Bradford Bulls head coach Brian Noble has thrown his support behind new interim chair of the RFL Nigel Wood.
Following Simon Johnson’s decision to step down from his chairman position earlier this week, Leigh Leopards’ Derek Beaumont and Leeds Rhinos’ Gary Hetherington were tasked with finding a new person to chair a strategic review of the game and take the RFL chair reins on an interim basis.
That person is Wood, who has stood down as Bradford chairman to take on the role, seven years after being paid a significant sum of money to leave the governing body after serving as chief executive. Wood will be expected to present the results of his review in July, but it’s fair to say his return to the RFL and the manner of it has caused quite a stir, with some members of the board taking the decision to resign due to concerns of improper governance.
Noble, though, believes Wood is right for the role, insisting he can be the public face the RFL has been missing.
“My take on it all is that the game needs some leadership, as there has been too much going on, in all facets of the game, without any answers,” Noble told the Telegraph and Argus.
“That’s not right, but I know Nigel will bring that element of leadership now. I think he’ll do a great job, and I think he’s the right man for the job.
“A lot of people within the game will express their opinions about this, but the game was a whole lot healthier when Nigel was in charge previously.
“I think there are different dynamics afoot for the game, so I don’t know how long he will do this role for, or how long he wants to do it for. But I’m just glad there’s somebody who’s going to have to answer some questions now, and I might be the first one ringing him up and bombarding him with those.
“Nigel’s a good diplomat and it’ll be interesting to see the remit and power he’s been given. People, generally in rugby league, are fed up with the anonymity of the game, and the game not saying anything, which I think should change.”
