International rugby league seems to be in a constant state of flux. Is it on the rise or in decline? IRL chair Troy Grant gives us his assessment.
THE last time RLW caught up with Troy Grant, chair of the International Rugby League (IRL), he’d just overseen the world governing body’s July 2023 meeting in Singapore and was in full firefighting mode. France had recently pulled out of hosting the 2025 Rugby League World Cups and this on the back of previous hosts the US and Canada doing the same.
And then he told us he’d resigned. But more of that later.
What did emerge from Singapore was a dose of pragmatic realism as befits a former politician – Grant was previously the deputy premier of New South Wales. The World Cups were saved, albeit in changed format, and a calendar that at last seemed to offer some stability to international rugby league was revealed. “The development and execution of a strategically sound international calendar and a successful World Cup in 2026 will help repair the sport’s reputation,” he said at the time. Maybe the days of on-the-hoof, international wish-lists were coming to an end.
But, of course, you can’t keep everybody happy. This is rugby league after all. Nations such as Greece and Italy who competed in the last World Cup in 2022 pointed out, perhaps with some justification, that their opportunities to participate in future tournaments had been significantly curtailed. Only 10 teams would take part in the 2026 competition in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and only two qualifying places would be up for grabs, the other eight spots earmarked for the 2022 quarter-finalists. Men’s Wales coach John Kear was a particularly vocal critic.
It’s an argument Grant tackles head on. “Following France’s withdrawal the IRL decided two things. One was to ensure we created a new cycle for the World Cups. Despite popular support for the three genres – men’s, women’s, wheelchair – to remain together, the event viability was just not there. So, after 2026, each competition moves to its own four-year cycle.”
And the second decision was financial. “Holding all World Cups in one year in one place compromised the IRL’s operations,” explains Grant. “Money arrived in a big hit every four years. One year of revenue to cover four years of costs – not an ideal way to run any organisation.” Also, running three World Cups simultaneously is expensive, effectively ensuring they could only be played in Britain or Australia on a repetitive cycle.
Meanwhile, the reduction in teams in the men’s competition was again to reduce costs but also to improve competitiveness, making the tournament attractive to commercial partners. “This doesn’t detract from the value lower-ranked teams brought to the men’s 2022 World Cup, but that value didn’t convert into financial viability,” Grant explains. “If we kept a 16-team format we’d end up with no World Cups at all. So we planned other strategies to develop the emerging nations, hopefully leading to participation in future World Cups. Do we stick with 10 men’s teams or eventually increase that? Time and the success of the World Cups will determine that.”
So was cost the guiding criterion behind all these decisions? “Cost and attractiveness to sponsors and investors were certainly factors,” he agrees. “But there were others such as limited time for qualifying competitions and limited time for a host to garner government support. So we ran with the mantra ‘less is more’, given the circumstances we found ourselves in.”
Grant goes on: “That said, despite wishing to move away from Australia or England hosting, we are grateful the Australian Rugby League Commission [ARLC] stepped up for 2026 at significant cost to themselves. Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo are internationalists through and through. The World Cup they’ll deliver will be first class, getting us back on the front foot.”
Interestingly the ARLC was also instrumental in keeping this autumn’s men’s England v Samoa test series on track. Rumours surfaced that Samoa would have preferred to stay home to compete in the Pacific Cup. The rumours were, in part, true. “Samoa inherited an entirely new governing board ahead of the tour, explains Grant. “To overcome longstanding financial and governance issues they would have preferred to stay home and stabilise operations. But with the support of the ARLC they did the right thing on behalf of the international game.”
Grant feels that in the past World Cups tried to be “everything to everybody and that doesn’t always work,” he says. “We have to be honest with our members, not just satisfying ambition when reality doesn’t match up.
“However, we recognise the importance of nations such as Jamaica, Greece and Italy is enormous, which is why we have designed regional formats leading to the World Series for emerging nations, which will act as World Cup qualifiers in 2025. It’s a genuine pathway for those nations and a realistic way to grow the game internationally.”
Grant makes the additional point that following the 2022 World Cup some nations, such as Scotland and Ireland, lost full membership of the IRL because they failed to fulfil necessary criteria. “That indicated lack of competitiveness, suggesting at the next World Cup the divide between top and bottom would be even wider,” he notes.
Surely it’s of some concern, then, that these nations appear to be going backwards? “Yes, it’s a concern. We need Scotland and Ireland to be strong for the sake of that region,” Grant concurs. “The intention is to help those nations climb back. We would encourage the RFL in the northern hemisphere to mimic what the ARLC have done in the Pacific region: Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea receive support and become more competitive every year.”
France – twice a World Cup finalist – is, of course, part of the same geographical region as the Scots and the Irish, and seems locked in a perpetual struggle to achieve anything like the international status it once held. “France are in a rough patch,” admits Grant. “The postponement of their clashes with Lebanon was disappointing but they’ll be back. Targeted investment, patience and setting realistic attainable goals for them is the plan.” The details of that plan remain to be revealed.
