In his column in the Daily Telegraph, Moore, who is from Halifax, said the rich history of the two clubs rejected by the Rugby Football League should have given them the advantage over the two-year-old Welsh club.

Moore wrote:"The decision to grant a licence to the Celtic Crusaders of Wales in front of Widnes and Halifax has caused justifiable ill-feeling."

In response to RLF chief Richard Lewis's comment that the Celtic Crusaders were handed a licence in a bid to build on the strength of rugby league in Wales, Moore wrote: "The Crusaders have been in existence for only two years. They have a substandard ground, a playing squad of whom only half are British; and an experimental fanbase.

"In contrast, clubs such as Widnes and Halifax have rich histories; standard stadia, successful playing squads, academy structures and historic fanbases."

Moore argued that Wales will always be a rugby union country, contrary to Lewis's belief that the sport has a groundswell of support in the principality.

Moore wrote:"As for league in Wales; do not trust market researchers. Similar ventures have been tried since the 1970s and union professionalism now means that the talent in Wales will be given more lucrative contracts by union clubs, underpinned by an international game the like of which, despite repeated efforts, league has yet to establish."