I'd say he's done a reasonable job, Crusaders fiasco apart, during his tenure. The game still has a long way to go until it fulfills its potential and hopefully the new person can take it there.

Bigger question now is who is going to take it on...

Nigel Wood

What's the salary? I might be tempted back!

Some of the posts on here are a bit embarrassing. They remind me of a colleague who HATES Gary Hetherington. "He's robbing the club, cant wait til he goes" etc. Totally blinkered, and some up RL fans really - everything is doom and gloom!

Maybe some of us just don't know what we've got until it's gone.

Garry Schofield is all over this headline on twitter

Kath Hetherington....?

I'll do it.

Reckon even in this harsh economic climate I could get a sponsor onboard for a little more than he managed.

Seriously, for the most he's done a fine job (FA's post is spot on) - but seems to have been some dreadful decision making where Crusaders were concerned.

Probably time for a change.

on the sponsorship issue, he will undoubtedly take some criticism - but the clubs agreed on the Stobart deal, with * apparently* another cash offer on the table.

Regardless of how much personal involvement he had in the Crusaders shambles, is definitely the low point in his RFL career and he (and others) were lucky to come out of the whole thing unscathed.

That’s actually a pretty good question. Knowing the package on offer would be a good indicator as to how serious the RFL are to attract a top class talent

I wonder if it will be advertised or whether it will go out to a head hunting firm to target potential candidates

Kath Hetherington!

I've e-mailed him to thank him for his service and wish him well for the future.

Others on here (Roy Haggerty, Code 13, Ferocious Aardvark) have pretty well summed up my views on Lewis and his contribution to making our game what it is today. My only hope is that we can attract someone of equal or possibly better ability and for what it's worth, I'd much rather we looked to someone with no current or past connections to the sport, rather than a parochial, flat-capped "fan".

Richard Lewis may not have hogged the limelight during his tenure but no one (with half a brain) could deny the hard work he put into making the sport a success.

Only because Hudgell hasn't attended a meeting for nearly two years. It's his fault, not the game's

You're as much away with the fairies as Hudgell, if you seriously believe that his bleating lewtter had any bearing on Lewis re-joining the All England Lawn Tennis Club