Brian Carney on B&A on Wed

[thirteenthman]

1996. The top 12 teams in the old division would be going to creating a new super league. Fev finished 12th that season but were dropped to make way for a team from Paris. That worked out well then Promotion and relegation should be brought back, its about the team,the way they've played all season,not about the shiny new stadium that a team has! One question that should be asked is, would we as rugby fans rather be comfortable in a new stadium and watch the same teams winning all the time, with the stronger teams getting stronger and the weaker teams getting weaker or watch good rugby with two teams playing with pride and passion because they deserve to be in that league not because they have a better capacity that someone else.

When SL was set up, the RFL decided to promote London and bring in a new team from France. SL would have 12 teams for the first season, so the top 10 teams plus London and Paris were admitted. Nobody ever said it was a simple case of admitting the top 12 teams. Like so much to do with RL, nothing is ever that simple.

On your other point, you're right. Admission to SL shouldn't be just about having a new stadium. But that's mainly because it isn't. It's simply that people choose to view it as a sort of stadium beauty contest.

You mention about the same teams winning all the time, but since SL came in only 4 teams have ever won it. Of the teams promoted to SL, only Hull FC have made the GF, while Huddersfield have made the CC final. And oddly enough, both of those teams do have new stadiums.