Raising the Super League standard

Would Huddersfield go down if they finish bottom?

By BBC Sport's Dave Woods

The fascinating fight for Super League survival may be rendered meaningless, because of Rugby League's determination to drive up standards on and off the field.

Huddersfield and Wakefield are currently locked in a tense battle to avoid bottom spot, and so avoid relegation.

But the issue may not be that straight forward.

At the beginning of this season, every professional club agreed a proposal that the 2002 Super League should be made up only of clubs who passed a strict test of their overall standards.

A club's viability as a franchise will be judged not only on its playing strengths, but also financial viability, marketing effectiveness, ground standards and junior development.

Financial strife

Every club in the Super League submitted a franchise application, and if any club fails to reach the required level in all areas, they face being kicked out of the league.

The results of the franchise applications will be known soon, possibly before the league season has reached its dramatic conclusion.

If Huddersfield finish bottom of the league for the fourth successive year, the clamour for them to be relegated will be deafening.

But the Giants are almost certain to pass the Franchise test, as they have a new stadium and sound financial backing from millionaire Ken Davy.

Potential embarrassment

Super League officials could therefore face an embarrassing situation if Huddersfield do finish bottom and another club fails the franchise test.

They could then be caught between serving natural justice and relegating Huddersfield or sticking by their own rules and and relegating a club deemed not to have a good enough stadium or stable finances.

At the moment it remains a theoretical quandary for those running Super League.

But with regular tales of financial strife coming from several clubs this season, it's certainly more than possible that the problem and potential embarrassment will arise within the next few weeks.