How England's rugby league bosses plan to avoid repeat of World Cup pain

Ian Nolan, the RFL's new chief executive, has made clear that he recognises that.

"There are plenty of mitigating reasons why we failed to reach the knockout stages, many of which were out of our control, such as travel itineraries and format of the competition, but we can't use these as excuses," Nolan said.

"Likewise, we were also criticised for what happened with the TV rights and the tournament going behind a paywall [on Premier Sports]. We had no control over who the rights were sold to. However, television is an important element of capturing the imagination of the next generation.