Rugby League, which is to receive £11.9m from Sport England over the five years starting in April 2022, is one of 43 sports selected to share £193m of funding through to 2027.
The Rugby Football League is among those chosen because of its proven commitment to helping more people – and particularly those who live in what are deemed to be areas of social deprivation – enjoy the benefits of playing sport and being active.
Sport England, moreover, clearly sees Rugby League as sitting well with its bid to “build new relationships with innovative organisations, as well as with existing partners” as part of its `Uniting the Movement’ strategy.
Marc Lovering, the RFL’s Director of Participation and Development, said: “Our sport delivers significant social and economic impact in some of the most deprived parts of the country.
“We could not have done that without our long-running partnership with Sport England, so we are immensely grateful to have reached this new agreement, and we are fully aware of the responsibilities it involves.
“The funding will again be split, under agreement with Sport England, between supporting our England national teams, and in the development of the sport (with most of it to be invested in development) with a focus on tackling inequalities and building stronger communities.”
He concluded: “We have taken significant steps to increase the sustainability of community Rugby League over recent months with the introduction of the Our League Active participation membership scheme, while more than £10m of investment into facilities reaching more than 200 community clubs and organisations has been delivered by Rugby League World Cup 2021 in partnership with the RFL and Sport England through the CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme.
“This new funding model from Sport England provides longer-term financial security as organisations such as the RFL recover and reinvent following the Covid-19 pandemic.”
St Helens captain and England Women’s international Jodie Cunningham, who is the 2021 Woman of Steel, is also the RFL’s National Women’s and Girls’ Development Officer. She said: “This is another huge lift for the sport, as Rugby League prepares to host three World Cups in England this autumn – Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair – following their postponement in 2021.
“I’ve been lucky enough to benefit from the development of Women’s and Girls’ Rugby League over the last few years, which has been one of the major success stories of the sport. Physical Disability and Learning Disability Rugby League have also emerged to enrich the lives of so many people, and this new funding agreement with Sport England will be focused on accelerating that progress.”
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, said: “Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy aims to help everyone play sport and get active– no matter who they are, where they live, or what their background is. But we know that certain groups are more likely to be inactive and therefore need targeted support and investment. We can only innovate and tackle these inequalities effectively with collective action, recognising that this is about long-term change.
“The RFL is one of a huge number of partners we are looking to work with on exactly this over the coming years. They play a foundational role within the sport and physical activity sector and are therefore well-placed to create the conditions for change. They will also act as a resource for other innovative organisations with the same goals as we seek to create a more equal society with everyone benefiting from sport and physical activity.”
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Team Colostomy UK, who will launch their 2022 campaign with a fixture against York Lokos on Sunday 3 April – a match that will act as a curtain-raiser to the Betfred League 1 clash between Hunslet and Oldham at the South Leeds Stadium – will go into the contest resplendent in new kit.
The side will, in addition, have the backing of Widnes Vikings stars Owen Farnworth and Sam Wilde, who were guest coaches when Team Colostomy UK played Chorley Panthers last year.
Farnworth first became involved through being a Chorley player and has remained connected ever since, particularly as Panthers player/coach Kav Ellison, who himself has a stoma, also plays for Team Colostomy UK.
Wilde and Farnworth are, meanwhile, also supporting Team Colostomy’s range of merchandise, which is now available online at https://colostomyuk.bigcartel.com/
All proceeds will be used towards enabling more people with a stoma to play Rugby League.
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John Mooney, whose book `ALL for NOTHING’ based on the amateur scene in Hull, was published to wide acclaim last year, has had an interesting email exchange from a Rugby League fanatic in Holland.
Hans Modderman, of Papendrecht, regularly crossed the channel several decades ago with Dutch team Drechtstreek, and to play in the Hull League and remembers: “After our game against Ace in Hull in April 1987, against Hull University in March 1988 in Papendrecht, and our tour to Hull in April 1989, everyone wanted to come to Holland as there was finally the opportunity to play Rugby Leage abroad and close by.
“During 1989/90 we had visits from Hull City Transport (including Roy Holdstock of Hull KR), Cheltenham, Ealing, Lombard, Blacksmith Arms, Crossgates of Leeds, Deighton Woolpack and Jesmond. And in March 1989 we had our first international Rugby League tournament on Dutch soil with two English, two French and two Dutch clubs.”
