2015 Magic Weekend
By Jeff Ball
April 11 2015
Why 2015 will be the year of Rugby League in the North East Chairman of the North East’s biggest community rugby league club, Cramlington Rockets and Falcons Season Ticket Holder, Jeff Ball discusses what there is to look forward to and how the sport in growing in the region.
Magic Weekend’s journey to Newcastle arguably started in 1815. When George Stephenson presented his latest invention to the erudite Philosophical and Literary Society of Newcastle, little did he know it would produce one of the most recognisable cultural identities in the world. His audience marvelled at his ground-breaking safety lamp for miners, as George, aka Geordie, had created the “Geordie Lamp”.
It quickly became synonymous with the coal-rich North East but nowadays the meaning of a Geordie has evolved far from simply a soot-faced miner. Geordies now have a reputation of optimism, sociability and, crucially, an innate aptitude to enjoy themselves. That is why the RFL decided to move the Magic Weekend to Newcastle this May, and we in the North East could not be more excited.
Magic Weekend has become a highlight of the sporting calendar, a unique event that sees all the teams in the First Utility Super League play an extra round of league fixtures at one venue across a weekend. Normally a carnival of rugby league anyway, the announcement it would be visiting Newcastle United’s St James’ Park in May for the very first time produced a crackle of anticipation from rugby league fans across the country. The Geordie reputation coupled with an explosive set of fixtures is an exciting combination and represents a daring move for the Rugby Football League (RFL) to take one of its flagship events out of the ‘heartland’ of Yorkshire and Lancashire. With ticket prices starting at round a tenner ( a favourable comparison to the Rugby World Cup), the response has been overwhelmingly positive with a record number of tickets already sold with the phone lines barely open and 48% sold to people who have never attended a major rugby league event, a ringing endorsement that will please organisers.
As a Falcons season ticket holder for over a decade, I find myself well placed to see how both the union and league codes have developed in recent years. The traditional rivalry continues to diminish at both sides ultimately want the same thing: more people, watching, playing and enjoying rugby. My biggest hope for Magic Weekend therefore is that we can get as many children involved as possible and, to paraphrase that immeasurable Geordie, Sir Bobby Robson, watch as they climb the stadium steps for the first time, emerge into a cauldron of noise and, without being able to do anything about it, fall in love.
In recent years though, an aura of optimism around the North East game has returned like never before and as much as Magic Weekend will showcase the sport to the region for one weekend, the progress expected from Newcastle Thunder this season should keep heads turned all year. Having spent several years languishing at the bottom of the Kingstone Press Championship One league, the owners of Newcastle Falcons, Newcastle Rugby Limited stepped in last summer with a takeover bid and promptly started turning things around. An average 2014 season almost turned into an excellent one as they were just pipped to one of the promotion spots in the play-off semi-finals, something they hope to improve upon at the next time of asking. A move to Kingston Park and the state-of-the-art new 3G pitch will provide them with the dedicated home they have longed for and provide the sport with a focal point to gather around. It also means that the local rugby aficionados will be able to enjoy year-around entertainment with league’s summer season dovetailing with union’s winter union programme - watch out for details about the York match on Friday 29th May on Magic Weekend eve, which will see thousands through the gate.
Thunder’s recruitment has gone into overdrive since receiving new backing and has already added the silky skills of Jordan Meads from New Zealand and a quartet of Papa New Guinea internationals, including the excellently named Mark Mexico. Down at the grassroots too, we are also starting to see the undoubted talent in the region rise to the surface. At Cramlington Rockets in the last 12 months, we have seen one player selected for England Youth, another for Great Britain and Ireland Students and one sign full-time terms with Newcastle Thunder, our first professional player and one of five picked up from local clubs this season.
Like in union, there is a healthy junior game developing; at the Rockets we are hoping to breach the 200 player mark in 2015 and we also made North East history in September by being the region’s first rugby league club to launch a Community Department. The reception so far from local schools has been overwhelming and we are hoping to surpass our target of engaging 10,000 people in Northumberland with rugby league in the first twelve months. Other clubs too are continuing to add new teams and Gateshead Storm’s First Team have started their inaugural year playing in the National Conference League. A big step up but a great way to showcase North East talent across the country.
So while the headlines and TV cameras will rightly focus on St James’ Park for one weekend, we’ll be looking for the ripples of positivity left behind and hoping to build on the memories created for an audience both old and new. Because when it comes down to it, sport in its purest form always has been and always will be simply an opportunity to create memories that last forever. I cannot wait to see what we can create.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Just had a look at the Widnes web site, they have a good black and white shirt on sale especially for the weekend with profits going to the Bobby Robson charity..worth a look for any Toon fans and actually quite smart.
I'm hoping to get to a thunder match this season, but won't be at magic weekend.
I was going to go to one day of the Magic Weekend, just for curiosity and a day out with some Falcons pals I know are going, but it doesn't look like I'll get over now.
I'll be going on one day. I may prefer union but it is nothing short of moronic not to recognise that there are some aspects of league which are superior to the modern union game. Some of the skills demonstrated in leagure are quite extraordinary and there remains much for union to learn.
Quote:FalconsRugby.org.uk
What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
The original post asked what we thought. I apologise for having a different point of view to others on here.
At a junior level, we are seeing more union players than ever try rugby league in the summer, including from the heavily union-favouring private schools and the traffic also goes the other way, with the comments come the autumn usually "he's much fitter/his hands are much better" etc from the union coaches.
I appreciate some don't like it as a sport but as a nation we have grown to appreciate the idea of a one off sporting spectacle - especially since the Olympics - so the chance to be in a crowd of 40,000 watching some of the best teams in the country in any sport is something which will be worth the short trip up the Gallowgate for.
Also dont find the anti league comments offensive they are merely stating their opinion.
What I found was a sport where I was expected to run far more than I am as a front row in Union. The positional stuff differs & I missed a proper scrum, but in general I found the game to be enjoyable but with slightly different emphasises - Union tends to be about territory & League possession IMHO - the only issue I had was with some of the tackling & trying to keep the game flowing rather than the stop start I encountered.
I only got to train though as a training ground accident smashed one of my fingers before I got to play my first game.
To me the difference between league and union is a bit like the difference between 7s and 15s. Some people like to have a variety of codes on offer, some are completely attached to one code. Each to their own.
With that in mind I have stopped comparing & now think of them as two entirely different games.