Toronto Wolfpack may be just the start under RFL expansion plans Rugby league is thought of as a conservative game and northern bastion. And yet, in defiance of this image, it […]

Rugby league is thought of as a conservative game and northern bastion. And yet, in defiance of this image, it has established the first genuinely transatlantic league in all sport.

The new rugby league season, which begins today, includes not just the familiar northern giants of the sport, but also a team from more than three thousand miles away: the Toronto Wolfpack, who will debut in League One, the third tier, on 4 March.

They join two other teams from beyond the UK in the rugby league structure: the Catalans Dragons, now in their 11th season in the top flight; and Toulouse Olympique, who debuted in League One last year and were immediately promoted to the Championship, the second tier.

The i newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

But expansionism to France is one thing; creating a team in Canada is quite another.

Toronto’s addition to the rugby league pyramid in England amounts to a recognition that the sport needs to expand.

Lack of depth

It has only two professional leagues in the world, in Australia and England, and an alarming lack of depth at international level: in the last 10 World Cups, dating back to 1970, only three teams – Australia, England and New Zealand – have made the final.

If the decision to expand to Canada is partly borne of necessity, it also reflects a very real belief that there is a market to be exploited in North America.

“It’s a new viewing market, it’s given us an opportunity to open up new broadcast contacts and take on a bit of the world that we don’t necessarily have a great deal of traction in,” reflects Ralph Rimmer, chief operating officer of the Rugby Football League.

There is no financial risk for the Rugby Football League, the sport’s governing body in England, in the new team in Toronto, which is funded by private investment.

That is not driven by altruism, but by a belief in the team’s money-making potential. Toronto’s chief executive, Eric Perez, calls rugby league “the most Canadian sport that never came to Canada”.

Promising

The Lamport Stadium in Toronto regularly attracts crowds of 7,000 for internationals – promising figures, considering that the governing body for the sport was only formed in 2010. Canada has also been awarded co-hosting rights for the 2025 World Cup with the United States.

Rimmer says that David Argyle, the owner of Toronto “absolutely believes” that there is room for another high-speed contact sport in North America.

“This is a business proposition as far as he’s concerned and will enable him to open up commercial and broadcast pools that aren’t currently available,” Rimmer said.

Oddly enough, in many ways rugby league’s best prospects of success reside in another sport, American football, and whether it can win over gridiron fans during the seven months of the NFL off-season. Rugby league is fortunate in its timing.

While the American football season runs from the end of September to early February, the rugby league season begins in February and runs to October.

If rugby league can act as a substitute for North American sports fans missing the NFL, it could be hugely lucrative.

American football might also provide rugby league’s best chance of developing a formidable North American player pool. “There’s a big pool of talent there that nobody’s taking advantage of,” says Rimmer.

He believes that those who play at wide receiver in American football are particularly suited to transferring to rugby league. Attempts are being made to nurture talent in Canada, with Brian Noble appointed director of rugby for the Wolfpack.

New beginning

For all the intrigue of a Canadian team taking part in England’s rugby league competition, this should be seen less as an ending than a beginning.

All the challenges of incorporating Toronto – above all the sheer distance, which means that they will play their away games in blocks – amounts to road-testing for how more North American teams could be included into the rugby league pyramid.

That is certainly the aim: the Wolfpack are a “forerunner” of transatlantic expansion, Rimmer explains. Montreal and Philadelphia are already being considered as future cities to host rugby league teams.

This is still an experiment in its nascent days. But the quiet audacity and ambition of rugby league should not be doubted.