Richard Hercock: Let’s hope Bulls can rise to the challenge on and off the pitch

But that was not the case, although anyone who has any feelings for the sport of rugby league obviously wished it was, as the Bulls announced last week they need to raise £500,000 by next week or face going out of business.

It does not end there. Even if enough fans, former players and businesses cough up enough cash to keep the former Super League champions afloat, then they still need a grand total of £1m to continue playing a sport in which the name Bulls and before that Northern has become synonomous.

There have been rumours that the Odsal club have been struggling to make ends meet with players sold over the years to try and balance the books.

Even this winter, Andy Lynch was sold to rivals Hull FC for a reputed £100,000 to keep the Bulls ticking over, following in the footsteps of other high-profile departures like Stuart Fielden and Jamie Peacock.

Add that to the sale of Odsal to the Rugby Football League to help pay outstanding long-term debts, then it does not take a brain surgeon to understand that financial problems surrounded the West Yorkshire club. I am not in the blame game, but the traditions of the club and its loyal supporters are the sufferers here.

The worrying thing is if this can happen to the Bulls – one of the sport’s flagbearers and founded in 1907 – then no club is safe.

Forget about part-timers from the lower leagues, we are talking about a brand name, a Super League power and they are struggling.

It is a sobering thought and brings the game back down to earth after the excitement of the 2013 World Cup launch and talk of expanding the World Club Challenge.

The Bulls were winners of the trophy three times – in 2002, 2004 and 2006 – but what hope of them ever making it four?

As for the World Cup, I was at Headingley Carnegie for the announcement of the fixtures and while Odsal missed out, it was good to see England will play games at Huddersfield and Hull.

A shame Headingley did not get a sniff, but at least they have the honour of hosting current champions New Zealand. Watching local schoolchildren perform the Haka on the Headingley pitch was fierce enough, coming face-to-face with 17 hulking Kiwis does not bare thinking about. A post-match interview with Brett Hodgson is more my size.

Obviously, England will be looking to end over 40 long years of international heartache when these shores host the 2013 World Cup.

Not since the 1972 success, under the banner of Great Britain, have we tasted World Cup joy.

Then GB surprised many by lifting the trophy after facing Australia in the final at Stade Gerland in Lyon, France. With the match tied at 10-10 after extra-time, after tries from Mike Stephenson and Clive Sullivan, Britain claimed the cup on their league placing in the competition.

Since then, Australia have gone on to dominate the competition, their six-tournament winning run only halted in front of 50,000 shell-shocked Aussies in 2008.

Then New Zealand came out on top in a thrilling 34-20 success in Brisbane to at least show England – who crashed out in the semi-finals to the eventual winners -– that the Aussies are beatable.

Now with a wealth of young English talent coming to the fore in Super League over the last 12 months, optimism is rising that the likes of Leeds duo Kallum Watkins and Zak Hardaker, Castleford’s Joe Arundel, Bradford Bulls’ Elliott Whitehead, and the clutch of emerging talent at Huddersfield Giants that includes Michael Lawrence, Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe and Luke George, can finally end a long wait for silverware.

One of the reasons put forward for England’s failure at the World Cups has been their lack of competitive international competition.

That is why last year’s Exiles match was an excellent idea and a two-game series is planned for this season. Bringing together the best overseas players currently plying their trade in Super League, they will prove testing opposition for Steve McNamara’s side.

But one idea which has also been thrown out in the public domain is for the World Club Challenge to be expanded to a six-team competition.

Between them, Leeds Rhinos and the Bulls have lifted the trophy – which sees the best English club side face their Australian equivalent – three times each over the last decade.

That last success came just last month when the Rhinos beat Manly Sea Eagles 26-12 at Headingley Carnegie in front of more than 21,000 fans.

Now Super League officials and club representatives will go Down Under in the next few months to discuss expanding the event, with the top three in Super League facing off against the NRL’s best three performers.

Personally, I think if they can squeeze this into an already busy calendar – and, of course, make it financially viable – this has to be to the benefit of the national team.

Players like Hardaker, Watkins, McGillvary et al will only benefit from playing regular rugby against the best players in the world. Maybe we will not see a dramatic improvement for next year, but long-term it will cut the gap between the two nations.

It gets my vote and I think the public would buy into the concept, teams like Huddersfield Giants getting the chance to face-off against the Aussies.

One obvious problem would be the travelling involved and jetlag. The World Club Challenge was first contested in 1987 but has been played on an annual basis since 2000, with every match taking place in England.

There are obviously quite a few hurdles to overcome before this becomes reality, but it gets my vote.

Let us just hope that the Bradford Bulls are still around to get a chance to add to their long and rich history.