The longest-serving rugby league chairman across the top three flights has had his say on the ongoing change in the sport and at the RFL.
Kevin Nicholas, who is the chairman of Batley Bulldogs, has penned a statement regarding the current changes at the RFL Board and the Strategic Review that has been commissioned and will be overseen by Nigel Wood.
Wood has been instated as the interim chair of the RFL whilst the Strategic Review has been led by the clubs with Leeds Rhinos’ Gary Hetherington and Leigh Leopards’ Derek Beaumont among the leaders with the pair releasing a statement earlier this month.
Nicholas, who is the longest-serving chairman in the RFL, has now hit out at the RFL and the former members of the board whilst backing the newly-established board that will be led by Wood.
He has revealed that he was asked for his views on the current Rugby Football League board by some of the chairmen in Super League.
Longest-serving Rugby League chairman releases statement throwing support behind Nigel Wood and Derek Beaumont
Credit: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Explaining that his negative view was shared by many other chairman in the Championship, he explained how he agreed to help “seek change” and offered his weight of support behind Nigel Wood returning to lead a strategic review ahead of July’s Council Meeting of clubs.
On Wood, Nicholas stated: “I was immediately supportive without any reservation whatsoever. He is an out and out Rugby League fanatic to start with. He has knowledge of the sport inside and out as a supporter, administrator of the whole game and a Club owner.
“He also played Rugby League at amateur level and so has been involved in every single area of the sport. He is an honest man of integrity and has intelligence to back it up. Those were my reasons for supporting his involvement.”
The weighty praise of Wood was also extended to Gary Hetherington and Derek Beaumont with the pair labelled as men “of the same ilk” and “good people that the sport can trust as wanting the very best for rugby league”.
On Beaumont’s resolutions and some of the opposition to them, Nicholas said: “I agreed to second the Resolutions of Derek without hesitation and then the overwhelming majority of Clubs supported the Resolutions such that they were passed and I thought that was the end of it and the review would commence with everyone recognising the will of the members and shareholders of our sport.”
Former Rugby Football League board criticised by Batley chairman
Full statement from The Chairman on recent changes at The RFL now online at https://t.co/roAuNprwnm
“How many of the directors attended the Championship Grand Final, the two Test matches, SL Grand Final and the Challenge Cup Final. I was told supplying that information required… pic.twitter.com/6zIhP3O0us
— Batley Bulldogs RLFC (@BatleyRLFC) March 25, 2025
His statement would continue with criticism of the resigned members of the RFL board including former chairman Simon Johnson and the other directors who recently departed.
Nicholas explained that he’d requested the information of how many directors attended the Championship Grand Final only to be told that “supplying that information required too much work”.
In response, he said: “Well if making three phone calls to colleagues is too much work I would like to know what is enough work for him. I know the answer to how many directors attended the Championship Grand Final because it is none.
“One of them may have attended one Test match but I don’t know how many went to Wembley for their excellent prematch meal and comfy seat in the Royal Box neither do i know how many enjoyed similar hospitality at the Old Trafford Theatre of Dreams.”
Continuing his criticism, he said: “It was a dysfunctional board that complied with a governance code but didn’t govern who have now jumped ship to no doubt find a financially rewarding directorship elsewhere.”
The takeaways from that for Nicholas were that the sport must “try to reboot”, however, he again questioned those trying to “frustrate the process” before lauding praise on the newly-appointed board including Emma Rosewarne.
Nicholas’ statement in full can be seen below or on the Batley Bulldogs website.
Kevin Nicholas’ statement in full
As people may be aware I was asked by some Chairmen of SL Clubs my views on the present RL Board and regrettably they were negative and after speaking to some other Chairmen in the Championship it was clear my views were shared. I agreed to join them as a group to seek change.
I was then asked my views on Nigel Wood returning to assist in a review of the whole sport to then report back at the July Council Meeting of Clubs. I was immediately supportive without any reservation whatsoever. He is an out and out Rugby League fanatic to start with. He has knowledge of the sport inside and out as a supporter, administrator of the whole game and a Club owner. He also played Rugby League at amateur level and so has been involved in every single area of the sport. He is an honest man of integrity and has intelligence to back it up. Those were my reasons for supporting his involvement.
The SL people tasked with dealing with issues over the last few weeks namely Derek Beaumont and Gary Hetherington are of the same ilk. What Derek has achieved recently at Leigh is phenomenal and a breath of fresh air to the sport and then Gary’s contribution to Leeds and the sport generally over many years is unparalleled. These are good people that the sport can trust as wanting the very best for Rugby League.
I agreed to second the Resolutions of Derek without hesitation and then the overwhelming majority of Clubs supported the Resolutions such that they were passed and I thought that was the end of it and the review would commence with everyone recognising the will of the members and shareholders of our sport. Thoroughbred RL people would be involved in contrast to the career directors previously who may be good at attending monthly meetings and accepting their five figure cheques but are hardly committed to improving the sport.
I previously raised with Simon Johnson how many of the directors attended the Championship Grand Final, the two Test matches, SL Grand Final and the Challenge Cup Final. I was told supplying that information required too much work. Well if making three phone calls to colleagues is too much work I would like to know what is enough work for him. I know the answer to how many directors attended the Championship Grand Final because it is none. One of them may have attended one Test match but I don’t know how many went to Wembley for their excellent prematch meal and comfy seat in the Royal Box neither do i know how many enjoyed similar hospitality at the Old Trafford Theatre of Dreams.
I never asked the question ( but I can guess the answer)how many Clubs they had visited or how many matches they had been to in order to judge their love for the sport or enhance their knowledge of how the Clubs function. It was a dysfunctional board that complied with a governance code but didn’t govern who have now jumped ship to no doubt find a financially rewarding directorship elsewhere.
So now we have to try to reboot and move on as quickly as possible yet over the last few weeks I have witnessed an attempt to frustrate this process at every step by people who are then going to walk away in the sunset. We know we have to be compliant with a governance code as soon as possible and that will happen but non-compliance for a matter of weeks due to people leaving en-masse is hardly an unmanageable problem unless you are incapable of managing problems which was in fact the case.
So the ex- directors as of last Friday have appointed a larger board where the only new director proposed by the Club representatives apart from Nigel Wood is Emma Rosewarne. She is an absolute perfect fit and again is a RL enthusiast who was quite simply best in class when she was the administrator of the game before she had a gang of board members to supposedly assist. She is a person of utmost integrity who will bring a calmness and efficiency to the whole process over the next few months if allowed to do so. It is unfair to in any way criticise the other people that the now absent directors have sort to appoint but it is not unfair to criticise the process followed against the resolutions passed by the shareholders so the next few weeks will be testing for all but hopefully we come through it and get the review started as a matter of urgency.
Kevin Nicholas
Batley Bulldogs
Chairman 1997- Present
Longest serving Chairman in RFL
Former RFL President
