Rugby Football League CEO Abi Ekoku admits the governing body are ‘waiting on the NRL’ to learn what, if any, partnership can be struck up between rugby league’s two big organisations.
Talks have been ongoing for most of this year, both publicly and privately, about a possible investment from the NRL into the game in Britain to try and revive its fortunes.
However, nothing has materialised thus far – and during the Ashes, NRL supremo Peter V’landys warned that Super League was heading for a ‘train crash’ if it did not change its ways and hinted at the need for major restructure of its governance.
But Ekoku has insisted that the ball is now in the NRL’s court about whether or not there will be a productive partnership between the two hemispheres. Speaking after the RFL’s Council meeting in Wakefield on Tuesday, the interim CEO of the governing body appeared to suggest nothing was imminent.
However, he did say that the more the two major bodies can be aligned on things like broadcast deals, the better it would be for rugby league: potentially leaving the door ajar for more talks.
Ekoku said: “It wasn’t discussed (at Council). There was reference to it under the international discussions. It was a positive discussion we had with the NRL and it’s nice they have an interest in the game. But we’re waiting on them to see what the next step is. They said they were going to look at a variety of things and see what might work in terms of a partnership.
“There was talk of takeovers but it’s nothing like that at all. Rugby league as a sport should be the easiest sport to have harmony in because there’s two governing bodies.
“If the positivity of those discussions is that you’re having dialogue with your main partner and competitors, and both of you have the growth of the game at its heart, then the more we can do the better. The greater the alignment, the better. It’s ludicrous we have one sport with three sets of rules and those things will align over time.”
Ekoku also admitted that he was hopeful next year’s World Club Challenge could lay the platform for more positive talks, but said that if nothing happens soon, the RFL will have to press on with its own plans.
He said: “The World Club Challenge is the next cross-hemisphere event which has sold out and it’s great to see. Hopefully it becomes the property it could always have been. We have to move forward independently anyway because we have our own timeframes for things.
“If you can have a harmonised broadcast deal – then fantastic. But if you can’t you still have to plan your season. They have grown their competition brilliantly; they’re tier one in Australia.
“We can never be tier one here: it’s a different market. Our market is significantly more competitive than theirs but it’s much bigger in Europe. It’s a lucrative market but there’s more tension. We can’t be tier one or tier two because football occupies both of those. You’ve got to understand your reality of position in market.”