Held Back By Parochialism

Sunday night saw Toulouse Olympique face Featherstone Rovers in the Million Pound Game for the right to join Super League in 2022 and become the 24th team to take part in the competition. Sadly, and as so often is the case, many chose to focus on off the field matters rather than what was quite a compelling game.

The Tradition

Many rejoiced in Featherstone's defeat. Those who didn't want to see another Yorkshire team, especially one from a 'pit village' with a tiny population. Many of those making sneering remarks at Featherstone's industrial past ignore the fact that the majority of communities that have a rugby league team are industrial towns, some of which are left behind and have felt forgotten about since the 1980's.

Whilst the coal factories, mills, glass factories, chemical plants or whatever else may have closed, the rugby league team stays at the heart of the community. There are many post-industrial towns in the UK that are not fortunate enough to have a strong and ambitious sporting team. Rugby League communities are lucky that they do. A reason why the town is represented on a larger scale. As a sport, we should be proud of that, yet many seem embarrassed. Why?

Worse still than embarrassment is sabotage. Many rugby league fans punch down on 'traditional' clubs. Why? Seemingly because they dare to harbour ambitions to play at the highest level.

Maybe I am the odd one out but that's what I love about sport. Take a side like Burnley in the Premier League. They have far less resource than teams like Manchester United. Yet they still, on occasions, beat them. In a tight Premier League title race the other year, the cosmopolitan superstars of Manchester City had to go to Burnley and win to keep in pole position in the title race. It was entering a bear pit. City won courtesy of a second half goal that just crossed the line and went on to win the league. But sport was the great equaliser. For that 90 minutes, it didn't matter if you were a former mill town or a club backed by Saudi riches. The same applies in rugby league.

By running down traditional clubs, we harm expansion too. A criticism of Catalans and Toulouse is a reliance on non-French players. They need players from traditional clubs and communities to improve and allow more local players to be dripped into the first team gradually. Strong traditional clubs can help expand the game. Without strong traditional clubs, expansion of the game is doomed to fail.

The Expansion

Equally as predictably, you saw eye-rolling at Toulouse's promotion because 'they don't bring any away fans'. If you knew nothing about the sport, you would assume that away fans travel in their thousands every week. We all know that is untrue. I don't have the figures but plenty of clubs rarely travel in numbers exceeding a couple of hundred. The loss of such a small number of away fans is negligible. The fact that this is even a question shows that many clubs want expansion clubs to take the blame for their own shortcomings.

Even if away followings were huge, it is a flawed business model to rely on them to turn a profit. Many point at a half-full Old Trafford as a stick to beat expansion clubs with. The question is not 'why allow Catalans and Toulouse in the league, when you might get a half empty stadium for a final?' but 'what did the league do to prepare for this eventuality, to ensure the stadium is more full?'. Sadly, the answer was nothing.

In any event, whatever you think of Toulouse, they earned promotion on the pitch. They went unbeaten throughout 2021. They deserve a shot at Super League and I hope they succeed.

French teams may not bring away fans but they bring so much more. Their fans are as passionate as any. Look at the scenes welcoming Catalans to their play off semi final the other week. Look at the number of fans who welcomed Catalans home, despite defeat, at 4AM in the morning at Perpignan airport. Why are these fans less deserving of a top team than anyone else?

Expanding the sport is something that must be done sensibly. Why did Catalans work? Having a latent tradition of rugby league helped. Toulouse have been in existence for over 80 years. Stade Ernest Wallon is a good stadium, Toulouse have shown the ability to draw a crowd. If that's not enough, then their style of play will thrill you.

We waste so much time and energy in debating expansion and structure that we forget the bigger issues such as an aging fanbase, the international game, falling crowds and a lower profile. To blame expansion clubs for this is a folly. The blame lies closer to home.

I'd love for the seemingly interminable debate to finally end. But in true rugby league style, I am not optimistic, not least because it would require influential people and teams in the sport to accept their role in the sport's shortcomings.