Things rarely stand still in rugby league for too long. Super League began amid a blaze of glory in Paris in March 1996 and, on Thursday, the 25th edition of the competition will start in Wigan. It is a sport which seems to be constantly revolving, rather than evolving. But despite all the changes one thing has never altered: rugby league’s insatiable appetite for mainstream media attention.
This year, albeit in slightly unconventional – and in one man’s case, unwanted – circumstances, you suspect the sport finally has its wish. It began with good intentions and positive overtones last week in Leeds, when a newly rebranded, fresh-feeling Super League launched the 2020 campaign with verve, vigour and, for once in rugby league, widespread positivity.
How quickly things can change. The news of Israel Folau’s arrival at Catalans on Tuesday, spreading discontent across the sport that he will be playing in Super League this season, dramatically shifted the tone ahead of the big kick-off when Wigan will host Warrington in a mouthwatering opener (more on that later).
Folau’s move to Perpignan has caused a stir way beyond traditional league circles, and has strenuously tested the theory – which feels incorrect in this instance – that there is no such thing as bad publicity. The likes of Keegan Hirst and Gareth Thomas have made it abundantly clear they do not think Folau should be welcomed in rugby league, a message shared by many.
Only when Folau steps on to a field in England will the response to his signing be truly understood, though. Wigan’s snap decision to dub their game with Catalans in March “Pride Day” is the first of many similar responses from clubs: including Wakefield Trinity, where Folau could make his Dragons debut next weekend. Expect plenty of hostility.
Before then, however, there is plenty to digest. Incredibly, the Folau news has managed to push aside what, in any other year, would be the biggest news in rugby league – the likely debut of Sonny Bill Williams this weekend. While Folau comes with considerable baggage, Williams is rightly being profiled as the competition’s standalone star, as you would expect.
He and Toronto Wolfpack bring the level of external profile competition bosses have craved for years and, unlike Folau, this is all positive for rugby league. The eyes of the world will be fascinated to see not only how Williams and Toronto get on in their debut season in Super League, but how the Wolfpack deliver on their promise to change rugby league’s reach forever.
British sport has not witnessed anything quite as remarkable as a transatlantic team playing in one of its major leagues before, and while Toronto have been around for three years, the fact they are now among the elite means we will find out just how serious they are. Signing Williams is a strong start, and Super League bosses have capitalised accordingly.
As they should, too, because this is the start of a two-year period which will take British rugby league into a new era. There is a home World Cup at the end of next year, as well as the renegotiation of the game’s broadcast deal with Sky Sports. The landscape of the sport will change forever post‑2021; players such as Williams, teams as unique as Toronto and the added interest which comes with them cannot harm those talks, you suspect.
There are no shortage of talking points elsewhere, too. George Burgess’s arrival at Wigan is one such dynamic to monitor, as is what is certain to be another battle against relegation for three or four teams, with no clear candidate to drop into the Championship.
As it has done so often in the past, rugby league feels like a sport undergoing radical change in 2020. Traditionalists and purists may have to get on board with a new era for the sport which encapsulates teams from Canada and France, the prospect of live streaming being incorporated into a new TV deal, and plenty more. Whether it’s Folau‑gate, the Sonny Bill hype or anything else, you sense it’s going to be a rollercoaster year for a sport never afraid to push the boundaries.
