Sounds like common sense to me. Toulouse can not be judged on the same criteria as the Championship clubs.

The correct course of action here is a law suit brought by all of the affected parties....

Let's take these clowns in red hall to task..

Makes the game pointless below SL. If they can't be judged on the same criteria, then they should just get lost.

I know lets promote Leeds United up two divisions because they have a nice stadium and their chairman is loaded (don't know if he is any more), but you get the picture. If they want premiership football again they have to earn it.

Lets have Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish teams, but why do we have French teams, hang on I think I have just got it. Something in that article said that they could bring a TV deal to the table....got it its all about money.

=#FF0000[size=200RFL BOARD OUT[/size

Why not?

What form would the law suit take? The RFL are completely free to run the sport however they like. You could try the Court of Arbitration in Sport but I'm not sure that the RFL would be under any legal obligation to implement any ruling.

Plus there's the tiny problem of the bye-law which states that any club engaged in legal action against the RFL is automatically suspended from all RFL run competitions...

Did anyone mention Hitler.

Well if the 22 Championship clubs took the joint action, I would quite happily miss a few Sundays just to see dick(head) lewis get the boot

Godwins.

So why did the RFL not just come out and say it in the first place instead of lying?

I think you have missed the point some distance.

So the RFL should have stated that a year ago instead of looking like complete pricks.
Again.

If it makes sense, then why not state it in the first place and put their case forward?

Why tell a pack of lies to its member clubs?

How is that in any way excusable?

My point was simply it is effectively a dictatorship. The franchise rules were the same 'if you want to apply, you cannot question or take legal action over the decision'...this was obviously because the decisions had already been made and a challenge would have been won in the High Court

to be fair, Toulouse cannot win the NRC - so I dont think that can be a valid comparison between clubs.

As stated else where there was a plan for them to take part this year. Not sure how or why that plan fell by the wayside.

This isn’t just a rule change. It is a change in an agreement which was voted on by member clubs.

Perhaps it’s now time for the member clubs to make a stand?

They could if they entered it, but they refuse to.

Clubs have spent large amounts of money on a licencing system that should be fair and transparent..
This system has been shown to be neither!!!!! This money is effectively wasted....
I am not sure what could be enforced but I would relish the RFL having to answer for their decisions and justify them rather than this totalitarian way of doing business. Maybe it would inspire a vote of no confidence against the pricks running and ruining this sport!!!!!

Too much hassle in preparation for Super League. Why fanny around with the costs of entering the NRC when they can coast for a season and then start their Antipodean recruitment spree.

One plus though - another "derby" added to the league calendar.

Woo hoo

Almost as damming is the way that this news has been broken.. In a RL paper!!!!
No official comment from the RFL yet?????????????????


Sue the Lying RFL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because it’s obvious now that they never needed to enter the competition in the first place in order to qualify.

Gilles Dumas was talking of their goal for this season being to make the play-offs. I guess you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out why "appearing in the grand final" wasn't the team's aim...

Off you go. It's your money, do what you want with it (though sticking it in a bin liner and leaving it on a street corner for someone to find would actually be more useful)

I can understand why some may want to, but the practicalities are hardly conducive to success if the issue is taken to the courts. Better (and cheaper) to try and do something within the structure of the sport.

When was the last occasion any UK sports club won a High Court action against it's governing body? What [ilaw[/i has been broken here?

So you are saying that the RFL have acted correctly here? That there is no reason for Championship clubs to feel aggrieved?

Do you not think that some of these clubs have spent money on improvements under a set of criteria that has now changed without their consent?

Indeed - the clear message is that the structure of the sport is still one of deals done in motorway service stations. Ambitious clubs would do better to spend their money on taking people out for lunch than in drawing up architects plans for new stadia or glossy franchise bids.

I suppose the one good thing to come out of this is that it does fully open the door to a franchise bid from Stade Francais or anyone else with a bit of a cash and the back of an envelope to draw up a plan on.