Super League chiefs delighted by positive outcome

Super League chiefs have been reacting to the RFL EGM on Friday which saw their proposals voted through.

It means an end to the Super 8s format and a return to the more traditional one-up, one-down promotion and relegation.

Wigan chairman, Ian Lenagan, said: “The democratic process has spoken and we’re delighted with today’s outcome.

“Today we have crossed the starting line in terms of changing our sport for the better and we’ve done it formally and democratically. We came out of the meeting feeling motivated and optimistic about this great game of ours.

“In Robert Elstone we have a superb Executive Director for Super League and I now think he and we can get on with what we should to be doing – promoting Super League and the sport of rugby league properly.

“The fact that it was an overwhelming majority, two thirds to one third, surprised a lot of people but there’s a lot of sensible people in the sport of rugby league. They share our vision that Super League should get the promotion and profile that it deserves and that the Super 8s and the Qualifiers should be scrapped.

“From a Wigan viewpoint, we’ve been working on this for the best part of 18-months now, so there’s a natural sense of satisfaction with today’s outcome. It’s so important for Wigan and for other Super League club’s financial future.

“It’s good to have taken the lead along with other Super League clubs such as St Helens, Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers throughout this process. We’ve seen Super League lead and the rest of the game generally, including the RFL, follow. Now we can look forward to a proper, regular season with the number of games that we would expect and fixtures that have been decided at the beginning of the season.”

Hull FC’s Chief Executive, James Clark, said: “Speaking on behalf of Adam, our club and myself, we are delighted that the much discussed proposals have been voted through by the vast majority of clubs and key stakeholders.

“This is a significant and very positive day for rugby league which will reinvigorate our ambition for the sport and provides much required stability, unity and vision.

“We can now concentrate our time, energy, resources and finance on showcasing what our fantastic sport is all about and ensure Super League can be the premier competition we all believe it has the potential to be.”