The RFL’s sobering reality on Championship future is clear after Halifax demise

Of all the 144 points in the Rugby Football League’s strategic review, there was one which stuck out more than most: number 48, in the section relating to the Championship.

It read: “There should be a tighter Salary Cap linked to the club’s turnover. Clubs who wish to spend above the cap should provide guarantees and a personal underwrite to fund that season’s player costs.”

If the demise of Featherstone Rovers and Salford Red Devils has not rung enough alarm bells in the last three months, then the news emerging from another of rugby league’s most famous and historic clubs on Monday evening should have sounded major sirens.

We are, with all due respect, not dealing with expansion clubs operating on shoe string budgets from day one. We are talking about genuine beasts of the game outside of Super League. If you were to draw up a strong, thriving 10-team second tier that would create intrigue, both Halifax Panthers and Featherstone Rovers would comfortably be in it.

The problem? Nobody in any position of authority is brave enough to say the quiet part out loud. So let’s do it now.

There is quite simply not enough money in the professional game for this many teams. Ten years ago, there was. Next year, there might be again if a proverbial rabbit is pulled from the hat. But now? Not a chance. 20 – now 18 – teams in a second tier is simply too many, and Halifax will likely not be the last who fall. 

The sport outside of Super League has to move on from the notion of local businessmen ploughing money into a part-time Championship operation. The model has to shift towards finding sustainability and ensuring clubs only spend what they can afford.

It is a difficult conversation to have, because you are potentially closing the door on over 100 years of history in some circumstances. This, to be clear, is not a conversation about mergers; it is about the sobering reality that is now clear – professional rugby league does not have enough money to sustain over 30 teams across two divisions.

Clubs across the Championship are now spending more money than ever before in some instances on player wages. Huge sums on players that are part-time; at best it is unsustainable in the short-term, at worst it will produce fatal outcomes.

Which brings us back to point 48. Two different Championship CEOs have told me in the wake of Halifax’s demise that they would advocate the introduction of a salary cap as soon as possible. The figures vary in what clubs would want the limit to be, but the accepted figure is around £500,000.

You could argue that would make a step up to Super League for any club fortunate to be promoted difficult but the system is such at present that there is no automatic entry to the top flight. So the game’s priority should be to preserve what it has and ensure no more clubs fall by the wayside.

As for Halifax, they may well return this year. But there have been senior figures within the sport who have warned that due diligence to a sufficient extent will take time. More than days. We are talking weeks at a bare minimum.

But the governing body have presided over the death of three different clubs in the last six months. They would now be well advised to bring measures in to ensure no more go – with capping wages and spend, perhaps based on turnover, a sensible start.

But beyond that? There may have to be some difficult conversations about whether or not this sport can sustain this many professional teams. Because right now, the evidence appears to be overwhelming that it cannot.