So today the French government announced that there will be no gatherings of 500 or more people and no sport until September at the earliest. This ban also applies to playing behind closed doors.
To me that would mean either, end the season, restart for a season of winter rugby by moving the none uk teams to the uk for a season.
The present endemic highlights a major problem of having a league with teams ‘based’ in other countries and continents.
I can't see any PR until the next full season, the SL clubs will vote against relegation (HKR, Toronto et al won't vote for Christmas) and I can't see money starved SL clubs splitting their cash an extra way for a promoted side.
Challenge Cup is also a question: will it be cancelled?
Can see an NFP style League reforming myself at some point....
The 2 French teams can't even train until 1st September at the earliest. After 6 months off they would need some kind of pre season. I can't see the idea of them living over here for a couple of months working. If you had a family over in the South of France, as a player would you even want to?
We may know more from the government announcement next week but I think SL are looking at a July return, although the French Governments announcement has thrown that into doubt. It won't just be RL though, the government are in talks with all major sports so we will be in a similar position to football and Rugby Union.
I can't see the point in the club's without TV deals in place playing behind closed doors. So that would push back the start of the Championship and League 1 season to a later date. Possibly even next season as it's only 9 months away now. With the part time teams hopefully most of the players with jobs would still be able to earn money as the government scheme can't last forever.
It could also put the existence of Toronto into doubt with squads needing to go on a long haul flight. I can't see the ashes going ahead. The other problem is next year's world cup now clashes with the Euro's and the Olympics. It's a very difficult situation as rugby league needs supporters more than many other sports as it receives much less in the way of tv revenue and sponsorship.
League Express reports most Champo and L1 clubs accept null and void is going to happen.
Featherstone, for one, are against it.
Wonder if we will aim for a Feb new season or bring it forward, health and legal reasons permitting?
Also announced that SL will return behind closed doors after 1 June, so the Sky money will be protected for the SL . There will be no sense in holding Championship/League 1 games behind closed doors, without tv coverage.
You never know the SL in the spirt of recent unity may allocate some of the Sky money to the clubs in the lower leagues to offset lost gate receipts - and pigs will be seen flying over Red Hall.
If the season is closed, there can be no question of promotion, which will not please Toulouse, Leigh, London and Featherstone, but will no doubt please Salford. Hull KR and TWP (who will probably be looking for funding from the Sky money).
I do wonder whether we will lose a few of our players next season. Will Smith and Tomkins be up for another season; will Sheens give it another year; will SL be looking to pick-up some of the better players from the Championship for next year, to meet the need to reduce contracts?
Is the club in a position to offer contracts for 2021 at this stage?
Sheens signed a 2 year contract, so I assume he will be here.
Much will depend on the contractual situations: will contracts be null and void with the season, or will they still have to be paid?
I don't see how this would disproportionately hit Widnes, when we are probably the 6th or 7th highest spenders in the league, if anything London, Leigh et al may be in a worse place?
The biggest issue down the track will be what to do with season tickets, which is where it could hit us in the sense that we are probably 1st or 2nd for Season Tickets in the league.
I personally wouldn't mind the season being brought forward to December, like the NFP...but God knows if it would be safe to do so.....
Seems inevitable that our season is over and as suggested, it makes no financial sense for the league to play behind closed doors.
They can't do pay per view games in the Championship, they'd have to do it at 6 grounds a week and there's no money in it at this level. To bring our staff and players back off furlough to play games is financial madness.
Shame, and no guarantees fans will be allowed back next year for fixtures either. It could be a while until we're sat in the stadium watching Widnes again.
Also announced that SL will return behind closed doors after 1 June, so the Sky money will be protected for the SL . There will be no sense in holding Championship/League 1 games behind closed doors, without tv coverage. You never know the SL in the spirt of recent unity may allocate some of the Sky money to the clubs in the lower leagues to offset lost gate receipts – and pigs will be seen flying over Red Hall. If the season is closed, there can be no question of promotion, which will not please Toulouse, Leigh, London and Featherstone, but will no doubt please Salford. Hull KR and TWP (who will probably be looking for funding from the Sky money). I do wonder whether we will lose a few of our players next season. Will Smith and Tomkins be up for another season; will Sheens give it another year; will SL be looking to pick-up some of the better players from the Championship for next year, to meet the need to reduce contracts? Is the club in a position to offer contracts for 2021 at this stage?
I may be reading too much into it but Matty Smiths comments seemed to suggest that he was looking at life after playing and that a couple of years watching TS at work wouldn 't be a bad preparation. Possibly looking to coach a well supported Championship club maybe?
Reported that 11 out of 14 Champ clubs would support the end of the season and also that a majority would not want behind closed doors (In League Express).
Degsy and Campbell from Fev are against it....
Seems like we are pretty much at the point of it being over.
Reported that 11 out of 14 Champ clubs would support the end of the season and also that a majority would not want behind closed doors (In League Express). Degsy and Campbell from Fev are against it…. Seems like we are pretty much at the point of it being over.
It just can't work on a semi-professional level. To carry on playing means bringing players back off furlough to train and play with little or no income coming in is financial madness and may mean the end to some clubs.
If Super League comes back we just need to accept this is how we get our fix along with NRL rugby and hope Widnes can carry on playing in 2021. It may also mean we lose players to SL clubs if, for example a club loses a hooker and Logan Tomkins is kicking his heels, he'll go (or at least on loan).
To be honest the future of the game is in the balance from so many angles.
Sky contract and Sky's view of the attractiveness of the 'product' and, in view of the north American factor, a distinct chance of our game being Americanised to allow more TV advertising.
The prospect of a SL with a quarter of the teams being overseas leaving either a hole or an expensive option to a large proportion of away fixtures.
The future for clubs such as ours is unsure in itself and we need to be sure that SL is really what we want!
With all that's gone on I would be very surprised if the international expansion goes ahead. I think the game will reevaluate itself. long haul international flights arnt going to work. Flight prices will increase, the game needs to concentrate on consolidation and survival now.
Reported that 11 out of 14 Champ clubs would support the end of the season and also that a majority would not want behind closed doors (In League Express). Degsy and Campbell from Fev are against it…. Seems like we are pretty much at the point of it being over.
It seems likely that the season is over. We will just have to keep fingers crossed and hope that the 2021 season can go ahead.
I can understand why Beaumont and Campbell are opposed because their clubs, together with London and Toulouse, have invested heavily in their aim of getting into SL. I understand that it has been agreed that there will be no relegation from SL this year, but the question of promotion from the Championship has been left open.
Realistically, there can be no promotion if the Championship season is abandoned, irrespective of the claims of Beaumont - he forgets that Leigh traditionally fall apart in mid-season and the SL is still looking to develop on a big city basis, so there is no place in the longer term for the likes of Leigh and Featherstone - and for that matter most of the current teams in SL, other than possibly Leeds, Catalan and Hull.
In any event, there are a number of clubs, including Widnes, who had ambitions of finishing in the top 5 in 2020 and a chance in the play-offs. If anyone goes up, it will be London and/or Toulouse, with Newcastle promoted to the Chmpionship.
Leigh could be in trouble next season if Beaumont loses lots of his money during the present lock down. If he does, he won’t be able to spend much on Leigh.
This could/should be a chance to re-think the UK game as a whole and be able to present Sky with a better, more varied competition. Someone suggested a 20 team SL first ana second divisions with promotion and relegation between them. The Champs could accomodate the remainder of teams, possibly with promotion opportunities of some form.
International travel etc with too many foreign teams will fail. There seem to be options for a France competition in embryo stage already.
Main probs will be persuading SL clubs to reduce their take of the money!