After rebuilding a 'tuck shop operation', International Rugby League ...
After rebuilding a ‘tuck shop operation’, International Rugby League boss set to quit
Former NSW deputy premier Troy Grant is set to quit as International Rugby League boss after delivering the game’s most substantial schedule in a generation.
Grant, who last week announced the men’s World Cup will be delayed until 2026 and the women’s tournament will be played as a standalone event in 2028, will step down from the job later this year.
His decision will come as a surprise after he joined the IRL just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought Test matches to a standstill.
“I’m proud to have got everyone back together and bridge the divide and relationships for a collegiate body,” Grant said.
“We’ve built it from a tuck shop operation, where we once used spreadsheets and some members were in it for themselves, and took money from the organisation rather than putting it back into the sport, to what it is now.
“I was determined to make sure we had a sophisticated system and we’ve got all that now. We’re transparent, members can trust us and we have no debt, we just don’t have enough revenue generation to really grow the sport. The calendar will change that.
International Rugby League chairman Troy Grant.Credit: Getty
“We’ve been trying to get a calendar together for 20 years so I’m pleased to be able to do that.”
World Cup winners Australia will play New Zealand and Samoa in an end-of-season tri-series event this year while Tonga will become the first Pasifika nation to embark on a standalone tour of the northern hemisphere.
Having been forced to scramble for a new 2025 World Cup host after the French government withdrew their support, Grant chaired an IRL meeting in Singapore last week which determined Australia would step in to save the event. It will be postponed for 12 months.
Ashes and Kangaroos tours will also return under a new schedule until 2030.
The IRL is expected to appoint a new executive chairman later this year, with Grant citing pressure juggling his own full-time work with the rugby league role for deciding to move on.
“I was proud as punch [with] what the World Cup did for the game after COVID,” Grant said.
“We were rising in 2019 then had the legs taken out from under us.
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“When I arrived and looked under the bonnet, there was an issue. The World Cup gave us that impetus to finally convince people we’re worth investing in. It’s a great role, but it’s ready for someone who has more time to invest in it and take us forward to execute the strategy we’ve got.
“I’ve had great help, particularly from guys like Wayne Bennett and Trent Robinson, as well as Wayne Pearce, and I’m grateful for the support of Peter V’landys as well as Simon Johnson.”
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