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Inside RL: Drugs ban cloud hangs over game
Wigan Warriors v St Helens: Martin Gleeson touches down to set up a frantic ending
February 3 marks the start of an image-rebuilding process for British rugby league.
A generally positive off-season has been overshadowed by one negative story, the Hull drugs controversy which has rocked the sport to the core and could yet have serious implications in East Yorkshire and beyond.
Any player suspended following a failed test is a black mark, but what makes Martin Gleeson’s case even more serious is the involvement of two Hull club officials, conditioner Ben Cooper and chief executive James Rule.
Both – like Gleeson – have received long bans from any involvement in the code, but the player himself has also “implicated” the governing body in the scandal.
Gleeson touted his allegations around various national newspapers and the result was a damaging expose in a Sunday tabloid in which he claimed an RFL official had been involved in the cover-up which Rule and Cooper were banned for.
The RFL has denied any wrongdoing and declined to comment further, but mud tends to stick and unless and until the governing body orders a full inquiry into the matter, there will be a cloud of doubt hanging over Red Hall.
Battle
Any drugs scandal will attract attention, particularly in an Olympic year and rugby league has, not for the first time, found itself attracting the sort of column inches it is desperate for, but for all the wrong reasons.
Rugby league fights a constant battle for publicity and respect and has done so ever since its formation in 1895.
The one thing it can rely on is the product on the field. When that is tainted – by the suggestion that players’ power, speed and athleticism is chemically enhanced, rather than a product of hard work in the gym or on the training field – the sport’s image inevitably takes a serious blow.
Clearly rugby league does have a problem with the use of illegal substances, the mystery is the extent of that issue.
Whenever a (usually former) player or coach alleges that drugs use is rife in the sport, the RFL’s usual response is to issue a challenge to “name names”.
In this case Gleeson has done that, so the RFL’s response – which amounted to “we did nothing wrong and we’re not going to say any more about it” – does not seem adequate.
Fortunately, the scandal did not deter logistics company Stobart from bidding to become Super League’s new sponsor, though the deal underlines rugby league’s inferiority complex.
Stobart haven’t handed over any cash, instead the arrangement is based on publicity, with the company’s fleet of lorries being used as mobile advertising for the competition.
The RFL accepted Stobart’s offer ahead of one from bookmakers Betfair, which was understood to have been offering a sizeable six-figure sum.
Five clubs, including Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers voted in favour of the bookies’ deal. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats backed Stobart, as did Widnes Vikings, who are sponsored by them.
In light of recent events, maybe that was just as well. Rugby league has had its share of betting scandals over recent seasons and such a close association with a gambling concern might not be the image the governing body wants to portray.
Stobart is a nationally-known and respected brand and one which is hugely popular among the public, so – if properly handled – the arrangement could well raise the sport’s profile at a time when it is again aiming to expand from its northern heartlands.
Whether it can generate £750,000 of additional recognition, out-stripping the rival offer, remains to be seen, but the decision to go for publicity rather than money in these tough financial times says much about the code’s lack of self-esteem.
On that front, rugby league had made progress over the autumn and winter. In everything but the final result, the Gillette Four Nations was a successful series and the decision to take two Tests back to Wembley paid off, as did live coverage of some of the matches on the BBC.
BBC Sport’s move from London to Salford could only be a positive thing for the game and so it proved.
Branches of the BBC, which normally ignore rugby league, sent reporters to the Four Nations and the sport has had about a decade worth of representation on A Question of Sport during the current series.
As Rhinos coach Brian McDermott is fond of remarking, if you want to convert anyone to rugby league all you have to do is take him/her to a game. As far as the BBC is concerned, that is far more likely to happen now the sport’s department is based in one of the code’s hotbeds – though it is ironic that the Beeb’s local club and the one most closely associated with Super League’s new sponsors are likely to be two sides who will struggle more than most this season.
That said, this column understands only one match from the fourth and fifth rounds of the Carnegie Challenge Cup will be televised this year, rather than two, which is an unsettling development.
Devastating
On a related topic, cuts to local radio could have a devastating effect on coverage of the game on a day-to-day basis.
Rugby league supporters have been at the forefront of a campaign to force the BBC into a re-think, so credit to them.
The usual suspects are likely to be fighting it out for the title this year, but crowds should increase with St Helens and Salford City Reds both in shiny new stadiums, though the latter’s pre-season gates have been no better than embarrassing and there are concerns in the 13-a-side ranks over a possible ground-share with Sale Sharks RU.
Newly-promoted Widnes Vikings are better supported than the club they have replaced, Crusaders and initiatives being put in place by Wakefield may well pay off through the Rapid Solicitors Stadium turnstiles.
On the subject of stadiums, the most bizarre development of the off-season was the RFL’s decision to buy Odsal from Bradford Bulls, who will now pay to use it – more evidence of the governing body having too much money.
That protects a supposedly iconic venue and – more relevantly – will help out a struggling club. It’s a shame the RFL didn’t offer to do the same for Wakefield last year, Belle Vue being an even more historic ground.
As the RFL’s latest attempt to flog a dead horse, we can expect a Bradford Magic weekend in 2013 – with Dynamo as star guest.
Wait for years for a rugby league gong and two come along at once. The MBE awarded to Jamie Peacock in the new year’s honours and Bev Risman’s OBE – both for services to rugby league – were a terrific boost, though largely overlooked, at national level, by the BBC.
Peacock has been England captain since 2005 and he wouldn’t have had to wait so long for an honour had he been involved in any other major sport, but hopefully a trend has been set and the game’s top players, coaches and administrators will now start to get the recognition they deserve.
Finally Wigan Warriors have become the latest Super League club to sign an ex-NRL player under a cloud – in this case Anthony Gelling, who was sacked by Sydney City Roosters.
It’s a worrying trend –- let’s hope the British game isn’t becoming a dumping ground!
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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