As the Pro-Plumb Essex Eels staff finish off preparations for the inaugural Essex Schools Rugby League Tournament taking place at Basildon RFC this Saturday morning the last thing they expected was a sudden influx of new players.
Chairman Paul Guppy, whose 12 year old son will be playing on Saturday, was bombarded with phone calls from over 20 sets of parents who, having watched the final Ashes Test with their children were pestered by them because they wanted to play Rugby League.
Guppy explained saying;
“My son has a number of friends who play the other code and he has been telling them all about Rugby League."
"They had seen the Union World Cup Final in the morning but watched the Ashes Test later on. From the end of the game my phone never stopped all night with parents wanting to know how they could get their sons playing League. I immediately contacted Stuart Hogg and the result is that at very short notice we now have another school involved in the tournament this weekend.”
Hogg was delighted to include the newcomers in the tournament this weekend.
“Rugby League has always been inclusive and although this has meant a little re-scheduling it’s no great problem. Just allowing these guys to play ‘The Greatest Game’ should see them hooked for life after Saturday.”
“The Ashes was a great spectacle in terms of sporting entertainment even though the result was not what we all wanted. Compared to other sports it just blows them out of the water for entertainment, skill and athleticism. Personally I think this Ashes Series can be seen as another watershed in this great game of ours. As the participation numbers increase over here we will slowly peg the Aussies back. What all clubs have to do is turn this into a positive for the game. Whatever has happened in any other sport in the very recent past, we have to make sure that we grab hold of this opportunity with both hands and get more kids playing TGG. British kids playing RL is what we need to succeed.”
The inaugural Essex Schools Rugby League Tournament kicks off at 10 am this Saturday at Basildon RFC.
The Eels have also announced dates for the Essex Origin Games to be played between Essex City Origin and Essex County Origin. These games will form the first step of the representative ladder for Essex players as the newest Service Area in the South looks to hit the ground running.
With the City Origin team holding the Shield from the original Redden Court School Origin Series two games will be played within the City boundary at Upminster RFC on January 25th and February 21st with the Country Origin Team hosting Game Two at Basildon RFcon February 7th.
Origin Games will be played at U14 and U16 levels.
