If it feels like rugby league has been here before, then that’s because it has. In 1996, it was the pivot to summer rugby which would revolutionise the game forever. Fast forward to 2015 and there were gimmicky hashtags as far as the eye could see – #RLNewEra, #EveryMinuteMatters … and a league structure which was doomed to fail from the start.
And for 2023? IMG is tasked with delivering the mainstream exposure everyone associated with the sport craves. It has a useful platform to build from in the shape of last year’s Rugby League World Cup, albeit one which didn’t quite have the fairytale ending it would have hoped for, with England’s defeat in the semi-finals against Samoa. But in effect, the global media company has been given the keys to rugby league’s castle and afforded the chance to rip up the playbook on and off the field.
