RFL President slams IMG gradings and calls for promotion and relegation to return
Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, the President of the RFL until the end of 2024
Outgoing RFL President Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP has hit out at the IMG gradings system, admitting he’d like to see promotion and relegation via on-field performance return.
The Speaker of the House of Commons , Hoyle – whose late father Lord Doug served as Warrington Wolves’ chairman from 1999 to 2009 – is a proud rugby league fan and has held his role as the RFL‘s President since the start of 2023.
Come the end of this year, as confirmed back in July, he will vacate the role with Adam Hills succeeding him.
RFL President slams IMG gradings and calls for promotion and relegation to return
As he vacates the role, the likelihood is that London Broncos will have been demoted back to the Championship as the IMG system kicks in for the first time. Wakefield Trinity meanwhile will likely replace them.
And while Hoyle hasn’t commented on individual cases as above, he has delivered his own verdict on the gradings system, which doesn’t give a great deal of value to on-field performance.
Speaking at Boundary Park on Sunday afternoon as Oldham lifted the League 1 title, he told BBC Radio Manchester: “I’ve always had a personal view, and this is a private view I have… my view is that you’ve got to have up and down, that’s how you stimulate the game.
“Oldham are on a journey here. There’s been big investment, they’re top of the league now and they’re going to lift the trophy today. They”re going on up to the next division.
“Where is the aspiration to make it to the top? Surely it’s got to be about the ability of players to win games to get promotion.
“It shouldn’t be because you’ve got money in the bank. If you take that up and down away, what’s the rest of the season to you when you’ve already picked out your top six teams?
“When there’s something to play for, I always think that’s the best initiative. Of course you’ve got to make sure you have a proper ground and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got standards, but it’s got to be a combination of the two.
“You’ve got to have aspiration, otherwise why do people bother investing?”
LRL RECOMMENDS: Hull KR and Wigan Warriors dominate LoveRugbyLeague‘s Super League Team of the Week from Round 24
‘Rugby league matters… let’s show the world what a great sport we have’
Born in Adlington, 67-year-old Hoyle unveiled two new stained glass windows in the Speaker’s House last May, featuring his new personal coat of arms with a rugby league ball and Lancashire roses among the inclusions!
Having seen plenty of ‘eras’ in rugby league over the years, the Lancastrian also had his say on the overseas clubs in the British game, with Toulouse Olympique still in the mix for a surprise promotion via IMG at the end of the year.
Hoyle said: “Is it the best thing that we put money into France? We never see any fans coming over.
“You’ve got to ask whether we’d be better having the Oldhams, the Halifax, the Widnes’, the Bradford’s. We’ve got these big teams that could come through and bring crowds… put more money into our sport.
“The Canada experience (with Toronto Wolfpack), what a disaster that was. It just didn’t work.
“What I would say is, has it really helped the French game? Is the international game better as we were told it would?
“The international game’s gone backwards in France and I think the league would only get stronger by having a big, financially backed French league that could then take us on internationally. I’m not sure we’ve got it right.
“Rugby league matters and I want to make sure that we get people like the Australians coming over and developing the game on prime time TV.
“Let’s show the world what a great sport we have. We’ve got this chance, so let’s use it. We can’t wait for the next 10 years.”
LRL RECOMMENDS: Leigh Leopards flying, Warrington Wolves falter, Hull FC abject in latest Super League form table
