PLANS are afoot for the newly-formed York Ironsides rugby league team to join next season's National League set-up.

It could see the city go from having none to potentially two clubs near the top of the Rugby Football League summer pyramid.

The first would be York Wasps, who will hear next week if the fans' bid to get the club readmitted to the RFL has been successful following the closure by the old board a month ago.

They would be followed by the Ironsides, an outfit initially formed to represent the city at the inaugural York Golden Jubilee RL Festival on June 3. If that team is successful and well-supported during this nine-a-side tournament, they could become a permanent club, separate but supplementary to the Wasps.

The man behind the idea, former chief executive of Super League club London Broncos, Lionel Hurst, reckons with the onset of summer rugby the city would be able to sustain two National League clubs - despite the fact the Wasps have struggled financially.

He told the Evening Press: "If the Ironsides are successful in the York Nines and the city welcomes the team, a number of people would be keen to launch the club as a summer entity to effectively buttress York Wasps.

"We would not want to alienate the Wasps but rather augment rugby league in the city.

"Assuming York Wasps come back, I can see them flourishing, and there is then going to be a hiatus for a York team to play lower down the new RL pyramid."

He added: "There's no way York Ironsides would come on stream if it conflicted with the Wasps."

The new National League, which begins next summer, will consist of four divisions below Super League, with promotion and relegation between them all.

Divisions one and two will be made up of current Northern Ford Premiership semi-professional clubs, including the Wasps if they are readmitted to the league, while division three will consist of amateur National Conference League teams from the traditional RL strongholds, with division four comprising emerging Summer Conference clubs from the non-traditional areas.

The Ironsides would apply to join either division three or four.

Hurst said the idea would only be realised if there was backing in the city and from within rugby league.

He added that, as there would be no rugby union or football matches to rival summer rugby league, fans would go to matches, while there would also be an increase in available players.

"I envisage the Ironsides working with the Wasps and (amateur clubs) Heworth and York Acorn," he said.

"I don't think it would be a case of pillaging players from them. We will be unearthing a lot of players, for example out of rugby union."

He added: "Without a shadow of a doubt there will be enough fans and players."

Mike Miller, of the Wasps' working party, backed the concept. "It's an interesting idea," he said.

"We would welcome it from the point of view of generating more interest and competition in the city, and we would support it if the fixtures and format were properly organised and did not conflict with the Wasps."

Updated: 10:38 Saturday, April 27, 2002