This weekend’s Rugby League World Cup Final at Old Trafford has stirred memories of my introduction to the sport in the early 1970s. Hailing from the West Midlands and therefore not having access to professional rugby league locally, the sport was a bit of a mystery. I remember being struck by the fact that play rarely stopped and that, to my untrained eye, anything seemed to go on the field of play.
Skies were always a leaden grey, always darkening. The pitches were always three parts mud to one part grass. And then there was the commentary. I’ve since learned the late, lamented Eddie Waring divided opinion in the sport. Some thought his oft-repeated commentary mannerisms trivialised rugby league, condemning it to a northern sporting ghetto. Nothing could be further from the truth as far as this young sporting fanatic was concerned. His genuine enthusiasm brought life to Saturday afternoon television and sold a “northern sport” to a young midlander.
Initially, the live rugby league coverage had been merely a prelude to the teleprinter. In the days before local radio commentaries and Jeff Stelling, it wasn’t so easy to keep in touch with your football team’s exploits and I often had no idea by how many goals West Brom had lost until the score magically appeared on Grandstand’s teleprinter. (This was the early 1970s when footballing times weren’t so healthy in that part of the Black Country). Soon, though, I began to look forward to Uncle Eddie and St Helens v Leeds in its own right (in my memory, it was always that fixture) and I became a confirmed rugby league and Saints fan as a result.
Rugby League and the teleprinter came to mean Saturday tea-time, just as much as pikelets and celery sticks, the snack my grandmother served up on a weekly basis.
One game in particular comes to mind and it’s appropriate because it was the World Cup Final of 1972. In those days, Great Britain took part, rather than the individual home nations. Australia were the opponents and although the match finished in a 10-all draw, Britain were crowned world champions. To this day, I’m not sure why.
The match is best remembered for a stunning individual try from the late Clive Sullivan who, from memory, galloped the length of the pitch in Lyon to touch down in the corner. As an eight year old, I appreciated little about the core skills of rugby league but I knew an iconic sporting moment when I saw one (even if I didn’t know the word iconic).
It was the last time we could boast “home” rugby league world champions and after last Saturday’s dramatic semi-final defeat for England, it’ll be a while before we have the opportunity to do so again. But, if you watch the final between Australia and New Zealand this weekend, remember Clive Sullivan and Eddie Waring. They converted this correspondent to the unique appeal of rugby league.
Duncan Jones
Twitter: @duncanjones64
Blog:http://shesstillmymum.wordpress.com/
Memory added on November 28, 2013
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