Jon Dutton: It was devastating and I was close to walking away
World Cup chief Jon Dutton has revealed that the “devastating” postponement of the tournament last year left him close to walking away from the job for good.
Organisers were forced to delay the event by a year after Australia and New Zealand withdrew from participating, citing safety concerns amidst the ongoing pandemic.
“It was pretty devastating personally,” Dutton admits in an in-depth interview on the new Love Rugby League podcast.
“I was pretty close to walking away to be honest, for a number of reasons. Firstly because we were ready. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and now we will deliver a better tournament. There is no doubt about that.
“But we were ready and could have delivered then. We had done so much work and to get to that point after six years of work was truly devastating.
“There was a point where I thought I’ve done everything I can, I can’t do anymore so perhaps it is the right time to pass it on to someone else to see it through. I had a period of reflection, went away for a few days with my family, talking to people that I surround myself with, and I thought I’ve come this far, stop feeling sorry for yourself. There is a lot of hardship in the world so let’s dust ourselves down. But it was tough.”
RLWC2021: Government increasing pressure on World Cup ticket sales
Jon Dutton: ‘We will see brilliant rugby league’
Dutton lost 60% of his team and had to renegotiate 150 different agreements in a short space of time.
“Once I’d decided it was ridiculous to feel sorry for yourself, I got on with it and enjoyed the challenge of putting it back together.
“It’s coming into sight pretty quickly. There’s a little bit of apprehension about what is ahead in the unstable world that we live in, but more so than anything just massive excitement for getting to the start line for England v Samoa.
“I regard myself as a pretty decent problem-solver and thankfully I like problems and resolving them. I’m urging everyone to just enjoy the journey, gosh this has been hard but let’s enjoy what is ahead.
“I think we will see brilliant rugby league, new people rise, new stories, wonderful human interest stories, and what is not to get excited about?”
FOLLOW: Keep up with all the latest on the Love Rugby League mobile app and podcast