Three new clubs are in the running to join League One. Which of them has what it takes to make a success of life in the semi-professional ranks of rugby league?
EARLIER this year, the RFL invited applications to join the professional game with the hope of eventually creating two divisions of 12 below the Super League – the current format seeing 14 teams compete in the Championship and nine in League One.
Eleven clubs submitted an initial expression of interest, with the deadline for formal applications being at the end of June.
Now, three clubs remain in the process; Anglian Vipers, who are based in Wymondham, Norfolk, Bedford Tigers and Goole Vikings.
Rugby League World spoke to a representative from each of the three organisations to learn more about their bids, with the successful club set to be announced by the end of September.
ANGLIAN VIPERS – Rob Humphries
X: @AnglianVipersRL
“We set the club up in January 2022 with the view of getting some rugby league activity happening in East Anglia again. We want to work with the other teams in the East and the South-East to provide a pathway for lads to really pursue rugby league as a career. Success to me is being a team that is built with local blokes.
“If you look at the England Rugby Union World Cup squad from last year, I think there were six lads from Norfolk in the team. It’s a region that’s got a lot of rugby talent, we just think they need to be having a crack at the other code. We set up from the start as an ambitious club. We launched our women’s team in 2023 and they made their Grand Final in their first year. We want both our male and female teams to end up as being professional.
“I’m in this for the long-term and my co-directors and co-owners certainly are as well. We’ve got proposed outside investment and that’s the only reason we can really pursue it to the level we want to.
“We think geographically, we make sense to the RFL. We’re the only rugby league team in a population of over three million people and I’d argue that it’s probably the biggest rugby league catchment in the country, if not the rugby league world.
“People from East Anglia are parochial. What you see with Ipswich Town FC and Norwich City FC fans is that if it’s a team they call their own, they get behind them. They tend to be loyal followers in East Anglia, regardless of what team it is. That’s why we went with Anglian Vipers because we want to be a team that genuinely represents the whole region.”
BEDFORD TIGERS – Rob Ashton
X: @BedfordTigers
“We’ve been going for 20 years, and we always aspired to kick on. We were one of the first clubs in the region to regularly and successfully field a second team.
“Since Covid, we’ve focused on the areas that the RFL were trying to push. We were looking at what the top clubs were doing and seeing if we could mirror that on a micro scale. We’ve modelled ourselves on the requirements of the professional game. Our committee is set up properly, we’ve got all the right people doing the right jobs. This year, we’ve invested heavily in the medical side of things to conform with that side. From a money side of things, we’re having a few conversations with sponsors and investors. It’s going to cost a fortune, there’s no question about it, but I’m going into this with my eyes wide open.
“The past four years of growth have been ridiculous. On field results might not be too exciting but I think the success of the club currently lies in what we’re doing behind the scenes and what we’re providing for people. The women’s and wheelchair team are going really well, and we’ve got a junior team and a netball team that is attached to us through our Foundation. It feels more appealing for sponsors to be a part of because they can see that we are delivering in the community.
“Bedford is rugby town. Bedford Blues are the pinnacle sports club so for professional sport, that’s where people go to. They’re happy to be a Championship [rugby union] club who bring in high attendance figures every week. We’ve had a few conversations with them. A long-term partnership is yet to be finalised but it’s certainly something we’re working together on and something both sides would like to explore, too.”
GOOLE VIKINGS – Mark Richardson
X: @Goole_VikingsRL
“From 2018-2020, rugby league had a real resurgence here under current club president Anthony Whiteley, who restarted the amateur setup that is there now. I’ve come into the club with the view of taking over as the new owner and chairman. My company, Richardson’s Food and Safety Consulting, would be the driver and some of the financial backing to that. We’ve got some financial backers in the background, and we’ve been working with a consultant who has 16 years’ experience at Super League level. We’ve drafted a strong business proposal with a really strong profit and loss outlook for the first three years.
“The Victoria Pleasure Ground is about to undergo a multi-million pound investment. It will present us with a brand-new stadium and pavilion complex, with the ability to increase capacity.
“This is a community project. We’re going to grow rugby league as a sport within Goole and the surrounding area. We want to create a pathway from amateur to professional within Goole rather than bringing players in.
“We see a huge opportunity in Goole; there are no professional teams, and the population is very intwined with rugby league. Our amateur team has crowds of 300-500 attending already. It’s a growing town with some huge companies based out of it who are already expressing interest in getting behind a local team. We have a keen rugby league fanbase as well, so I think it puts us in a very strong position. We think we’re going to be able to hit the ground running and actually better some of the attendances of current League One teams.
“This is a long-term project. The first three years are about making this operable and sustainable. We would like the club within a three-five period to be pushing for or already be in the Championship.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 499 (August 2024)
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