DIFFERENT days, different ways.
I’ve been reminded of the old adage several times recently, not least when fixtures came through from amateur leagues around the land for this week.
I say fixtures. That’s an exaggeration, really, because there aren’t very many of them.
Other than the Southern Conference League, which appears to have a full programme, the majority of leagues will be in slumber, largely because it’s Easter.
It wasn’t always thus. The majority of competitions, certainly at open-age level, carried on regardless during holiday periods, other than at Christmas.
There has, though, been something of a sea change in recent years with, for me, a personal benchmark being when a senior player at the club I helped run rang me, probably about 15 years ago now, asking whether we’d be playing that Easter Saturday. When I replied “yes, of course” he seemed miffed, almost affronted. And he was a loyal, dependable lad.
I suppose that episode illustrates just why the Rugby Football League, which oversees the grassroots game currently, opts not to organise fixtures for Easter and, probably, for Whitsuntide.
The RFL (if it is indeed they who organise fixtures) very probably abides by the maxim “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”, which is at least prudent. Nevertheless, the relatively blank programme this weekend says a great deal about present-day attitudes and leaves many veterans perplexed.
A second development, and one that took me by surprise I have to admit, relates to the RFL’s decision to prevent clubs from publicising the first (Christian) names of junior players under the age of, I believe, 18.
The directive appears to stem from folk using social media (or, as I tend to think of it, anti-social media) in ways that rightly concern the folk at the sport’s Etihad base.
It goes a little further than that, though, with the practice of showing a player’s first name on his or her playing shirt to be banned.
News of this first came my way from the far north west on Thursday. My correspondent asked: “Have you heard any mutterings or discontent about a recent ‘edict’ from the RFL prohibiting even the mentioning of children’s first names in social media posts?
“It’s not gone down well in Cumbria with parents, coaches and clubs, who had no idea this one was on the way.
“It also refers to using first names on shirts (which I have seen quite a bit recently, and parents love it!).”
The RFL verified, on Friday morning, that my correspondent was indeed essentially correct and quickly forwarded me a copy of its Safeguarding Policy.
The beginning of the document – which I understand was issued to junior clubs last week – stresses that the RFL has worked closely with the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and, in thanking CPSU for its support and guidance, makes the point that work undertaken by other sports in this field “has been a valuable source of information and inspiration”.
The document spans 34 pages and few, I’m certain, would demur at its contents. Perhaps the most relevant phrase, regarding the concerns raised in Cumbria, is: “Safeguarding policy does include, in (recognised) poor practice, ‘Permitting a child to be identified by virtue of either social media or inappropriate naming on shirts’.”
While deeply saddening, the RFL’s stance seems to be fair enough to me, given the inherent dangers, and while I can totally empathise with miffed parents and others in Cumbria and elsewhere (who in some instances seem to see our governing body’s directive as an edict rather than, simply, as necessary guidance) the need for our governing body to take the action it has sums up the world in which we now live, which is depressing isn’t it?
And I cannot help thinking about the potential implications for under 18s players who appear at professional level, including in the Betfred Super League.
Meanwhile, we can all look forward to the time-honoured President’s Cup, and to the Standard Cup final.
The former starts on Wednesday (April 16) when England Universities meet Great Britain Teachers at Sheffield, and the latter on Saturday.
The Standard Cup is without doubt the most revered of all the District League occasions, although Barrow’s Barton Townley and Huddersfield’s Holliday Cup certainly deserve mentions, but even this great match no longer takes place on its traditional Good Friday slot.
Players, coaches and administrators from all Oldham League clubs would, once upon a time, meet at their respective bases for breakfast and then wend their way (via local hostelries, I get the feeling) to Watersheddings, where very big crowds, often larger than those at many of the same day’s professional games, would convene for a massive event.
The sale of Watersheddings by Oldham seemed to lead to a change in how the Standard Cup final was perceived and the match was staged at Oldham RUFC for a number of years with, I’m told, the Latics (Oldham Athletic FC) becoming hosts last year and being every bit as hospitable, by all accounts, as had the Oldham clubs of both rugby codes been previously.
From one long-standing occasion to another, much newer, event which I very much hope – in fact expect – will have legs.
It’s the Welsh Varsity match, between Cardiff and Swansea, which was played for the second time last week.
Rugby League is just one of many sports staged on the day and, as my colleague Ian Golden reported, spectators were – at least initially – captivated by the tough tackling for which the 13-a-side code is renowned.
Ian further related: “It was a great atmosphere. It was hard to tell how many watched (certainly mote than 500), as some were there all the game and others flitted in and out as there were lots of sports on, such as frisbee throwing competition on the football pitch next to us, not to mention cheerleading competition. American football was on the pitch just over the car park.
“We had cheerleaders, too. The story behind them is that they were to perform at Cardiff Arms Park, at the rugby union between Cardiff and Swansea Universities, but because that game was moved to the Principality Stadium as Cardiff Rugby has gone into administration (big news down here), there was no insurance for them there. Strange but there you go.”
And we think things get complicated in Rugby League!
