Toulouse

ATEOTD some people just have to accept that the nature of professional sport, as compared to the semi-pro game we had for a number of years, means that some clubs will not be able to sustain themselves at a pro level.

Realistically clubs need to be averaging 10k fans at home for sustainability as a business. This is incredibly difficult at the best of times - see Ken Davy having poured millions into Giants, and can barely get 5k home fans in a week. The same goes for many established clubs in big boroughs of several hundred thousand people - Hull KR, Wakefield and Warrington all spring to mind, as well as Huddersfield.

That said, it's those clubs that have the best chance of succeeding as businesses and as being competitive in the league, which is why the RFL should prioritise them. Sad as it is, Featherstone are never going to average 10k at home, given they are lagging behind Wakefield & Cas, their direct competition for fans. Sad to say, the same may well be true of Halifax.

Licencing is a good system which keeps clubs that'll never make it safe. Yes, the route into SL should be made much clearer, and not dependent on a 'is there a space for you' logic. If Fax, Leigh, even Fev can make their businesses work and show the necessary surpluses to survive in SL as more than a team to get thrashed for three years, then great, they should be let in.

But the ultimate goal of the RFL should be to create a stable, saleable, competitive top flight. And if that doesn't involve some of the traditional clubs, or requires them to merge with others to survive, then that's the price we have to pay to survive as a top-level sport.