WHAT do Hull and Cumbria (particularly Barrow) have in common?
Answer: They’re geographical outposts. And I wonder how relevant that fact is to issues that have affected both areas in terms of grassroots Rugby League.
I’ve long been bemused (as regular readers will know) by the fact that open-age teams in Hull – or, at least, the relative handful left – opt to play in leagues beyond their own city.
Okay, several (five) are in the National Conference League, which is fair enough.
But the rest seem to prefer operating in the Yorkshire Men’s League rather in what has been for too long now the ‘shell’, for want of a better word, that is the Hull and District League.
The Hull Youth League as such is also defunct, at least in terms of who ran it (local volunteers) for many a year.
At least Hull Youth is in rude health under the general stewardship of the two local professional clubs, with Sasch Brook (who I know well from his days as a player with Oulton Raiders) and Rob Wilson overseeing games and fixtures with barely if ever a hitch, it seems to me.
There looks, though, to be trouble brewing on the other side of the country, in West Cumbria (which is, essentially, the region around Whitehaven and Workington) and in Barrow (or, more accurately, Furness).
Cumbria as a whole seems to be described, routinely, as a Rugby League ‘hotbed’ but for some time now I’ve not been too sure about that.
There are nowhere near as many open-age teams around as there once were and only a handful of youth and junior results seem to find their way to me these days.
That could be through faults in the GameDay results system (either at the inputting or receiving end) or through matches simply not taking place. It now seems that the latter issue could be the main cause.
I had a call from a very worried long-term stalwart a couple of weeks ago who bemoaned the fact that the Cumbria Youth and Junior Cups are struggling, and who cited the number of teams opting to play in the North West Youth League as being relevant.
I was asked to do a little digging (which turned out to be something of a ‘pass the parcel’ process) and the core of the problem seems to be that, at several age groups, there are not enough teams in Cumbria which, when linked to any gulf in standards, inevitably leads to problems.
There’s been a pattern in the last quarter of a century at open-age level of teams playing in leagues situated way beyond their locality.
Other than in the case of the National Conference League, which is a different matter as that’s an elite competition, it never seems to have gone well.
The Pennine League, for example, embraced teams which were based a long way away from that particular mountain range – the CMS Yorkshire League collapsing as a result – and, some years down the line, it’s the Pennine League that’s struggling as the RFL’s Yorkshire Men’s League appears to be given precedence, which is a situation that has also damaged the Hull League.
Anyway, back to the matter of the Barrow, North West and West Cumbria youth competitions.
I’m told that the RFL are seeking to facilitate talks between North West Youth bosses and their two Cumbrian counterparts.
I really to do hope that such a meeting can be arranged and that a way can be found of offering young Cumbrian players meaningful, competitive Rugby League in their own county, which is how it should be.
A pertinent issue, beyond the sport we all love, is that it’s hardly a good thing, given the state of the planet, for teams to regularly trek up and down the M6 when they should be enjoying more localised fare. And it cannot be too great for the players either, surely.
On a happier note, I was lucky enough to be at Hunslet’s 2025 launch night last Wednesday evening at the South Leeds Stadium.
It was a cracking event, conducted with great aplomb by the inimitable Ian Pickles who, like everyone else in the room, has myrtle, white and flame, plus chocolate and white (can any other club boast two such iconic and long-lasting kits, I have to ask?) running through his veins.
Hunslet has long had strong links with the south Leeds community and a recent visit to my school Hunslet Carr alongside former players Alan Charlton and Keith ‘Danny’ Dawson (Chas, a class act, was signed by Hunslet and played in the club’s last first-team game at Parkside, against York in April 1973) was a terrific experience.
Laurie Baker, the former chairman of top amateur club Hunslet Warriors, was also a welcome guest and was able to provide an insight to present-day pupils of what it was like to actually play against a truly powerful team.
And my namesake Phil Hodgson, who is the community director at Hunslet these days, having been finance director for many years, regaled the very well-behaved children and the teachers (also well-behaved, of course!) with his sheer enthusiasm for the club we all love.
I – with Danny and Chas – was there primarily to tell the pupils about Miss Collinson, who made national headlines (prompting a feature for the BBC by Eddie Waring, no less) after taking charge of the rugby team in 1963.
It had been unheard of, previously, for a woman to adopt such a role, in fact it remained an isolated example, as far as I know, for many years afterwards.
My mind drifted back to those days last Wednesday, and to how our headmaster, Mr Tindall, would tell assembly at the beginning of each school year that season tickets at Hunslet were available.
It was a strong reminder that our loyalties, as children of south Leeds, lay with Hunslet RLFC (not, emphatically, with Leeds or even Leeds United).
It’s not so clearcut these days, but what I hope will be a strong starting point in reviving that stance was made by the decision of Phil Hodgson (the other one, not me) to invite pupils from another local school, Cockburn, plus some of the area’s junior clubs – Drighlington, Hunslet ARLFC, Morley Knights and Oulton Raiders – to present Hunslet’s 2025 squad with their playing shirts.
Coach Dean Muir, together with Ryan Jackson, Kyle Trout and Michael Knowles, has assembled a grand group that fans hope will consolidate in the Betfred Championship after having secured promotion last year in such thrilling style.
For me, though, perhaps an even more significant capture is Darren Higgins, as director of rugby.
Results on the field of play can be volatile, for any team, at any level and in any sport.
While Muir and his colleagues will, I know, do everything they can to secure as many victories as possible, it remains a fact that a host of imponderables, not least the bounce of a ball and refereeing decisions, can affect scorelines.
Higgins will attend to matters of a more predictable nature, further forging and nurturing links with local grassroots outfits with the aim of rekindling the philosophy – for which I can vouch – that south Leeds lads only wanted to play for Hunslet.
Anyone who bucked that trend had some explaining to do, I can tell you, to family and whatever friends he had left.
Higgins said it all when he ventured: “Without the army of volunteers at community clubs, and teachers bringing through the next generation, there is no professional game.
“We are fortunate to have some fantastic clubs on our doorstep and Cockburn School are excelling with their teams. We are grateful for the work they do and want south Leeds youngsters to play for Hunslet.”
There was a poignant moment at the beginning of the evening when some of the men who served Hunslet so very well and who have sadly passed away were remembered, including former chair Grahame Liles and photographer Paul Johnson, who died suddenly at work on Monday, January 27 at the age, I understand, of 58.
Paul’s funeral will be held at St Mary’s Church, Swillington, Leeds on Tuesday. March 4 (1.15pm) followed by a wake at nearby Swillington WMC. Mourners are asked to wear colourful (preferably rugby) clothes.
A man with strong grassroots connections, Paul will be sadly missed.
Three days earlier, the BARLA National Cup will have launched and I’m certain that Paul would have been delighted by a bumper entry, certainly when compared to recent years.
The association’s chair Sue Taylor reported, late last week, that more than two dozen sides had pledged to take part and I hope many more will join them prior to the deadline of noon on Valentine’s Day (this Friday).
