Mark Campbell has been left infuriated by Featherstone’s mid-week visit to Toulouse.
The Championship fixtures were released on Sunday, with the part-timers designated to play in France on a Wednesday evening as part of the competition’s revised Easter schedule.
The vast majority of Featherstone’s playing staff have jobs away from the club, with a mid-week trip abroad set to cause issues with employers, as well as the demands of travelling overseas midway through a schedule that will see them play three times in ten days.
It has left Campbell furious, and demanding a revision of their schedule.
“There’s obviously no thought whatsoever gone into it,” he said.
“If so they’ve come up with this nonsense. I’ve emailed Ralph (Rimmer) and still not got a reply, that was the day after we received them. When we put it to Gavin Wild (RFL’s professional game competition manager), he was flippant and said that’s just how it is.”
Featherstone sent a proposal to Toulouse, suggesting they reverse the fixtures with the French club hosting them on the penultimate day of the season, but that offer was rejected.
“All our lads have just had a lot of extra time off with going to the Toulouse game on a Sunday night in the play-offs. That meant they all had to have Monday off and some Tuesday as it dropped on the situation with Thomas Cook and the only airport we could get back to was Bristol and then a seven-hour coach trip.
“Then we flew out to Toronto, so everyone was up at four in the morning, they virtually had a week unplanned off, employers were pretty good with them as well, but to do this is just ridiculous. There’s no saying they’ll get the time off again.
“It’s just stupid, where on earth have they come up with that and thought it was a good idea?”