Sporting memories often revolve around off-field events rather than action on the pitch and Modderman is no different. He recalls: “After training in the mid-70s the Ace players regularly took me to The Whalebone at Wincolmlee. This was certainly a pub with character. A friend of mine used to say `the grottier the better’ and that was certainly the case.
“I also remember Johnny Williams, the physio of Hull KR. Ace also had some sort of contract with him and in case of injury you could go and see him at Anlaby Road. At one time I had an ankle problem and went to see him. He used some ointment called Capsolin. This stuff was agony and felt as if your leg was on fire. I almost rang the Hull Fire Brigade.
“Whenever I came to Hull, after my move back to Holland, I always brought my rugby kit and searched for a game as there was always a team short of a player. In the early 1980s I was going to play for Ace on the Saturday. The Friday before I was with my brother-in-law in Prospect Street, stepped off the pavement and was hit by a double-decker bus which just pulled into the bus stop. I managed to get to Hull Royal Infirmay and ended up with stitches in my head and a bandage. The next day I obviously could not play but went to watch the game. The comment was: `It was good rugby training though.’
“I also remember going into the Empress with my brother-in-law. Bob Colgrave was the landlord, it was his birthday, the door was closed and we drank until all hours.
“After our curtain-raiser against Stelrad and the match between Hull KR and Widnes at Craven Park in April 1989 Eddie Rolmanis took a photograph of Terry and myself with Martin Offiah, Jonathan Davies and David Bishop which appeared in Humberside Rugby League Focus. They were happy days!”
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The London Junior League’s traditional pre-season 9s tournament was revived earlier this month, after a three-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with teams heading to Eastern Rhinos’ base in Colchester, Essex, from as far afield as London, Kent, Hertfordshire, Surrey.
Some 30 games, at Under 18s and Under 16s, were staged at the palatial new multi-million pounds facility at Colchester Sports Park, with Matt Cowan, Peter Hamer, Gareth Winnard and Henry Winnard impressing as match officials.
Brentwood Eels lifted the Under 18s Cup, and Eastern Rhinos collected the Plate. The Rhinos were also Plate winners at Under 16s, with the main prize at that age group going to Bromley Bengals.
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Kevin Penny, who thrilled the crowds as a flying winger with Warrington Wolves, Wakefield Trinity, Widnes Vikings, Swinton Lions and Rochdale Hornets, is preparing to turn out for Warrington All-Stars against the Rugby League All-Stars next month by training with National Conference League outfit Leigh East.
Penny, now 34, played his last game in September 2017, for Rochdale against Bradford Bulls, nearly four years before the All-Stars game at Victoria Park, Warrington is due to take place on Sunday 3 April.
He said: “I’ve just been enjoying retirement really, living a normal life and spending some time with my family; I’ve got two young kids.
“I had a pretty serious injury towards the end of my career, so I gave everything a bit of a rethink, but East’s assistant coach Alex Thompson is a good mate of mine and he asked me to come down for a bit of a run out.
“It’s been a while since I’ve stretched my legs and I thought I would give it a go, as a bit of a favour, and see what happens.”
He continued: “I’m really looking forward to the All Stars game. There’s a few big names in there already, such as Adrian Morley and Kevin Brown, while Chris Riley has said he’s playing, and Paul Wood too.
“It’s being played, I believe, for the charity `Life for a Kid’ and as a family man I’m all for that!”
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Richard Knight took his place in the Siddal dugout for the first time earlier this month, when the National Conference League bigwigs beat Great Britain Police in the first round of the Betfred Challenge Cup before accounting for Pilkington Recs on Saturday.
Knight has joined the Halifax outfit from neighbouring Underbank, who he guided through the NCL ranks and into last season’s Championship play-offs before Rangers opted to switch to the Yorkshire Men’s League. “For me this is the biggest coaching role outside of the professional game,” he said.
“Siddal is a club that you expect to see challenging near the top end of the NCL and I know there is a very talented group of players here, as well as a crop of exciting young talent in the Under 23s side that was crowned Yorkshire Men’s League champions in 2021.
“I’ve come here to test myself and I’m going to put my heart and soul into this great opportunity.”
Knight is pictured being welcomed by Siddal chair Paul Hirst.