Rugby
Crossing the code – how rugby union and rugby league can live side by side
It’s tough enough running one major sport like rugby in a busy curriculum – let alone two.
But what happens if you decide you want to teach and play both rugby union and rugby league?
Nick O’Connor, from Crossley Heath School in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and Shane Birkett, head of PE at Howard of Effingham School in Surrey have been successful coaching both for several years as they explain here.
Why do you teach both forms of the game?
Nick O’Connor: I’m head of rugby and I do enjoy both codes. Selfishly my boy plays both so I coach both, having played both myself (sometimes when you weren’t allowed to). We are obviously on the rugby league heartlands of the M62 corridor so rugby league is popular and some of our boys play it outside of school. The skill sets are only slightly different (certainly lower down the age grades) and do
complement each game (the tackling in league and the different conditioning for example). The club game in league is very robust in its rules and governance and does not allow much, if any, flexibility in an attempt to get children playing - numbers, fixtures, paperwork, registration, transfers and fines. The school rugby league game is much easier to enter with different tiers of competition for example. Rugby union is a longstanding tradition at school. We still play Saturday mornings (not many state schools do that), and we try to compete
with the independents. We have very little soccer so students come to school to play rugby.
Shane Birkett: It really started eight years ago when the country was gearing up to host one of the most successful Olympics ever held. Schools were implementing the Olympic values in each lesson and everyone was ready for a summer of sport that will long live in our memories. In the midst of these celebrations, our year 7 boys had another reason to celebrate as they became
Issue No.81 January/February/March 2021 SCHOOL SPORT 29
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