For me rugby league was a fairly new sport. I wasn’t the person that stood and said rugby union was better than league and that rugby league isn’t a real sport blah blah blah. I was open to it because of the speed and hits that go in. In fairness we all play rugby to tackle and run into people and a fair bit of that goes on in league (watch state of origin).
I was put in contact with Oxford Rugby League through Tim Morton who at the time worked for the RLI. A quick email sending off my rugby CV and I was booking a flight to give rugby league a bash. I wasn’t expecting to get picked up and to my surprise I was offered a contract that day commencing January 2013.
Leaving Northern Ireland and moving to Oxford was a tough one. I had a great job working for Ulster Rugby, all my friends and family lived in N.I, not to mention Ballyclare RFC were having a great season (2nd in the league and Towns Cup finalists). Ultimately I decided to go and I am now very glad of it. The club was a brand new entrant to the Kingstone Press Championship and with the backroom staff capable of running a Super League club I knew I was in the right place.
In fairness when I left I wasn’t expecting too much in terms of playing. I was brand new to rugby league, stepping into a professional championship with players who have played this game since day dot. I didn’t even know my position! It was more for the experience, to learn and hopefully make the playing squad for match days. I have been fortunate enough to start and play in all the games (bar injury).
I have had my fair share of pre season camps and moving to rugby league I was skeptical about how tough it was going to be. My pre conceptions did not let me down and this has been by far the most difficult pre season I have had, training on the pitch 3 days a week coupled with strength and conditioning on non pitch days. As a result, 6 X 10m up and downs are no longer my friend, even thinking about them gives me that nauseating feeling.
The club secured me a small job working in their office as the Operations manager to keep myself busy, basically making sure the day to day running’s were going smoothly. Having this opportunity has again gave me invaluable experience on how a professional team operates.
We won all our pre season games convincingly setting us up well for our first competitive game against another new comer, the Gloucester All Gold’s. Going into this game I was carrying what I thought was a small back injury but having come this far and being selected to start I was not for sitting it out. Thankfully we won the game but on the other hand I was left with a burst disc in my back, little to no feeling in my legs and an over nights stay in Oxford’s JR hospital contemplating surgery on my back. A heap of scans and tests later (the less said about the tests the better haha) the surgeons decided against surgery which was a massive relief but side lined me for two months.
I was required to go to physio 4 days a week to try and get my back into some shape that I was not in agony doing day to day things. I must thank Holly from the JR for all her help. A complete nightmare to someone who is active and used to doing everything for themselves. A special thanks to my roommate Kenny who had to dress me on a few occasions haha.
On my return from injury we were sitting 2nd/3rd in the league table and for new comers to Championship 1, who were rote off by pundits before the season began was pretty good. My main aim was to get myself back into the squad and playing again. I managed to get 30 minutes against eventual league winners North Wales Crusaders and with a dodgy back I was slightly apprehensive. I managed to get through and that was me back at it.
Over the years playing as a centre or winger at union I always thought I was making a lot of tackles and that I was fit. Thanks to my injury spell, I had lost a fair amount of fitness and coming back to playing was difficult. I remember getting my first start since injury and 20 minutes in thinking, “what have I gotten into?” Mondays would be horrendous after a game, in complete bits. In a game of union I would have probably made 10-15 tackles and in a game of league I am making upwards of 35 (PB 43), just as an insight.
Our second half of the season took a turn for the worse. We only managed one win and two draws from our remaining fixtures. This was not due to lack of effort from the players but with the competitiveness at this level it started to take a toll on our squad. We lost some key players, our captain Alex Thompson with torn ligaments and another Chris Clarke with a broken ankle, putting them out for 8 weeks.
We stuck together as a team and found some form in our last games securing us a place in playoffs. To those not aware the playoffs are a knock out tournament between teams placed 2nd to 6th with the eventual winner getting promoted. Big deal apparently. Having relit the fire we were confident that we would win the first round against Hemel Stags and make it all the way to the final, after all it’s the playoffs anything could happen. Unfortunately we narrowly missed out getting beat by 4 points. A bitter pill to swallow, but in the end silly mistakes cost us the game.
Over the course of the season I managed to pick up two tries, a man of the match award, championship team of the week and the home game champagne moment (presented by a sponsor who picks a player out that has done something spectacular apparently ha).
This season has been a massive eye opener for me. The fitness and contact you put your body through is phenomenal, almost super human. I guess that’s why they call it the leagues of the extra ordinary. I have been very fortunate to have been given this opportunity and the chance to play alongside and against some fantastic players, which has personally progressed me as a player.
I would like to take this chance to thank a few of the staff and players who have helped me and Oxford RL. TB (Tony Benson) for his efforts as coach, Martin Roscommon for his help at assistant coach, Dogger (Martin Roden) player coach for his guidance, Holly for keeping me on the pitch, Tony Colquitt and Adrian Smith for all their help in the management side of the club and all the players for making it a great year.
Overall I could not have asked for a better introduction to rugby league. Coming from having no rugby league experience to being a starting player in a professional team is massive for me. For anyone wanting to give rugby league ago I would strongly encourage it. Fantastic sport, fantastic people and a great experience. Here’s looking to bigger and better things for Oxford RL next year. WATCH THIS SPACE!
Time to relax
Cheers
JJ
If you are interesting in giving rugby league a shot, Oxford RL are recuiting for the 2014 season and are holding an open trial on Sunday 13th October 2013. Head over to our website and follow the registration details www.oxfordrl.com
