BY JOHN DAVIDSON
“I want to us to big and transparent and bold, even if that does trip us up at times.”
That was one of Rugby Football League CEO Ralph Rimmer’s takeaway lines to the media at a briefing in Saddleworth last month.
It’s fair to say it’s been a difficult nine months since Rimmer was officially appointed as Nigel Wood’s successor, after serving in the top job for several months as interim CEO. There was heavy criticism to him taking him the role.
Many saw it as an ‘inside job’, a fait accompli that Rimmer, the ultimate insider, was given it.
Since Rimmer’s promotion was announced there has been a breakaway of Super League in control from the RFL, the controversial decision to charge Catalans and Toronto to participate in the Challenge Cup, and struggling crowds for last year’s three Test series against New Zealand on home soil.
Granted, England did impressively beat the Kiwis 2-1, but poor attendances at Hull and Liverpool did not look great.
But the tall Cumbrian was on the offensive at this briefing in April to push the message of change, strategy and positivity for the RFL. Rimmer is keen to be seen as his own man and not as a puppet of his predecessor.
Many in rugby league, rightly or wrongly, still view Wood as being in the wings pulling strings.
While opportunities to interview the RFL head have been sparse since his appointment, despite his claim previously that he would be accessible to the media, here was an opportunity for Rimmer to be probed and prodded. He presented the RFL’s strategy for the next three years, which included a refresh of the initial plan presented from 2015-2021.
Included in it was the importance of 2021 World Cup in England, and capitalizing on it, growing participation, generating and diversifying new incomes, an upcming Sport England revenue of rugby league, improving its digital operations, growing the Championship, League 1 and the women’s game, as well as involvement in securing a new TV broadcast deal. The RFL becoming more transparent is one of its corporate goals.
Rimmer was keen to stress the importance of the next World Cup on UK soil. The 2013 tournament was a huge success, one of the biggest achievements by the RFL in the past decade.
That World Cup was the most successful ever, in terms of profit and attendances, and took the sport to many different and new locations. But you can argue that six years on the tournament left little legacy in places like Bristol, Limerick, Neath and Wrexham.
It was a fantastic sugar hit at the time, and improved the RLIF’s coffers, but didn’t create long-term change.
“The 2021 World Cup will be transformative for the sport,” Rimmer said.
“We need to milk every last drop out of the World Cup before it departs these shores. We also have a Sport England review, which it will be really significant for us.”
While often the split between RFL and Super League have seen the two painted as being at bitter loggerheads, as in dispute, Rimmer tried to play this down.
“There’s been a bit of unconscious uncoupling going on, it’s all been amicable,” he said.
“The onus is on me and Robert to not have a messy split….. we speak a lot, me and Robert. Probably every week. The imperative for us to work together to grow the game.”
There remains an uneasy relationship between the RFL and Super League at the moment. There cannot do without each other, but you get the feeling Elstone and his team would like more autonomy and power without the contraits of the governing body.
Part of that working together will be in the next, and incredibly crucial, broadcast deal. Super League will talk the lead in talks with Sky, and other broadcasters, but still the effect on the RFL will be big and Rimmer said his organization will hold its own negotiations for broadcast of the two lower leagues.
“The broadcast negotiation will be different this time around,” he admitted.
“Super League are going to do their best to commercialise as best they can that broadcast contract. It will unlikely to come in the form of one big chunk.
“We will have a negotiation of our. We want to help Super League maximize that [their deal], we’re supporting them in that.
“I’d be surprised if broadcast negotiations haven’t started before the end of next year. We need to put ourselves in the best place possible for them, that is the key.”
Growing the Championship and League 1, building their crowds and interest levels, is a key focus for the RFL over the next years to help attract a better broadcast contract.
Attendances for both divisions are up in 2019, though the promotion of Bradford, the promotion of London and relegation of Widnes, and the fact that the amount of clubs in the Championship was expanded has undeniably helped.
“We need to be in a better place,” Rimmer said.
“We need to be able to demonstrate we’re going forward because you can’t get to a negotiation and cross your heart and hope to die that we’re going to improve beyond that. It’s about adding value, all of us together.”
The RFL’s stated corporate goals include attracting more spectators, more viewers, England winning the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups in 2021, as well as becoming financially sustainable, doubling the number of women playing rugby league and being a symbol of excellent governance. They are indeed lofty targets.
In 2019 the RFL’s goals specifically are attracting 75,000 fans or more to Wembley for the Challenge Cup final, hitting 170,000 members of the OurLeague app, selling Red Hall, reaching 5% participation growth across all formats of the game, Great Britain winning 75% of its four tour matches this year, having a budget delivery of £200,000 and growing to 200,000 available customer contacts from a base of 127,000.
Some of these will be very difficult to reach. Winning matches relies on many intangible factors, from refereeing decisions to player injuries, form and the like. Others are achieveable, others near impossible.
The last time a Cup final attracted more than 75,000 supporters was in 2016 when Hull FC played Wigan. The RFL will need to pray two well-supported, big clubs to reach the decider – say a St Helens, Leeds, Castleford, Warrington, Wigan or Hull – to guarantee that figure. Wakefield against Huddersfield would might be a tough sell.
But the ambition is at least admirable.
The key element over the next few years is to make the RFL and Rimmer accountable. In the past Wood and the organisation seemed anything but. Scrutiny was meek.
The CEO has set his stall, his plan for the future. Journalists, fans and other stakeholders need to ensure he does what he says.
