THE Student Four Nations Championship, which start on Sunday (June 29) and will be held in Nottingham, promises to be the most entertaining for years.
In one sense that shouldn’t perhaps be too hard as both Ireland and Scotland withdrew last year, leaving England and Wales playing each other once at home and once away.
Twelve months earlier Wales (who I expect to challenge strongly this time) propped up the standings, having been unable to raise a side in 2022, when only three teams contested the title in Ireland.
Given an inevitably high turnover of players it’s only to be expected, I suppose, that the fortunes of all four teams can fluctuate relatively dramatically, and sometimes do.
But there are some wily coaches involved, not least, happily, Clive Griffiths, who is back at the helm at Wales, proving that the former St Helens and Wales fullback is one of those men who puts much more back into the game than he took out.
And it’s a nice touch that he will, at 71 years old, be in charge of his 71st representative game when his side meet Ireland on the last day of the tournament.
Still on the Student Four Nations, there’s always something new in Rugby League, even for those of us who have been involved for more than a few decades, and I have to admit that my attention was diverted by four of Scotland’s selections.
Hayden Cumming, Mackenzie Cumming, Frazer Murray and George Murray (it’s not been confirmed to me, yet, whether they are two sets of relatives) have all gravitated from the Open University which, to my mind, is a fantastic ‘first’ which I cannot imagine was on the agenda of the then-Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, when he launched the much-needed and highly valued further education establishment in 1969.
Other than flatly defying President Lyndon Johnson’s request that young British men be sent to support the USA in its war in Vietnam, this was perhaps Wilson’s most-important legacy.
I don’t know whether the Open University actually has a Rugby League team (if it doesn’t, there appears to be, now, a starting point) but it will be grand to see it represented on the field of play by four people, and I wish the Cummins and the Murrays well – and, of course, all other participants.
England will, of course, start as favourites, not least because they had a 100 percent winning record last year, while they recently lifted the President’s Cup, ahead of UK Armed Forces and Great Britain Teachers.
Regular competitive games must, surely, play a part in the Students’ continued success and the team’s manager David Butler has, without doubt, had a key role in England’s pre-eminence. In fact I’d venture that he has done as much as any player or coach to bring repeated glory to the cause.
Unusually, I think (although I might well be wrong) the series isn’t closing on Sunday week with what most observers might reckon to be the most likely deciding clash, which would be England versus Wales (although Ireland and Scotland would of course strongly, and probably rightly, object to that crass assumption).
The reds and the whites will go head to head at the second stage, on the Wednesday, and I can see that the format adds extra lustre to the championship. Anyone who is able should get along to Nottingham for what will be some entertaining Rugby League.
There are also, this weekend, Four Nations Youth internationals at Under 18 and Under 16 level.
Games between Ireland and England are taking place in Belfast, while the Scots are hosting fixtures against Wales. All are matches worth attending for those fans who are keen to evaluate potential stars of the future.
Similar opportunities present themselves at Sewell Group Craven Park – the home of Hull KR of course – when various Hull and District Youth finals will be staged, again on the Saturday and the Sunday.
Rovers are of course flying high in the Betfred Super League, but the club also deserves high praise for nurturing the grassroots so willingly.
Meanwhile, looking back to Saturday’s National Conference League programme, I had genuinely anticipated a number of postponements, given the soaring temperatures of the last week or so. A touch surprisingly, there were none.
Also surprisingly, there were no huge scores, in fact the highest losing total was the 20 registered by Millom in their 32-20 defeat at Myton Warriors in Division Three. In addition, four teams failed to register a point, which might be a first in what was an unusual day in the flagship league.
Finally, I stated in last Monday’s column that I’d provide an update on whether West Bank Bears, who were to attend a disciplinary hearing in midweek over scenes at their BARLA Under 14 National Cup semi-final win over Myton, would actually be playing in the final against Pilkington Recs yesterday (Sunday, June 22).
Despite reminders to BARLA and the RFL, I didn’t hear until yesterday morning (Sunday, July 22) that West Bank had been given the nod to play in the decider later in the day.
Talk about pulling teeth – my apologies to our readers (especially those planning to travel to Featherstone Rovers for the finals, who naturally wanted to know when the action would start) for not being able to keep them fully informed prior to when I was able to add a posting to Totalrl.com.