Heritage day to celebrate history of Rugby League in London
The rich history and development of Rugby League in London is to be celebrated by the inaugural London Rugby League Heritage Day, which is taking place in the capital on Sunday March 22nd.
The event – which is the first of its kind – is taking place at the White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre, the home of London Skolars RLFC, and is being staged in conjunction with London Rugby League - the umbrella body which is a partnership involving the RFL, clubs, volunteers ands other stakeholders and works collectively to develop the sport in the city and the wider region.
The day will include a host of activity including the launch of the new London Rugby League Museum, where memorabilia from clubs throughout London and the South East will be showcased.
On top of this, the Bob Evans Memorial Trophy for services to London Rugby League, will be re-established and will be presented at half time during the Co-operative Championship 1 game between London Skolars and Swinton Lions.
Also taking place on the day will be a ‘Masters’ game of Rugby League between London Skolars and Fulham/Crusaders/Broncos/QuinsRL past players.
Masters Rugby League is 13-a-side contact rugby with some rule modifications changes, including a 5m offside rule instead of 10m and different tackle rules depending on the age of the competitor.
Already confirmed for the game are former Fulham RLFC Superstar Hussein M’Barki, former Bronco Junior Paul, as well as one time London Crusaders stalwart Daryl Pitt.
Darryl Pitt said “We believe the London Rugby League Heritage Day will become an annual event celebrating the game’s history in the capital and is an acknowledgement of the efforts of everyone from loyal Rugby League supporters through to the professional players in every era.”
Also incorporated into the celebrations will be the Highgate Wood Family Rugby League Festival, featuring a boys and girls tournament highlighting the Rugby League activity in Haringey.
Refreshments will be available and that will ensure everyone involved has an opportunity to catch up with some old and familiar faces from years gone by.
For more information re tickets, memorabilia and participation, please contact Paul Thorman on 020 8888 8488 or
paulthorman@skolarsrl.com.
About LondonRL (
www.londonrl.com)
LondonRL is the body that manages the development of Rugby League across London and the South East.
Rugby League across the region is in magnificent shape
In 2008 alone, more than 35,000 individuals participated in the sport
165 school teams played in the Carnegie Schools Championships
8 South East based Universities played in SRL competitions
From minis through to seniors, over 3,500 people played for 91 teams within 43 clubs
There are two professional clubs within the region, Harlequins RL & London Skolars
In 2008: 17 junior players were selected for national representative squads
Three Harlequins players were chosen to represent the full England Rugby League side.
