NRL 3 Super 0. That was what the scoreline showed after this weekend’s rugby league clashes between the two hemispheres.
Melbourne Storm thrashed Leeds Rhinos to claim the World Club Challenge and be crowned official club world champions. St George Illawarra edged Hull FC in a close contest and a second-string South Sydney defeated a largely second-string Wigan. Were the results a big surprise? Not to most.
Will all three matches played on Australian soil, in the height of the hot Australian summer, the advantage was in the NRL teams’ favour. Although the Super League sides were already two rounds into the competition, and their opponents smack-bang in pre-season, it was the NRL outfits who emerged victorious.
Too much can be read into one-off results, especially glorified trial matches, but the distinct gap between the Super League and NRL competitions cannot be denied. Part of it is because of the huge difference in salary cap size, but that is not all. An even bigger reason is because of the massive difference in the number of participants involved in the sport in the two countries, but that’s not the whole cake either.
Over the past two decades the NRL has grown into a multi-billion industry. After Australian rugby league almost destroyed itself with a messy civil war in the mid-1990s, it has prospered and grown. While the competition is not without faults or issues, it is still the dominant game in two of the country’s three biggest states.
In contrast, after the dawn of Super League in 1996 the English game is at a crossroads, if not in crisis. Participation is down, ratings and attendances have stalled, some clubs are struggling to stay afloat. While Australia has broadcast partners that are expanding their coverage of the sport, in the UK it is the reverse. Super League and British rugby league needs change to advance, evolve and reclaim lost ground.
What happens off the field impacts what occurs on the field. The rise of the NRL coffers means not only higher salaries for players, but better conditions and stadia, upgraded facilities, enriched sports science and more coaching staff, superior marketing and promotion, more column inches, bigger advertising spend, increased sponsorship and so on. It is a virtuous cycle.
That feeds into development programs and the end product on the pitch. From grassroots level in Australia the focus is on skills and having fun. The dominance of touch football and tag football helps widen the pool for rugby league. Getting involved, no matter your age or gender, is the catch cry. The NRL has smartly taken over the running of governing body Touch Football Association, making sure the two similar sports are aligned and joined at the hip. The opportunities for cross-promotion are endless.
This petri dish of involvement flows up the elite level. The NRL is an incredibly tough league to break into. Matches are played at an exceptionally high intensity. On average careers at the top level are becoming shorter. The cream rises to the crop. Scrutiny has increased and the rewards are greater. Games are TV ratings winners.
While at the same time Super League has stagnated and got ridden of its reserves competition. Many believe the on-field standard in Super League has declined compared with the past. Invariably the very best English players now ply their trade in the NRL.
Of the 26 World Club Challenges that have been played since 1976, 13 have been won by English teams and 13 by Australian clubs. An even split you might say. But of those 26 matches a total of just five have been played down under. Of those five only one – Wigan famously downing the Broncos in 1994 at ANZ Stadium – has been won by an English outfit. Weather, travel and home comforts have been a fair leveler.
Perhaps more instructively you could look at results over the past decade, where the NRL behemoth has continued to gather pace. Since 2008 Leeds have won two World Club Challenges and Wigan one, the rest going to NRL clubs. An expanded competition between the two competitions, the World Club Series, was also started in 2015 to accompany the World Club Challenge. Out of those five games that have been held, only Warrington has claimed victory of the British participants. If you add in the defacto series in Sydney on Saturday, the record stands at NRL 7 Super League 1 apart from World Club Challenge matches.
What does all this mean, and what is the future of NRL vs Super League contests? Several things. Firstly, it doesn’t mean Super League or English rugby league doesn’t have huge value or importance. It remains an entertaining competition with some talented players, great tradition, fierce derbies, proud history and passionate fans. It has plenty of positives to celebrate and plenty of merit.
Secondly, Super League clubs will learn plenty from doing battle with NRL opposition. The way Hull FC took it to the Dragons this year, and the heroic defensive manner Wigan toppled Cronulla last year, shows that they can reach new heights and bridge the gap at times. Contests between the two competitions should continue as there is plenty to gain from both corners. Fans in both hemispheres clearly enjoy these matches, which generate significant media interest and monetary value.
Thirdly, some need to admit the gulf exists and move on. Don’t live in denial, focus on getting better both on-field and off-field. Get more British kids playing rugby league, improve the development eco-system and get the structure right. Go out there and bang the drum for rugby league. Innovate, promote and be bold. Strengthen the sport at the base of the pyramid and the top will thrive.
The challenge has been laid.
