognise the sport is facing, and demonstrated that support by way of completing proxy votes to be presented to the RFL,” a joint statement from Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington and Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont, two of the big hitters demanding change, read.
“He is considered without doubt by those who have proposed him to be the best and most experienced person for the job given his extensive knowledge of all aspects of the game which can only have been further reinforced having also gained experience of running a club.”
Wood’s defenders often point to the fact he was at the RFL’s helm when the sport secured a £40million per season broadcast deal with Sky Sports from 2017-2021, the value of which at its last renewal ahead of the 2024 campaign had nearly halved to £21.5million per season until the end of 2026.
The post-pandemic broadcasting landscape is very different to what it was eight years ago though and rugby league is not the only sport which has seen the value of its rights dip, so anyone expecting a sudden rise in those is, realistically, engaging in wishful thinking.
While that is one in the credit column for Wood, as is his overseeing of the successful 2013 Rugby League World Cup in England, there is plenty on the debit side.
The “for exposure” sponsorship deal Super League signed with Stobart, £2million in losses for the RFL, declining participation numbers, failed expansion and a shrinking media profile are just some of the priors which happened on his watch.
Even International Rugby League chairman Troy Grant made a veiled dig at Wood in a statement on Johnson’s departure, lamenting the previous “selfish amateur administration, lack of vision and strategy and poor governance” of the global governing body which the 61-year-old served 18 years on the board of and was chief executive of.
And although social media reaction should be taken with a pinch of salt, the fact the comments under the link to the statement posted on the RFL’s Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon were universal derision is an indicator of the feelings towards Wood in the wider game and among its fanbase.
There still remains the conflict of interest question too, because even with Wood stepping down as Bradford chairman while he oversees this review, he remains a part-owner which barely lessens said conflict.
Even so, plenty involved in running clubs having given him their backing, with Wakefield Trinity owner Matt Ellis among them, hailing Wood’s passion for rugby league.
“He’ll make common-sense decisions, he’ll work with the clubs to understand what’s not working and what they’re struggling with,” Ellis told The Yorkshire Post.
“I speak to him twice a week about rugby and those chats are two hours long. It’s all about improving the fan experience, coming up with ideas to make the game more entertaining and making sure clubs are financially sustainable so we avoid more Salford situations.
“He’ll work smarter and grow the game whilst making sure we don’t waste money like we do now.”
Which is all fine, but it begs the question as to why Wood seemingly failed to do any of that when he was chief executive?
And on the subject of chief executives, where is RFL CEO Tony Sutton in all of this? Is he expected to just rubber-stamp whatever proposals Wood’s club-led review comes back with?
The findings of the review, which is set to encompass the entire game, are set to be presented at the next RFL council meeting in July.
It might not be a surprise if those conclusions include terminating the partnership with IMG, handing power to the clubs, and going cap in hand to the NRL asking them to buy out the British game.
There is an old Chinese curse which states: “May you live in interesting times.” Things have certainly got a whole lot more interesting for rugby league on the back of Wood’s return.
