St Helens chief urges partnership as NRL investment talks continue

St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus has urged Australian and European rugby league leaders to treat their negotiations as a partnership aimed at global growth, rather than a takeover of Super League. Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, McManus argued that the two competitions could strengthen the sport by combining their different advantages.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZ_hpprgdc

Super League confirmed earlier this month that it had received an investment offer from the Australian Rugby League Commission, the body that oversees the NRL. According to BBC Sport, discussions between the parties have been taking place since last year, with the proposal intended to increase revenue in the European competition.

McManus said the process had been approached in the wrong way if Super League was viewed simply as a struggling asset to be acquired or rescued. He acknowledged the NRL's much stronger position in Australia, including the scale of its broadcast business, but said the European game offered growth potential that the Australian competition could not generate through its domestic geography and economy alone.

The St Helens chairman also accepted that European rugby league had not been run well enough for an extended period. His case was that its weakness should not define the proposed relationship. He called for both sides to consider how a combined structure could expand the sport, while recognizing that any arrangement would not be a partnership of equals at the outset.

Rugby Football League managing director Rhodri Jones said in a statement reported by the BBC that the governing body was genuinely interested in a mutually beneficial and financially fair partnership with the NRL. Jones said the RFL believed a single global entity could unlock additional value for rugby league. BBC Sport said it had contacted the NRL for comment.

McManus also pointed to St Helens' appointment of Australia head coach Kevin Walters for next season as a significant development for the European game. Walters, 58, has previously coached the Brisbane Broncos and Queensland. He is due to take charge after a turbulent period in which St Helens have used four head coaches within a year, including current interim boss Eamon O'Carroll. McManus said the club needed stability followed by success and regarded Walters' experience as essential.