Scrapping promotion and relegation in Super League betrays a lack of ambition

The hooter sounds and Blake Ferguson sinks to his knees and in that moment everything seems to dissolve a little. The exhausted Leigh Centurions players collapse into each other’s arms; fans cling to each other in the stands; the shy and retiring Leigh owner, Derek Beaumont, reluctantly steps on to the pitch, looking genuinely dismayed that the television cameras seem to be homing in on his leopard-print shirt and extravagant dance moves.

Still, everyone can be excused a little exuberance. For once more Leigh are back in Super League.

Yes, it was the Million Pound Game on Sunday evening, even if we are technically not supposed to call it that any more. The climax of the Championship season remains one of the truly absorbing spectacles in rugby league: an irresistible cocktail of hope and despair, ambition and disaster, a reliable generator of some of the sport’s most memorable moments. For all the talk of a widening gulf, the second tier has arguably never been stronger.

Adrian Lam’s dominant Leigh, which won 26 out of 27 games, are proof of that. Their beaten opponents, Batley Bulldogs, were outclassed but remain a club heading in the right direction: well-run and improving, and able to take 1,000 fans on a Sunday night in the midst of a public transport nightmare. On a sporting level at least, something here is clearly working.

IMG are only tangentially interested in the sporting side of things. As they unveiled their new blueprint for the sport last week, their vice-president, Matt Dwyer, largely said as much, making a distinction between “the game” and “the product”. The game, he explained, was fine. Great. No notes. It was the product – the marketing, the packaging, the commercial side, the spectator experience –