Hicks still on a big high in his new life at the top
REPORTING
EENGLAND’S underachieving cricketers have been told by Grahamthorpe to face up to their failings on this Ashes tour if they want to stay in the team and improve. With the Ashes long gone and the final match to come in Hobart, the Aussies put the squeeze on England in
Sydney before setting a fanciful target of 388 to win the fourth Test.
TOP Super League official Robert Hicks claims leaving full-time refereeing is a bit like going cold turkey.
He said: “It is a bit like weaning yourself off a drug.
“Refereeing at that level is all-consuming and does take over your life.
“I won’t miss that part but I will miss the adrenaline rush, the banter and the emotional roller-coaster that you go on throughout the year.”
But now the 40-year-old is determined to experience just as big a high by steering rugby league into a strong and healthy future.
Hicks has taken over as the RFL’S director of operations and legal and is currently involved in a range of top-level discussions. High up on that list is France’s decision to make Covid vaccinations mandatory for sports people going there.
There is a meeting of France’s Comite Interministeriel de Crise tomorrow to define what that means for individual competitions.
That new law has raised the fear that clubs could have to leave behind unvaccinated players for their fixtures away against Catalans and Toulouse.
But Hicks is convinced the matter can be resolved.
He said: “It is a very fast moving position with France but we expect some decision in the next week or so.
“We are in discussions with both the French clubs and the French Federation and with their government.
“We will get to the right place with France.”