Brilliant.

Matt King? But he'd have to get his hair cut!

Wood is a liability - he is Hetherington's proxy. He doesn't have the skills or the presence to drive the game forward. It is his job to make sure the game is properly funded, participation levels are high and media exposure is correct. He has failed on all counts.

Your a major corporate sponsor who has been to the gym at crack of dawn before starting work and in rolls 25 stone Nigel asking where are the cakes!! It isn't going to happen - his physical presence is an embarrassment at any event he attends representing the game. We are a sport which demands extreme levels of physical fitness - pity the CEO doesn't practise what he preaches.

I think there are still some people without widescreen TV's so putting Nige on the telly will never work.

Yet Richardson is lamented as the man to grow the nrl and world rl, he is hardly mr fitness lol.

Rfl does need some fresh leadership but a bit chicken and egg. It isn't high profile or rich enough to attract serious business talent.

Sounds like Marwan Koukash has hacked everyone's accounts that or you have now started to listen to what he's been saying for two years

The problem the RFL have is that whoever is in charge still has to deal with the self-interest and in some cases delusion of the club chairmen to get anything done.

And a large number of those are the stereotypical Brian Potter northern businessmen.

No wonder Richard Lewis (who worked miracles to get the RFL back onto an even keel financially and commercially) got out as soon as he could.

That's why I was so annoyed. The 'Today' program is listened to by exactly the sort of corporate types that the game needs to sell itself to in order to attract sponsorship. Every time they get a 2 or 3 minute interview they fall into the trap of some sneeering sub-Inverdale-esque interviewer and sound utterly inept.

All it needed was a name drop of Russel Crow (for a bit of Hollywood), "British players in the Rabbitohs side" (i.e. it's not all Aussies on the winning team), a bit of "Sam Burgess watching his brothers" (for a player that they may have heard of), "2 very close games that could have gone either way" (emphasising entertainment value), and "sell out crowds" (i.e. lots of people).
There you go, pressed all the sorts of buttons that might interest a corporate sponsor.

Instead we got a washed-up fat fart.

Sounds like he'll be a shoo-in for next CEO at London!

Richardson has pedigree and he may be a bit podgy but he is no humpa lump!!

Given his bulk you'll need to crow-bar him in.

There are plenty of reasons Nigel Wood shouldn't be at the RFL, his body is not one of them.

agreed, but he is an easy target



The Sport needs to at first understand where it wants to be and lay out a strategic plan on how to get there. What Nigel looks like isn't important, but he needs to lead from the front (sticking his head above the parapet isn't a strength of his)

If the RFL, The SL and the semi-pro clubs want to be on a more secure financial footing and attracting better/bigger sponsors by say 2021, when the RLWC will again be in the NH, then they need to lay out exactly what they want and how they are going to get it. If they want to (they should) include the amateurs as well, with a view to increasing participation, then they should do so willingly/convincingly and not just pay lip service to the roots.

Put together a team to manage this process including SL and Champ club CEO's/Chairmen, BARLA reps as well as a dedicated administrative unit (secretaries/PA's) as well as an overall project manager.
27 x 90 day periods until 0ctober 2021, so set small goals for each of those periods and schedule meetings for the end of each quarter. Each meeting lasts a whole day with the first session looking back at the past period, what's been achieved, what hasn't and then the afternoon session needs to be about setting goals for the next quarter....all the time remembering the end goal.

Sticking to it, for the duration should be a must.....and this is where RL has fallen down in the past, chopping and changing without giving anything time to bed in. This is for 5+ years and it needs to be seen through.

Personally, I'd use the first 3 periods to set the main goals, as well as put the infrastructure/budgets into place, meaning by January 2016 the programme is ready to start.

I know of at least 6 other professional sports organisations who use this process to set goals and monitor progress......the NZRL is one!

You just make yourself look stupid by calling him fat. What has his weight got to do with anything?

Regards

King James

I work for an Investment Bank, on Monday morning all the Directors were talking about how great the series was. Several of them are South African and all middle class/London & SE based. I've NEVER known them discuss sport other than international RU or Cricket before.

If it wasn't for a lot of hard work from Wood, the Series wouldn't have taken place and we wouldn't have top dogs from the city saying how great the Rugby League was at the weekend. Give the man a break.

If only that were true. The Series is more down to a hell of a lot of work from Hetherington, Moran and Lenegan. It has taken years for them to get us to even this point and the RFL left it to the clubs to underwrite it.

Seriously? You think that he worked tirelessly through the nights and weekends to convince the NRL clubs to come over, or do you reckon he asked 2 English clubs if they'd be prepared to pay the NRL clubs to come over in return for a chance to make a few bob on ticket/beer sales at those games?

My money is on the later option........if hard work was in Bed, Nigel Wood would sleep on the floor.

The Guy took the plaudits for RLWC 13 when everyone knows it was Sally Bolton.

On the topic of his size.
You are correct that it shouldn't make any difference to his abilities or to public perception of him and the sport he REPRESENTS but it is unfortunate that we don't live in a perfect world and people of a larger girth are often not associated with success.
This is not a good look

Spot on.



In modern economies like the United States, Germany and Australia you never see business leaders who look like Nigel. But then again, you might argue that Nigel has shown no signs of being a competent business leader, so there is no discrepancy to explain.

He is just stating what he is, like calling him a male or a prick.

I also made "myself look stupid" by calling him a "washed up fart". I described him as fat. Because he is. Fact.

Is it relevant? Only in the same way that all people in the media get judged partly on their appearance. It's not right, but Nigel Wood isn't going to change societal perceptions by himself, given that he can't change society's perceptions of RL, despite being allegedly in charge.

It was a cheap insult James, aimed at a low-rent bloke who wasted two minutes of prime exposure due to his utter incompetence.
As a sport we cannot afford to be so clumsy when dealing with the media.

I completely disagree - we want to encourage kids into our sport as a healthy outdoor activity is having a CEO who is morbidly obese a positive image?

The top sports administrator in this country is Dave Brailsford - part of his success is his close connection with the sport through active participation. Do you think the UK would have won the Olympics if the lead negotiator was the size of Nigel Wood.

Image is very important these days would you say Russell Crowe has had a positive or negative impact on RL in general?

nigel wood isnt the face of RL in this country, nor should he be. Nor should any CEO. No-one is looking Sepp Blatter and seeing a fit young man putting forth an image of health and vitality. Alex Horne at the FA is not a slim man, and i though Bill Beaumont had been dead for years, having seen a recent pic of him I'm not sure i was wrong.

How long into the Today programme is N Wood on please? Obv. I want to listen to it. I'm glad he didn't mention S Burgess as that would be promoting RU and making ppl think, 'oh yeah, he left RL.' Also we've heard enough of R Crowe this weekend, I wouldn't have wanted a reminder, again it would get proper sports supporters thinking, haven't they got other celebrities following RL, seems as if it's just R Crowe. You see lots of celebrities at RU matches (granted they're international matches that everyone goes too). But still, you know what I mean. But yeah, I wish he would lose some weight, and yeah I think he should leave the RFL, I'm sure a club would employ him.

Gina rinehart, James packer, Clive Palmer etc etc

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world it has sponsors wishing to throw millions at it - despite having a number of ethical issues at the top. RL in this country is fighting for every penny it has to tick every box to even get an audience. Having a CEO who must weigh at least 25st is far from ideal. It doesn't present the correct image IMO.

If Nigel Wood isn't the face of RL in the UK who is?