Call for young people to take up rugby league after England World Cup success

After England were narrowly beaten by Australia at the weekend, their run to the final has raised the profile of the sport, and with Myerscough one of just a handful of providers to offer a specific course in Rugby League Studies, Andy Grundy is calling for more young people to consider such a programme when they leave school.

Andy is a retired professional rugby league player himself, and oversees the management and academic delivery of the rugby league programme at Myerscough. He said: ‘’Rugby League has a genuine opportunity to become a popular national sport. It’s a highly disciplined sport, it’s physical and it’s easy to play.

‘’England's success in pushing Australia all the way in the final shows not only how popular rugby league already is, but how much potential it has in the future. We're only one of a handful of providers to offer a specific course in rugby league and since our launch the programme has been a tremendous success.

‘’By studying with us, your qualification, playing and training opportunities will lead to so many different pathways for further study or a career, so now is a great time for potential students to consider a choosing Myerscough and becoming part of our journey.’’

His comments come after St Helens captain and Super League star, Jon Wilkin, called for rugby league to be taught at school level. He said: ‘’This is an opportunity for the England team to inspire some joined up thinking to take the game to a different level.

‘’The stereotypical perceptions about the game need to go out of the window. We need to break barriers down. It should be on the curriculum.’’

Myerscough’s Rugby Academy has a long track-record of producing students who have gone on to successful careers in the game as either professional players and coaches, or in the wider sport industry in areas including sport science, strength and conditioning, physiology and business management.

Dan Orwin is Course Leader in University Centre Myerscough’s foundation degree in Rugby Coaching and will also oversee Myerscough’s brand new higher education programme in Strength and Conditioning, which commences in September, with some places still available.

Dan said: ‘’The value of high quality strength and conditioning provision at the elite levels of rugby league cannot be underestimated. As the World Cup has shown, the modern rugby league player needs to have excellent aerobic and anaerobic fitness in order to cope with repeated bouts of high intensity effort.

‘’They also require high levels of strength and power to be able to grapple with opponents and dominate collisions. At Myerscough, we offer the opportunity for students to study strength and conditioning and to learn what it takes to work within performance sport." 

Myerscough College currently offer a Level 3 Diploma Suite in Rugby League Studies, in a venture that’s closely supported by Wigan Warriors Community Foundation and the Rugby Football League.

Wigan Warriors is the most successful club in English rugby league and has won twenty league Championships, including three Super League Grand Finals, nineteen Challenge Cups and three World Club Challenge trophies.

Any prospective students interested in finding out more about studying and playing rugby league or at Myerscough College or the new degree programme in strength and conditioning can go to the following links for more details:

http://www.myerscough.ac.uk/courses/rugby-league-studies/level-3-diploma-suite-rugby-league-studies/

http://www.myerscough.ac.uk/courses/sports-studies/fdsc-strength-and-conditioning/