Yesterday Poland’s First Rugby League Club was finally officially registered by the Mayor and Council in Łódż. The club is officially known as Łódzki Klub Rugby XIII or in English Lodz Rugby League Football Club.
Their short name will be the, Lodz Magpies. The magpie is a very common bird there and seemed like an obvious choice. Within the month the club should get some Rugby League kits I have been able to obtain and also some other gear like balls. We are now in discussions with the RLEF on the requirements for Polish Rugby League as an entity and we hope that by the end of the year we’ll have the National Federation up and running. I will be in Łódż in a couple weeks to meet the new team and Łukasz and talk about strategies and what more we need to do.
We are now searching for our first opponent. The Club has had a training ground for a while now, Its a synthetic turf ground and occasionally they go to a local park to mix it up. Lukasz tells me that the boys are ready to have a first game and a taste of the what Rugby League has to offer. So if anyone feels like a game out in Poland then you can contact me (my email is below) or Łukasz Łucka on lukaszlucka@gmail.com, or if you have suggestion of some decent opponents. So we are not looking at a national side yet but maybe an amateur club side who is looking at an end of season trip and willing to play a game or two?
Yesterday, it turns out I have literally driven into the eye of the storm here in the USA … no nothing to do with the split but Hurricane Irene! While I was driving over I started to get calls and texts from people involved in the USARL and AMNRL informing me of time changes because of the oncoming storm. So todays matches have now been shifted to:
Colonial Cup, USA vs Canada: 1:00 pm, Charles Martin Memorial Stadium.
USA Rugby League Grand Final, Philadelphia Fight v New Haven Warriors: 2:00 pm, A. A. Garthwaite Stadium.
Its cloudy already today, but no wind or rain… yet. I will be going to both matches. I will see at least the first half of the Colonial Cup game and then will head over to the USARL game to see the second half there. I will do my best to get a good rounded report an opinion on the two matches.
Of course don’t forget that the oldest and greatest Rugby League game is played today. The Challenege Cup Final at Wembley is being fought out between the Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos. I have had the absolute privilege and pleasure of seeing this game live in 2008 and its the most memorable Rugby League experience I have ever had. Today’s game should be a cracker and I am going for my ESL team, Leeds to win by 8 points, 26-18.
You can listen to BBC Radio coverage of the match here.
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