Victor wrote:
I do have to ask. Do you think that the RFL have any concerns regarding the future of the London Broncos ?
I wonder if they have been in contact with the club. It would have been difficult, I know, being that the CEO has been on holiday..
Surely the Broncos folding,. Which we all can see is a possibility. Would be bad for the sport.
Although some might welcome it.
The thing is, the RFL are also culpable in this mess - because they refused at every turn to form a coherent strategy for the game in London and SE. Or anywhere else for that matter. And, no, I don't mean throwing £millions at the Broncos, I just mean a planned network of development officers (who they sacked to save money to spend up north) in schools, junior clubs with decent facilities (the RFL built one 3G pitch at a school in south London but neglected to draw up a concrete contract and the school eventually made it virtually impossible for the community club to use it) through to the Broncos and Skolars, with England internationals and rep games building a presence in the city.
And it's a failing that negatively impacts the entire sport. Ever since Richard Lewis left, the RFL has had a policy under Wood and then Rimmer of remaining at arms length. They do very little in fact. They got rid of facilities minimum standards, they removed the 'live salary cap' which was checked continually and made it a simpler affair, they play virtually no internationals (and when they do its midweek at Leigh!), they do nothing to promote the Challenge Cup Final or SL Grand Final. In short - they just don't anything.
So when the Broncos do go tits up, and it's guaranteed to happen, the RFL will share some (but only some, most of it lies with Hughes) of the blame. But Rimmer will dust his hands and say "we can't force the clubs to do anything, they have to run themselves" which is his favourite line. Sitting as I do these days in Singapore, although not for much longer, it's a failing I see right across British society - no-one in a position of authority actually wants to take on responsibility for anything. It's just easier to keep your head down, do the bare minimum required, and let others take the blame if/when things go wrong.
