WHY is Troy Grant, the Chairman of International Rugby League (IRL), pursuing the RFL for what he alleges is an unpaid debt from the last World Cup, which was played three years ago?

The World Cup delivered around £4.5 million to the IRL, but the amount that was contracted by Rugby League World Cup 2021 Limited was £5 million.

The tournament lost money and therefore the IRL didn’t get all the monies it hoped it would get.

However, the IRL claims that the RFL stood as guarantor of that money and should therefore pay the missing amount, which is almost half a million.

But the problem is that the RFL claims not to have given any guarantees and it therefore will not make the payment unless the IRL can demonstrate that a guarantee was actually signed by the governing body at the time.

The previous RFL directors, under the then Chairman Simon Johnson, rejected the contention that it had provided a guarantee. The new RFL directors have continued with that stance, while saying they will change their position if evidence arises that would show that the RFL owes the money.

All that Troy Grant needs to do is to present the evidence.

That he hasn’t done so three years after the event suggests that the evidence doesn’t exist.

But the intriguing question is why, after three years of apparent silence, he has resurrected this battle now to be fought in the full glare of media publicity, with the latest news that he has approached Sport England to complain about the RFL.

He is also making threats in relation to England’s international recognition and he appears to be blocking the accession of a RFL representative to the executive body of the IRL.

It seems very odd indeed.