With their recent Northern Rail cup win Widnes Vikings have tickets one of the boxes on their Super League rugby application. There’s not a team in the Championship that doesn’t dream of gaining a place in the Super League in 2012. However, having only narrowly missed out to the Celtic Crusaders a year ago Widnes is one of the real contenders for a spot in 2012.

Using the disappointment of an unsuccessful application as motivation rather than dwelling on their losses Widnes are working hard to be one of the standout candidates. 

In their last application there were financial issues that affected the financial security of the club. However one benefit of the Championship over the Super League is the lower salary demands of the players. This allows more of the clubs revenue to be re-invested in the club thus putting the club firmly in the black.

Another issue that needed improvement was the clubs youth development system. A lack of players coming through their development system into the first team didn’t look good on their application. However they are working hard to improve this. 

A 5 man RFL panel does the awarding of a Super League rugby license. It is based on four main criteria:

• Stadium facilities.
• Finance and business performance.
• Commercial and marketing.
• Playing strength including junior player development

Super League rugby licenses are divided into A, B and C categories depending on the strength of the club based on the above criteria. A clubs are the safest to stay in the league and C grade clubs have lot of work to do to maintain their position in the top flight. Below are the rankings that were award in 2008: 

Leigh Centurions were particularly vocal in their dismay at the admittance of the Celtic Crusaders. Many teams felt that the Crusaders were included only due to their geographical location. However the inclusion of clubs outside the heartlands was a necessity if Super League rugby is to expand, something the RFL made clear.

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