BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Rugby League Commercial’s new managing director Rhodri Jones says the sport in the UK must stop undervaluing itself.
Jones, formerly chief operating officer of Super League, has been appointed to the new role.
Asked about issues around ticket prices the recent World Cup faced, Jones told reporters: “I met Jon Dutton for breakfast last week and that was one of the key takeaways for him from the tournament, it was fixing a value to your events and to your sport.
“That’s one of the key lessons that they certainly wanted to drive home. I think it’s something we have to look at.
“We have to be competitively priced, but we can’t undersell the product. We’ve all been sat there at our big games, making our big games bigger, and enjoyed the occasions and we can’t lose fact of that.
“We have a fantastic product on the field but we can’t undervalue it, we can’t keep undervaluing it.
“So It’s certainly lessons. There was some issues around ticket prices for the World Cup but I think they faced up to those.
“But it’s certainly a learning for us next year, certainly one when we’re looking at ticketing price, for say, internationals at the end of the year, that we’ll have to keep in mind.”
The price of tickets was a huge talking point during the tournament, and came after years of cut-price and cheap discounts being aim at fans for major finals.
Jones spent four years as COO at Super League and 12 years in a variety of roles before that. He also previously worked in marketing for Hull FC and Bradford.
Jones has been appointed after what the RFL described as a “comprehensive global search”.
“I’m incredibly honoured and proud to accept this role,” Jones said.
“It’s a privileged position to take the sport forward. I don’t underestimate how hard we’ll have to work to be successful.
“The creation of Rugby League Commercial is a huge opportunity.
“The World Cup has shown there is huge potential in the women and wheelchair game. But we also can’t forget about our men’s game as well.”
Jones stressed the importance of negotiations for the next TV rights deal, which will begin in the first quarter of 2023. Super League’s current TV deal with Sky finishes at the end of 2023.
Frank Slevin, the chairman of the RL Commercial board, said: “One of the things that is really satisfying is when you have an international search, and what you have is that gold nugget under your nose.
“Rhodri will be a fantastic leader for our sport. We’re absolutely delighted to be able to confirm his appointment.”
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