GRASSROOTS HISTORY OF RUGBY LEAGUE
The two codes of rugby were born out of a disagreement, in the 1890s, over whether players should be paid com- pensation for missing work for match commitments. The clubs in favour of paying players – all in the north of England – formed the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU) in 1895. The move eventually led to the NRFU clubs severing their ties with the London- based Rugby Football Union (RFU),
“With touch rugby we’re hoping to
attract delivery partners from outside our immediate rugby league community,” he said. “The game can be played both indoors and outdoors in an area about the size of a five-a-side football pitch. Leisure centres with sports halls or artificial turf pitches are ideal venues. The pilot programmes have been extremely successful, with venues regularly attracting 150 players on a weekly basis.” All Play Touch Rugby League activities
are delivered on a licence basis, and according to Birkett, the scheme has been well received, having already reached its target of 50 venues. “We hold the license for the brand and
sell them to a wide range of partners,” Birkett says. “These include professional clubs, community clubs, colleges and universities and we’ve also signed a deal with five-a-side football operator Powerleague, which will see ‘Play Touch Rugby League’ programmes delivered at 22 of its facilities across England. The licences provide quite a significant amount of central support, so the delivery partners are given an opportunity to generate income from touch rugby.” The RFL is also working hard to
introduce the sport to younger children. It recently launched a primary
which was determined to run rugby as an amateur sport. Initially the NRFU continued to play under existing RFU laws, but over time made changes to the rules which today means that a game of rugby league is played at a quicker pace with fewer disruptions than rugby union. One of the major changes was made in 1907 when the number of players in a rugby league team was changed from 15 to 13.
school rugby league campaign which it developed in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust (YST) and a number of other national governing bodies. It is based on YST’s Start to Move programme – ensuring best practice in child development and physical literacy. The scheme covers years one to six, although the earlier years are delivered as multi-sport programmes and rugby league-specific activities aren’t introduced fully until year five. Looking ahead, the RFL has set itself
ambitious participation targets. From the base figure of 51,100 in 2012, it aims to increase the number of regular players (those who play at least once a week) to 56,100 by October 2014 and to 66,100 by October 2017. It’s well on its way – the October 2013 APS figures show that 53,500 are now playing the sport.
FACILITIES There are around 350 community rugby league clubs in England, with another 100+ clubs and teams run by universities, colleges, schools and the armed forces. While the majority of clubs are based in the north of England, the RFL is keen to grow the sport in the south – where rugby union is the more dominant code. Dan Steel, RFL’s national club manager,
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The latest Sport England figures show that 55,700 people play rugby league on a regular basis
says: “Most of our clubs are in the north, but it’s critical for us to sustain clubs in the more non-traditional areas. The number of clubs in the north east, London and the Midlands has grown significantly over the last four years and it will be vital for our sport to continue to grow in these areas.” The growth of any sport will be greatly
helped by easy access to maintained, safe facilities. RFL’s Community Facilities Strategy focuses on a number of key issues – with improving existing pitches a priority. According to Carol Doran, RFL’s national facilities manager, there is room for improvement when it comes to community facilities and pitches. “Many rugby league pitches are in a
poor condition which impacts on their playing capacity,” she says. “A good quality pitch can accommodate around three matches a week, while a poor quality only one. With a limited capital budget we don’t have the option of building lots of new clubhouses. “We are, however, working with Sport
England on the design of a modular facility which will be a more affordable option. So we’re focusing most of the investment into improving the quality and capacity of existing pitches rather than identifying new ones.”
11–12th March 2014
DIARY DATE
Earls Court, London
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