Kick In The Teeth

Rugby League On Its Knees

- Jeremy Cross

Rugby League fans won’t know whether to laugh or cry into their pints of bitter.

That has to be the drink of choice now, given the stunning developments regarding the staging of the World Cup on these shores later this year.

Organizers have been left seething after Australia and New Zealand both pulled out of the competition due to concerns over player welfare and safety in light of the pandemic.

Bosses from the Australian and NZ Rugby League boards have made it clear that the well-being of staff cannot be guaranteed.

One of the issues is that all those involved would have to quarantine for two weeks on returning home from the UK and clubs in both Australia and New Zealand don’t want this to impact on the new season there.

It’s difficult to argue against this, considering almost half of Australia’s population has been placed into lockdown after a Covid-19 spike.