RUGBY LEAGUE can be a brutal sport at times for coaches and players.
Job security is often lacking with futures determined on success.
For former Wakefield Trinity assistant coach Francis Cummins, his time at Belle Vue culminated at the end of the 2022 Super League season after being number two to Willie Poching.
Poching, of course, had succeeded in helping Wakefield stay in the top flight, but was replaced by Mark Applegarth in the off-season.
Whilst Poching has since gone back home to New Zealand, Cummins is a supply PE teacher at a school in South Yokshire.
“Officially I’m a supply PE teacher at Hill House private school in Doncaster. I’m a coach but I haven’t done any teaching qualifications,” Cummins told League Express.
“I’m enjoying it, it’s one of them that I’m enjoying it for what it is with the kids. It was mainly rugby coaching that I had been doing until last term but I’m now doing other bits.
“I said I might as well go down there and try it out, I had nothing else to do!”
Cummins does, however, want to return to rugby league coaching and believes that the late decision not to keep Poching and himself on contributed to the lack of opportunity since.
“Yeah I do (miss coaching). It pains me not to be involved, I am enjoying what I’m doing but when the season starts again and how it ended at Wakefield, it’s not great. I miss it.”
“The timing of leaving Wakefield was really late and whilst there was a bit with rugby union and I was there for three or four seasons, nothing really came of it.
“I didn’t put in for the Castleford Tigers job, I just left it but I have aspirations to return. It is just about getting the opportunity again.”