After a long-awaited return to play Sheffield Hallam’s Rugby League team were “very happy to see the end of lockdown/isolations.”
It was a very tough time for a lot of people, Rugby League Chairman Ed Barker described the time as “The hardest time of his life.” Because “There was nothing to do apart from sit around.”
Many sports took a long time to return to play for non-professional organizations but Rugby one of those who returned quickest. Barker said that Rugby Governing Body (RFL) “Kept us up to date the whole way through for what we couldn’t and couldn’t do, they even allowed us to return quickly when the government allowed it.” However, he thought they could’ve “Made more effort to sort local leagues so teams that might not play each other usual could’ve had that chance.”
A huge factor affecting things moving forward for Rugby League is commitment “Commitment has fluctuated due to people not being confident to play and losing fitness, on the other hand we have a lot more people signing up to play who haven’t played before as they are seeking somewhere to gain their fitness back.” Although there are a lot of new players joining the team there is still a “buzz around the team, being a whole new team with whole new goals.”
In a time when many teams are struggling due to numbers its good to see one team that is finally not under pressure to be able to have a team for the next season. For next season Rugby League Team are setting their sights high “We aim to win the league and cup trophies we have a firm belief in the team that we will be able to do. Not only do we want success in Rugby we also want to shine off the field by working with charities and other clubs.”
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