Rugby League
Rugby Union is in the news at the moment because of the World Cup but we wanted to tell you about another form of rugby for your age group – Rugby League.
The Great Britain Lions are playing in the Oceania Cup this month on 2nd November and 16th November. All of these matches will be shown live on BBC and will give you a first class view of the sport.
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
What’s the difference between Rugby League and Union?
Rugby League has a team of 13 players not 15 like rugby union. Each sport has tries, penalties and conversions but the scoring is different –a try is worth 4 points (not 5) and drop goals are worth 1 (not 3) and penalties 2 (not 3).
Another difference is what happens after a tackle is made. In Rugby League, once a player is tackled they have to stop and roll the ball back on the ground with their foot between their legs. The team is able to do this 6 times during possession of the ball and if they don’t manage to score a try they have to kick it towards the other team.
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
How can you get involved?
Have a look at the link below for all the information you will need but we have also set out a few schemes that Rugby League have set up for kids around the country, Sky Try, National 9’s and Champion Schools.
https://www.rugby-league.com/get_involved/play
Sky Try
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
Through school, a local Rugby League club or Rugby League events, you may have heard of Sky Try?
So far it has enabled 700,000 children and young people have fun, get active, grow in confidence and enjoy Rugby League.
It’s a high-quality introduction to the sport and helps your age group to find more playing opportunities including the talent pathway.
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
National 9s
Rugby League 9s was first launched in 2016 to create a more accessible and exciting version of the game for school children to take part in locally and nationally. Successful schools from each region progress to the National finals.
A full set of coaching cards, alongside video resources, have been created in association with the Rugby League World Cup 2021 InspiredBy programme and made available free of charge to all schools across the UK.
The National 9s finals in 2020 will have competitions for Y7 to Y9 boys teams plus a new Y7 girls event.
It will take place from the 30th June - 1st July 2020 at Victoria Park in Warrington.
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
Champion Schools
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
This is a secondary school competition. In each area there is a local qualifying competition, and the top teams enter the regional stages of the competition which is split into 6 areas: North West, Yorkshire, Cumbria, North East, Wales and London & South East.
At that stage, teams play in 4 pools and the top teams qualify for the national knock out rounds, which is where the event officially becomes the Champion Schools competition.
Boys
They play 13-a-side throughout the competition. There are 3 knock out rounds before the finals, which are played centrally on one day which creates a great atmosphere and event for the pupils to take part in.
Girls
They play 9-a-side in Y7 and Y8, and 11-a-side in Y9 – Y11 and they compete in a national festival followed by a semi-final in their attempts to reach the finals day.
A competition for stars of the future...
Many past and present Super League and Women’s Super League stars competed in, and won, the Champion Schools competitions when they were at school, including Kevin Sinfield and Caitlin Beevers.
With thanks to Rugby Football League for the use of the videos.
Want to watch more Rugby League?
There’s a free membership scheme called ‘Our League’ which can be downloaded as an app or accessed on the internet. There are weekly streams of live games throughout the season, plus representative games. It shows everything from the Champion Schools Finals day to the England Academy and Knights teams, including Championship and League 1 fixtures and Women’s Super League matches. Upcoming matches in Community Representative programmes (England Lions) will be shown on there too.
Visit: https://membership.rugby-league.com/
Get involved in rugby league: https://www.rugby-league.com/get_involved/play/schools/
