St. Hilaire in 7s - so does dual code rugby exist?

By APB
July 3 2002

Leeds has always heralded very proudly the fact that it is a dual code rugby club. The combination, it said, would ensure that both codes would prosper in the north, and the pool of players would be available to play for both teams. Is this happening?

What has always been a very strong bastion of rugby league has, in the last few years, developed a union side, which last season could rival the big boys of the old guard. Remember the games against Bath? Harlequins? And my own personal favourite, Leicester?

  The first real sign of the advantages of being a dual code club appeared to come last season with the signing of Japie Mulder. Signed to improve the Tykes central three-quarter line, one of the main draws for him, it was said, was the opportunity to play Rugby League as well. Mulder would see out the season with the Tykes, helping them to avoid relegation, and then go on to play with the Rhinos in the summer. The thing is, Mr. Mulder has not yet been seen in a Rhinos shirt.

Marcus St. Hilaire

On July 2nd there was an announcement that Marcus St. Hilaire, a young Rhinos player, has been spotted by Joe Lydon as possibly having what it takes to play in the Commonwealth games sevens team. And yet, on the same day, Leeds Rugby Chief Executive Gary Hetherington stated on the official website that St. Hilaire will be released from the club at the end of the Rhinos' season. Wait a minute! If he's so good why isn't he with the Tykes? The combination of the two announcements has caused comment on the Message Board, Bifta says:

  "I don't think he (Hetherington) has that much interest in the Union side as long as it shows a profit".

  My own view is that it is in everyone’s interest to ensure that the Tykes get "first dibs" on any Rhino expressing an interest in the Union game. We outside the club cannot know what goes on, but I sincerely hope Phil Davies has looked at him and passed him over. I wonder what Joe Lydon has seen that PD hasn’t?

  What's the value of dual code rugby?

  However flinging players across the Rugby schism does not necessarily make for a successful (and therefore profitable) club. The transition is a very hit and miss affair, with players such as Jason Robinson proving very successful, with others surprisingly less so. But I believe that the real value of dual-code rugby is not the trading of players. Lets face it, to play both codes at the top level would take a phenomenal level of fitness, as well as a huge lump of good luck in order to stay healthy. Most certainly this could not go on for season after season. No, in my view, the real value of dual-code rugby is the cross fertilisation of coaching and training methods. 

  England v Wales

  Take a look at the England team over the last five years. Never in my memory have they so constantly been named favourites for the Six Nations Grand Slam, and for the last and the coming world cup have been tipped for greatness. (Their lack of achievement at all of these so far is a moot point). And yet, with one extremely talented and noted exception, there hasn't been an influx of League players into the English national team. Mr. Robinson is on his own, and talented though he is, he isn't solely responsible for the increase in the skills of the English players. The Welsh team demonstrates what I mean. Scott Gibbs, Scott Quinnell, Iestyn Harris etc. have all played both codes at international level, and yet Wales cannot really (yet) be called a major force in Northern Hemisphere rugby.

  However, throughout this time, there is a man who has been involved in the England coaching set-up who has considerable experience of Rugby League. His name is Phil Larder.  Since Larder's introduction as defensive coach in Autumn 1997, England have become virtually impregnable in the defensive line, and as most pundits will tell you, if you have a secure defence, then you can be much more confident and imaginative with your attacking options, leading to much more exciting and flowing rugby.

  Now, I don't want you running off with the idea that I think Phil Larder has done it all himself. Coaching a squad of professionals takes a good deal of cooperation, skilful coaching, leadership and man-management, and a good team relies a little bit on the luck of the gene pool. However I do believe he has made a difference to the whole psyche of the English approach to the game of Rugby Union, because of his different perspective on the game, and his ability to show this to the players.

  Exchange of Coaching Methods

  So I think coaching is precisely where dual code rugby really matters. With good cooperation between Phil Davies, Daryl Powell and all the other coaching staff of the Rhinos and the Tykes, the defence, the running, the breaking of tackles and imaginative kicking practises can ensure the Tykes will always be able to win games (whether they actually do is down to what happens on the day...)

  In order for this to work, however, the coaching and development side needs to be coalesced into a single coaching staff. Thinking less of "Rhinos" and "Tykes" and more of "Leeds Rugby" in the coaching stakes. Lets face it, a good rugby coach can help whatever code you're playing, and I would hope Jon Callard would get involved with encouraging and helping players in both camps - there's clearly some kicking talent there at the very least.

  Leeds Structure

  Looking at it from the outside, however, it doesn't appear to be structured this way. We appear to have two completely different rugby clubs, combined only by a common name. From a hard-nosed business perspective, at least the appearance of separateness might be a good thing - after all how many genuine dual-code fans are out there that support both Leeds teams? I think, hand-on-heart, they'd be measured in the tens. We all have been very bored by the "our game's better than your game" nonsense that pops up every now and then, but this shows to me that fans of one code are rarely if ever going to be seen dead at the other sort of game. Commercially, being a dual-code club may really only be a way of keeping Headingley Stadium busier during the winter months.

  So is Leeds a dual-code club in a rugby sense? Or is it a commercial whitewash? We have our suspicions, but just because there aren't nine or ten Rhinos playing the 15-man game every week, doesn't mean that Phil and Daryl don't have the occasional chat...

The MB thread...

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