“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 exuberant innovation rugby league is famous for but even on this occasion, nobody is quite sure what to expect from such a gargantuan leap into the unknown.
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