What is rugby league’s future in the Midlands?

Midlands rugby league has become somewhat stagnant in recent years.

With a Premier Division consisting of five teams last season, there wasn’t exactly a lot of competition.

Add that to the eight-team Merit League, where the winners only played four games all season, it seems Midlands rugby league has become the basement of the community game.

However, there are some shining lights to the Midlands game in the form of Nottingham Outlaws, Sherwood Wolf Hunt and Derby Elks.

Add those to the high-flying Midlands Hurricanes, you would think that the Midlands game might be able to thrive.

But for these teams to put a stamp on the game they have had to defect away from the Midlands-based competition.

With Hurricanes being in National League One of the professional ranks, Outlaws playing in Division One of the Yorkshire men’s league and Wolf Hunt and Derby Elks in Division Four of the same league, it begs the question, why did they feel the need to leave?

Was it the lack of competition? The lack of playing time? Decent funding from the RFL?

It could be any number of reasons. One thing to consider is the fact that not a single team from the Midlands will be represented in the first round of the Challenge Cup.

For a competition that prides itself on being a complete community game, the Midlands are clearly not part of that community.

No team from Midlands rugby league was selected to take part in the Challenge Cup first round this season and hasn’t been for a few years now.

The last time a rugby league team from the Midlands participated in the first round of the competition was Wolf Hunt back in 2020 when they made it into the second round.

However, for them to have even made it that far they had to compete in the Harry Jepson Trophy and make it to the final.

This competition primarily is held in the south of England. And now being part of the Yorkshire League, they can no longer compete in it.

It was the same for the Outlaws when they made their debut in the competition in 2009.

So why does the RFL not include the Midlands Rugby League in their plans for the Challenge Cup?

I think this goes back to what I mentioned earlier about the lack of competition in this area.

Who wants to see a team enter a competition just to be blown away in the first round? But isn’t that for the club chosen to decide? After all a competition such as this also comes with financial reward.

Although no actual prize money is given out, sponsorships and gate receipts can be huge for clubs - something a division like the Midlands League would need.

More money means better facilities, better facilities attract more/better players to the game, these players then help the game to grow.

With expansion and growing the game being one of the RFL’s main priorities in recent years, you would think some much-needed investment into the game across the Midlands would be a high priority, as opposed to French or Canadian professional outfits.

But with no serious input or cash injection coming their way, it could eventually spell trouble for the game in the Midlands.

Any clubs not getting the help they need, nor the accolades they deserve, will eventually lose heart for the game, and fold.

Players will start to look at other clubs to play for more competition. All of this leads to the demise of rugby league in the Midlands.

Perhaps one reason the RFL don’t consider the Midlands for such competition is due to lack of interest from people in the area?

Why would they invest heavily into an area that has zero interest in the game? One argument against this is, how do they know?

The Midlands are made up of some of the biggest cities in the country - Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Birmingham, Coventry.

All of these have huge untapped potential to turn out three to five high standard clubs each.

Leeds, which is considered England’s third city, has numerous local clubs playing the game.

Although it is good having full adult teams across the area, the future is only sustained by having a solid base to work from. This includes a solid youth system in place at the clubs.

Both Outlaws and Wolf Hunt host multiple sides at different age ranges to get the interest in the game young and move them up towards a first team appearance once they have reached required age.

Of course, another pathway for youngsters who have enough talent and ability will be picked up by the bigger set-up at Midlands Hurricanes, who again have a good youth development set-up.

But of course, this is just three teams, nothing to shout about.

Well, its not uncommon for people to come across a sport later in life or decide to move away from the likes of rugby union into rugby league.

And the universities in the Midlands have one of the best set-ups for this sport. Loughborough University, Notts Trent, Nottingham University, Leicester and Warwick all have at least one team going out every week.

If this doesn’t show growth and interest, or possibly the idea that the next generation are coming to the Midlands specifically for the sport of rugby league, I don’t know what does.

So is it that the RFL are only really interested in promoting the game in the ‘rugby league heartlands’. If that’s the case the entire Rugby League World Cup was pointless, and a hugely wasted opportunity.

Having games up and down the country, including in Coventry, was a way of getting more people involved in the sport.

So to not then follow that up with serious investment or inclusion into such a prestigious tournament like the Challenge Cup, shows where the RFL’s true priorities lie.

With the lack of any future for rugby league in the Midlands anywhere close to the mind of the RFL, do they need to start thinking, what’s next?

Could an external investor come in to provide the cash injection the game needs? Maybe a shake-up of the community game’s structure is needed again?

Or maybe the entire RFL needs to be stripped back and rebuilt in a way that includes every community in the game, not just the ones north of Sheffield or around London.

It's clear to see that there is more than enough interest in the game in and around the Midlands.

All it needs is for the top people at the RFL to take notice of this and put some investment into the area. Not only cash, but time and resources as well.

With Wolf Hunt holding training dates for level 2 coaching, it’s the first time a course of this kind has been held in this area.

If the RFL are serious about growing this game, the Midlands is the perfect place to start, and it all starts with a little bit of inclusivity.

Whatever happens in the future for rugby league in the Midlands, hopefully at the very least it has more inclusion, and the RFL will start to take note of the determined individuals wanting to bring the great game to new people.

I hope at the very minimum, the RFL include them in the community game and save them a spot in the Challenge Cup.