The IRL confirmed the France v Lebanon series wasn’t cancelled because NRL clubs refused to release Lebanese players, as rumoured in some quarters. However, Lebanon’s star NRL trio, Mitchell Moses, Jacob Kiraz and Adam Doueihi, were sidelined with injury. Without them, there were concerns about ticket sales and whether touring was money wisely spent, particularly given the political situation in Lebanon. Nonetheless France needs competitive opposition – recent thrashings by England have led to a marked lack of interest, culminating in the dismal attendance for the June tests in Toulouse.
But if there is hand-wringing at the state of the game in Europe there are still signs of positivity. Super League viewing figures and attendances have bucked a downward trend resulting in the biggest Challenge Cup Final attendance (64,845) since 2017, and a Grand Final attendance of almost 70,000 for the first time in seven years. Simultaneously, the game – men’s and women’s – has continued to grow in places such as Serbia and Greece, with youth participation particularly gratifying.
Yet it’s to the southern hemisphere we must look to witness what could be achieved with an intelligent, targeted programme, and, it must be admitted, better financial resources. For nations surrounding the Pacific, the international game seems to be booming. Is it fair to say rugby league is the number one sport in the Pacific region today?
Grant is bullish. “Definitely. The NRL and ARLC have been instrumental in working with nations such as Samoa and Tonga.”
2024’s Pacific Cup was played across four different countries.
“We need to mirror that in the northern hemisphere, while being realistic,” he adds. “But we understand football dominates the sporting landscape and that broadcast revenue diminishes if you’re not in the top three sports in any region of the world.”
So what’s the solution? “Rugby league is built on rivalry and heritage, we know that,” he says. “But thinking beyond that and outside the box led to such concepts as State of Origin in the 1980s which now brings in the NRL’s largest revenue chunk. That gets to be reinvested. The RFL and partners IMG need to steward a similar realistic strategy – put an attractive product in front of as many eyeballs as possible.”
Is that easier said than done? “Of course,” he admits. “And it comes with a cost risk. No one should throw good money after bad. It has to be realistic and it will not be to everyone’s taste, nor fit their agendas and priorities. But look what the Las Vegas venture has done for the USA Rugby League. They are building off that and the interest the NRL Vegas round brings. It’s a great example of thinking outside the box.”
Grant is keen to stress the positives while accepting some things could be done better, and that supporters will never wholly agree on the best form of action. You can detect a slight note of frustration. “While there are ‘opportunities’ lost in the eyes of many international fans, some expectations are unrealistic and fanciful,” he says. “Of course things can always be done better but the IRL’s role is often much misunderstood. Member nations have sovereignty. We don’t dictate their participation year to year, instead we encourage participation. We are only responsible for World Cup qualifiers and World Cups.”
For example, when Penrith announced in October that they wouldn’t play Wigan in the World Club Challenge in 2025, that fell outside the remit of the IRL. It has no power to compel Penrith to take part in a key revenue stream for the British game, which would have been shown live on national, free-to-air BBC TV. “Our goal is to grow the game across the globe but we’re a small organisation with limited financial heft,” adds Grant.
However, more games of international rugby league were played in 2024 than any year before. “Africa is booming and parts of Europe are very active. Asia is a key future focus and the growth of women’s participation is amazing,” he says. That bullishness returns: “We’re doing a hell of a lot better than many people give us credit for because they’re assessing us from an unrealistic understanding of our role and responsibilities.” His political background stands him in good stead when the brickbats start to fly.
However, one question remains outstanding. Why is Troy Grant still in charge after offering to stand down as chair last year? “Back then the IRL was searching for an executive chairman to replace the traditional chairman’s role,” he explains. “I felt unable to fulfil the new role due to work commitments.” Listing Grant’s numerous roles from charities to government to consultancy would add another few paragraphs to this interview.
He adds: “But the IRL board delayed the recruitment of the executive chairman and asked me to stay on to oversee the appointment of a commercial director and other constitutional changes. That isn’t finished and I don’t leave anything incomplete, so with the board’s backing I agreed to stay on. Coincidentally, I received more funding and support, allowing me to keep contributing in my current role. So the circumstances changed somewhat. My tenure finishes in December 2025. We’ll see what happens then.”
So what happens between now and December 2025 and, indeed, beyond? Can international rugby league ever compete – at least slightly – with football or cricket? Or even rugby union or sports such as basketball?
Grant is an optimist: “International rugby league is on a realistic rebuild of sorts and we will grow in a sustainable, viable manner. Will we compete with football? In the northern hemisphere, no. But in the southern we already dominate. The same applies to rugby union, but that gap is smaller than people realise in the northern hemisphere. Cricket is hard to measure, given India’s significance financially and its huge population which distorts any measurement. As for basketball? It’s difficult to compete with the NBA in North America, but elsewhere, absolutely.”
Next year a women’s test match will take place in Las Vegas between England and Australia. England’s men and women will compete again for the Rugby League Ashes. And nations from four continents will attempt to qualify for the next World Cups. In 2024, more than 70 nations had some form of domestic rugby league competition and 35 of them played an international match. Thirty years ago only four did. Troy Grant’s successor will have much on their plate.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 503 (December 2024)
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