CEO talks of dream start for sport’s first transatlantic team who make their competitive bow on a small field on the outskirts of the West Yorkshire town“Why can’t it happen? You’ve always got to dream,” replies Eric Perez when asked if Toronto Wolfpack, who make their competitive debut this weekend, can reach the Challenge Cup final. Such bullish claims are what rugby league will have to get used to if the sport’s most daring venture takes off in Canada, but grandiose predictions are part of the appeal which has made the Wolfpack project so intriguing.Almost two years have passed since the RFL revealed a team from Toronto would enter the English league structure in 2017. It is the kind of...
How will new boys Leigh fare? Can Warrington shake off the double disappointment of last year? Are Wigan contenders once more?Last year produced arguably the most unpredictable Super League season in history as Leeds went straight from winning the treble to a relegation scrap before Wigan defeated Warrington to lift the Grand Final trophy at Old Trafford. But how will all 12 teams - including newly promoted Leigh - fare in 2017? Related: From rock bottom to back in the big time: how Leigh came back from the dead Related: Danny McGuire and Leeds Rhinos ready to right last season’s wrongs Related: Sylvain Houles interview: on coaching Toulouse Olympique and farming sheep Continue reading...
Liquidation of the famous club, world champions as recently as 2006, has shamed many but the RFL has confirmed a new entity will be formedIt was perhaps the opening few words of the Rugby Football League’s statement regarding the liquidation of Bradford Bulls which struck the most telling chord of all. “While this is terribly disappointing and sad,” they said, “it is not an entirely surprising development given the scale of debt incurred by the previous management of the club and the debilitating level of financial commitment already entered into for 2017.” Related: Bradford Bulls go into liquidation after years of financial struggle Continue reading...
Wayne Bennett’s side were beaten by Australia at the weekend and again miss out on a Four Nations final – with little prospect of improvement if the status quo is maintained“It’s an easier job than I thought it would be,” admitted Wayne Bennett with perhaps the most surprising comment following yet another failure for England at international level. And that is what it was: failure. Hope sprang eternal for English rugby league fans with Bennett and Sam Burgess heading up a brave new era. Ultimately, it was the same old result.Has Bennett taken England backwards? Are England in a stronger position to win the World Cup than they were 12 months ago? Can rugby league’s “master coach” inspire a turnaround...
The belief that England could defeat Australia for the first time since 1995 was crushed by the way the Kangaroos easily outsmarted and overpowered Wayne Bennett’s sideIt’s the hope that hurts the most. The anticipation and the creeping belief that England can finally knock off Australia, rugby league’s answer to the all-conquering All Blacks.Even with the return of the talismanic Sam Burgess and the appointment of the master coach Wayne Bennett, with nearly half of their team now playing in the elite NRL competition and not on home shores in Super League, they have again fallen agonisingly short. Related: Australia simply too good as England denied place in Four Nations final Continue reading...