Could rugby league be heading back to the winter? Certainly rumours in Australia suggest this is on the cards.
It has been flagged up on social media Down Under by former Australia international Matty Johns who is suggesting that the NRL will try to buy Super League and make the seasonal change.
That will obviously affect the Championship and League One where Cumbria’s three clubs – Barrow, Whitehaven and Whitehaven play their rugby.
It could also affect the amateur game, the majority of which is played in the summer headlined by the National Conference League.
Rugby League switched to summer in March 1996 in the UK and two years later the NRL started in Australia.
It’s formation ended a Super League war in the southern Hemisphere as previously there were teams competing in the Australian Rugby League and a 10 team Super League, two separate competitions.
The latest discussion on the future of the sport centres on a clip doing the rounds, featuring Johns who says: “The rumour I’m hearing and it’s been mooted a little bit, but it’s getting stronger, is that the NRL are seriously looking to buy the English rugby league.
“They’ll move it back to being a winter sport in England and that way it broadens the base and adds to the depth of both competitions because players can go over and have guest stints.”
