Cadishead Rhinos u12s have won their second cup of the season and are hoping to inspire more children across Salford to play rugby.
Manager of the Cadishead Rhinos u12s, Christian Blood, said, “Rugby league is the perfect sport for teaching kids discipline, teamwork and respect.
“Rugby is great like that and the access they give to young kids is something that football could learn a lot from.”
Cadishead Rhinos were established in 1993, having developed from a pub team to a semi-professional side. The club now has several teams, including youth teams, ranging in all ages, up to open age.
With players such as Liam Byrne, prop forward for Warrington Wolves, who came up through the ranks of Cadishead. The club is all volunteer-run and has a strong sense of community around it.
The under-12s have been coached since the age of five under the same coaches in Christian, Sam and Andy. This season was their first year of competitive rugby, and they were able to enter two cup competitions.
They entered the NWC cup with a really tough route to the final, winning against Portico 11-10 with a dramatic golden point drama to win 11-10. Another win in a local derby against Folly Lane to put themselves in the final two. They faced Widnes Moorfield in the final and won the cup in their first attempt.
They also entered the end-of-season competition, the Lancashire Shield. Once again, a tough run of fixtures against Rylands, Portico and a very tough Burtowood side, with another dramatic finale with a last-minute try to put themselves in their second final of the year. Another final with the same outcome as the team beat Woolston 24-8 to win their second cup of the season.
After an outstanding first season in competitive rugby, the team have received support from some famous faces within the professional game. Former Salford Red Devils manager Paul Rowley and some of the England Rugby League Team, including Kallum Watkins have heaped praise on the sider for their achievements.
Chris said: “I’ve played a lot of sport myself when I was younger, and getting to finals doesn’t happen very often. So to get to two finals in one season is incredible, and to win them both is a dream. It’s nice to see the hard work that you put into them pay off and hopefully give them memories that will last a lifetime.
“Sport is everything for kids of this age, and for these lads their sport is rugby. We’ve had a few kids who have been injured badly this season, and they’ve really missed it, but they’ve kept coming down to support the lads. But it’s what you look forward to every weekend, going out on that field side by side with your mates and hopefully getting to celebrate after the game.
“Our lads are quite a small team in comparison to some. But they’re not scared of hard work and turning up for each other, and that’s what we’ve focused on this season. We finished last season with only 13 players signed on and recruited heavily in pre-season. We’ve now got 22 lads signed on, we can only play 13, so it’s a headache sometimes. But whatever team we seem to pick, they turn up for each other and play some fabulous rugby.”
He continued: “Youth rugby is very important, without it the sport crumbles. We’ve seen this year with Salford Reds the importance of it; without a youth team available, I don’t think they would’ve been able to fulfil some of their fixtures.
They’ve had to bring young lads in when they’ve not been able to play first-team lads and the experience they’ve gained from it is going to be vital for them going forward.
“I hope that these couple of wins can shine a light on our small club at Cadishead Rhinos and the community we have there. It’s a great club and we are always looking for more investment and funding to help it grow.
“Hopefully, we can inspire the younger age groups at Rhinos to find their own success and maybe we can find the next Liam Byrne, who knows?”
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