Derek Beaumont and Gary Hetherington release statement as Nigel Wood’s RFL return confirmed

Leigh Leopards’ Derek Beaumont and Leeds Rhinos’ Gary Hetherington have released a joint statement to confirm Nigel Wood’s appointment as interim chair of the RFL.

Beaumont and Hetherington have been tasked with finding someone to chair a strategic review panel as one of four resolutions approved by the RFL. It comes following the decision of Simon Johnson to step down as chairman, which was announced on Tuesday.

The chair of the panel will also take up the interim position as chair of the RFL, with Beaumont and Hetherington opting for Wood, who was paid a significant sum of money to leave the RFL in January 2018.

He has since been on the board at Bradford Bulls, but he will at least temporarily step away from those commitments to take up the new role. As chair of the strategic review panel, Wood will be in charge of a deep dive examination of the sport and will be expected to present the results to the RFL Council in July.

“As per the resolution we have implemented Nigel Wood OBE as the chair of the strategic review panel and by right he therefore takes the interim position as chair of the RFL,” Beaumont and Hetherington said in a joint statement. “We will now meet with Nigel in the coming days to form the remainder of that committee to undertake the strategic review.

“The review will encompass the “whole of the game” and will solicit views from as wide a cross section as possible, engaging the views of all clubs, and to include those of our biggest assets, our partners and supporters.

“The sport has numerous talented people around the clubs and the centre, across different fields and disciplines and the committee will be looking to engage fully with these colleagues to exploit those skill sets.

“It is aimed to have this work undertaken, for presentation to the RFL Council at the next scheduled meeting in July, when members will have their say on the best way forward. This is not intended to be a long drawn-out process but a prompt, transparent and effective one that delivers outcomes that will produce results the game needs to achieve.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be stated that Nigel has agreed to step down from the Bradford Bulls club board throughout this period.

“Furthermore, and to negate damaging speculation, we would like to make it clear, Nigel has never sought, nor has he been offered any remuneration for this project. He is considered without doubt by those who have proposed him to be the best and most experienced person for the job given his extensive knowledge of all aspects of the game which can only have been further reinforced having also gained experience of running a club.

“We will update with details of the full committee once concluded.”

The full statement cane be found here.