"Down the Line" blog by Andrew Henderson
DOWN THE LINE ? EVERYONE A WINNER
13th May 2009
Rugby League is a young man's game. That's for certain. And if you need any convincing of that statement you should have been at The Willows on May Bank Holiday Monday.That's when we saw the high quality of what's coming through in the British game when the Northern Rail BARLA Youth Cup Finals were staged at the Super League club's stadium.
There were three excellent games with the Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 finals all producing fantastic contests packed with quality rugby and players who really impressed some very shrewd judges.
In the Under 14 game Warrington's Ryland Sharks beat Dewsbury's Shaw Cross Sharks 38-12 while at Under 16 level Hull Isberg overcame West Cumbria's Broughton Red Rose 44-10.
The top action came in the Under 18 Final when Leigh East beat their arch rivals and neighbours Leigh Miners' Rangers 18-12 after extra time. What a thriller that Final turned out to be and both sets of players richly deserve a pat on the back.
And to the players' eternal credit they played in the Final in really difficult weather conditions and failing light!
Just hearing about the high quality and entertaining nature of all three games was a major lift for all the blokes in the professional game.
Raising playing standards in both the professional and amateur games is important to British Rugby League if we seriously want to improve our position within the game's world rankings.
It's from the junior game that the future stars of Rugby League are created and, even if many of these guys don't go on to sign for professional clubs, it's equally important that the recreational game remains vibrant and rewarding at every level.
For such a big game to go to extra time is incredible. Playing in a final absorbs every bounce of a players' strength, commitment and skill even in normal match time and to add even more game time to decide a Final is a major challenge to the players and match officials.
Rugby League isn't an easy game to play - nor should it be. But the young men who turned out in all three Finals are a credit to the sport, their clubs and themselves. Well done to the sponsors Northern Rail and Sportsmatch for their wisdom in investing in the
game at this level and providing a wonder Cup Final experience for all the players.
I hope that many professional clubs had their scouts at The Willows. There's bound to have been some rich pickings for the engage Super League clubs and those from both divisions of the Co-operative Championship.
A Rugby League club is a continuously developing being and it needs to be fed by a conveyor belt of enthusiastic young athletes with ability. That's how most clubs survive. It's impossible to run a club by buying players in, clubs have to raise their own talent if they are to survive and thrive.
So going to such events as the Northern Rail BARLA Youth Cup Finals should be compulsory for club scouts.
And another thing, all six amateur clubs deserve our thanks for producing such high quality teams. That's no easy feat. It's hard work recruiting players, training them, equipping them and then supporting through all the qualifying rounds.
Sometimes I think we tend to take that process for granted. And we shouldn't. So let's hear it for the club volunteers, the coaches, the parents and let's not forget the match officials who make it possible for these kids to play Rugby League each week. They're the unsung heroes of the whole game.
