Super League owner ‘open’ to NRL investment as Nigel Wood defence offered

St Helens owner Eamonn McManus admits he is ‘absolutely open to dialogue’ with the NRL in regards to investment into Super League: and insists Nigel Wood’s return as RFL chair should not impact talks.

Speculation persists that Australian rugby league’s powerbrokers are weighing up the prospect of investing into the British game.

However, the return of Wood as interim chair has led to suggestions that could put the NRL off – with comments from Shane Richardson appearing to speculate it would make any investment less likely.

But McManus, speaking on Sky Sports’ The Bench, admits that he is keen to explore new opportunities with the NRL.

He said: “I’m absolutely open to dialogue. My background is investment banking, mergers and acquisition and the two fit perfectly.

“If you’re going to look for the commencement of a global game rather than pockets of domestic rugby league, then to combine the two by the structure of it being open to debate.. most definitely there’s the potential of a win-win for the two to collaborate: whether it’s financial or partnerships.

“We must be open to speak to very successful people. It’s not about power. This is about making the game of rugby league a more commercially viable, strong and vibrant sport.

“One is fantastically successful, probably operating in what is becoming a saturated market. Where does its growth emanate from there? When you’ve saturated a market, you look at other options. Certainly, they’re smart enough people to realise that Super League, the UK and France are such an option.”

But McManus stressed that the prospect of NRL investment was not brought into consideration when the clubs decided to operate a move to bring Wood back into the governing body on an interim basis.

He said: “The NRL thing may or may not happen. What we have to do is strengthen our sport. This will continue as is, you can’t predict the NRL or any other investor coming in. There’s been warm statements made and we are certainly open to discussions from Super League. It’s in an embryonic phase.”

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