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In just over a week’s time, a proud town in Lancashire will host the 2014 club champions of the world’s two premier rugby league competitions to decide the World Club Champions.
In a UK-led initiative to elevate the prominence of this competition, viewed very much as an afterthought by the Australian rugby league public, a further two fixtures will take place between clubs of these two leagues, namely Warrington and Wigan from the Super League against the NRL’s Brisbane and St George-Illawarra.
The Australian sports public have only just swapped their victorious Socceroos scarves for their pyjama-style cricket shirts, with the ambition to gloriously lift the Cricket World Cup at the mighty MCG. So the newly dubbed World Club Series is further struggling to capture the imagination of the rugby league public.
Whether a club should be crowned world champions at the conclusion of a season or the beginning of another is well worthy of discussion elsewhere, but let’s for this moment imagine that a pre-season edition is the only option.
Less than two weeks ago, the Auckland Nines took place, impressing enough government officials of Australian cities to express interest in hosting the series once Auckland’s five-year contract expires. The question will be, does public interest in this event have an expiry date of its own?
Speaking of expired interest, this weekend sees sunny Robina on the Gold Coast host what free-to-air broadcaster Channel Nine have titled ‘the curtain raiser’ for 2015. It is a familiar mate-against-mate themed exhibition which is arguably the most pointless fixture of a busy pre-season schedule that includes the equally valuable domestic trial fixtures.
Let’s hope it is just the Titans that the local rugby league public are not flocking to, but don’t hold your breath.
It’s time for pre-seasons to secure the racing pulses of the rugby league public and the minds of new supporters.
Crowds at the recent World Club Challenge fixtures, last year’s Four Nations and the 2013 World Cup are evidence enough of the thirst for international competition, so why is the pre-season selling itself short? A five week pre-season would open the doors to a 32-team knockout World Championship held in one country. Teams knocked out could additionally arrange their own trial fixtures should that be required, either at home or abroad against international opponents, and take a healthy share of gate receipts.
A pre-season World Club Championship has the potential to give the pre-season meaning for a sport struggling for an international footprint, governing bodies scrambling for back-page coverage, club administrators ever increasing importance for a dollar, coaches and players requiring competitive hit-outs, and fans seeking unique opportunities to watch their favourite teams.
Sensible planning and execution will suitably appease any concerns of the sport’s stakeholders.
Thankfully rugby league has a a dominant international federation, visionary national governing bodies, fan-led club administrators, unselfish coaches and players, and supporters lacking cynicism which will make this a reality within the next two years.
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