Lewis heaps praise on British game

By Phil Gordos

Long was banned for three months for betting on Saints to lose

Richard Lewis insists 2004 has been a great year for British rugby league.

The season ended on a sour note with the Lions losing heavily to Australia in the Tri-Nations Series final.

It was also marred by the betting scandal involving Sean Long and Martin Gleeson.

But Lewis, executive chairman of the Rugby Football League, told BBC Sport: "It's been an outstanding year."

Britain will have to wait another 12 months or so before getting another crack at the Kangaroos following the humiliating 44-4 defeat at Elland Road last month.

Domestically, however, the signs could not be more encouraging for the game in this country.

Attendances in the Tetley's Super League reached record heights while a sell-out crowd of 67,000 watched Leeds Rhinos beat Bradford Bulls in October's Grand Final at Old Trafford.

It was just a couple of players being silly Richard Lewis on the Saints betting scandal

The outlook for the British game was not nearly so rosy in April, when St Helens duo Long and Gleeson brought the sport into temporary dispute by betting on their team to lose at Bradford.

The newspaper headlines that followed the revelations were not the ones Lewis and Co would have wanted to read over their morning cup of tea and led to an RFL inquiry that eventually meted out both suspensions and fines to the guilty pair.

Saints duo given hefty bans

But Lewis insists the game has recovered from the Easter scandal and is now back in rude health.

"I don't want to be dismissive of something that was very serious, but it's fair to say it was a blip," he told the BBC Sport website.

"If it had turned out to be a widespread problem then it would have been a different matter, but it was just a couple of players being silly.

"I think we've been able to put the incident well behind us."

GB 4-44 Australia

The popularity of the Gillette Tri-Nations Series, which attracted around 180,000 fans to the six matches staged in this country, certainly helped on that score.

According to Lewis, the tournament's success breathed new life into the international game after the 2000 World Cup, which led to questions about the game's international future and left the RFL staring into a financial abyss.

Farrell was also voted Super League's Man of Steel in 2004

"This year has been about being more ambitious," said Lewis.

"We've been able to plan with a lot of confidence and make efforts to grow the support of the game.

"We're going from strength to strength and the sport has recovered from the setback of the World Cup."

Dare we forget, Britain also boasts the world's best player after Andy Farrell was awarded the prestigious Golden Boot.

"He's getting the recognition he deserves," said Lewis.

"I was immediately impressed by Andy when I first met him after becoming executive chairman in 2002.

"All the players respect him. He's a great player. We're very lucky to have a player like him promoting our game."