Rugby League World Cup inspires region after kicking off in Newcastle
In October, Newcastle hosted the opening match for the Rugby League World Cup, attracting teams from all over the globe. The international teams have been promoting Rugby in the region by engaging with North East schools.
North East Kick Off
Newcastle became the centre of the tournament for the opening kick off, with England playing against Samoa at St James’ Park. A further three games took place in Newcastle’s rugby home of Kingston Park, hosting Scotland, Italy and Fiji. The World Cup was meant to take place in 2021 but postponed due to the pandemic. Middlesbrough hosted Tonga vs Cook Islands at the Riverside Stadium. The final is due to take place at Old Trafford in mid November.
Inspiring young people to get involved
Primary and Secondary schools in Tees Valley engaged with the Cook Islands team, while the Newcastle Rugby Foundation and Thunder Community targeted schools with a two year programme to encourage young people to get involved in the sport, including those in areas of high deprivation. The Royal Grammar School, in Newcastle, hosted the England and Samoa team training runs ahead of the opening match on their school grounds, allowing students to fistbump with the pros.
The initiatives hope to leave a legacy of rugby in the region after the World Cup ends.
Class trip
On Saturday 15 October, a group of thirty-five pupils and four staff from Hexham Middle School (HMS) went to St James’ Park in Newcastle to see the opening match. The twelve-month Covid delay only added to the excitement of the day. The profile of rugby league has been increased at HMS in recent years and the school has had some success at tournaments around the country and benefitted from visits to Kingston Park to work with Newcastle Thunder.
It was not just rugby league enthusiasts who went on the school trip to see the opening World Cup match between England and Samoa. A number of pupils just wanted to experience an international match.
Elizabeth Box, a Learning Support Assistant at HMS commented:
“We all had blue flags to wave during the opening ceremony which represented part of the Samoan flag. We were opposite the Gallowgate end which represented the English flag and it made for a spectacular sight. It was strange seeing rugby posts at St James’ Park but when the action began, it felt like a natural rugby league arena. In the first half England were attacking the end away from us so we had to make use of the large screens and frequent slow-motion replays to keep up with the action. Many pupils gave insightful commentary on what they witnessed.
During the second half, England scored seven tries at our end and both students and staff spent a lot of time jumping up to watch players get over the try line. There was much cheering and shouting to be heard. By the final whistle we departed St James’ Park in a very happy and excited frame of mind, some students carrying the blue flags from the opening ceremony. The rain was lashing down by the time we arrived back at school in Hexham but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the day.”
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, added:
‘We are very honoured to have had a World Cup kick off in our region and appreciate all the hard work that the teams and foundations have undertaken to inspire the youth of the North East. We hope these opportunities will open a new love of sport to the young people in our region.”
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