Masters Rugby League to be played in Caerphilly on Sunday with European Cup on display

The first ever matches of “Masters Rugby League” in Wales is going to be played at Caerphilly RFC on Sunday 26th June from 12.30pm.

It’s all part of a big day of action that sees South Wales Scorpions face Hunslet Hawks at 3pm in Kingstone Press League 1.

Also, the official Rugby League European Cup trophy, that Wales won last year, will be on display and you can have you photo taken with it during the day.

The sides competing in the Masters Rugby League will be from South Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Medway Dragons from Kent, giving the day a big England v Wales and War of the Roses flavour.

International players already confirmed for Wales include former Caerphilly RFC stars Karl Hocking, who also played for Celtic Crusaders RL, Carcassonne RL, Bridgend Blue Bulls RL, Scarlets RU, Tondu RU, Bridgend Ravens RU and Maesteg RU, and Nathan Strong, who in addition to Caerphilly, also played for Bridgend Blue Bulls, Bridgend Ravens, Tondu and Maesteg as well as Pontypridd RU and Aberavon RU.

The side will be captained by Caerphilly resident Chris Thomas who has played Masters Rugby League for Great Britain against Australia.

“I was honoured to play for Great Britain against the Australians,” said Thomas, “It is certainly one of the highlights of my sporting career. Now it’s great to be playing Master Rugby League in Wales for this first time. We’re all looking forward to Sunday.”

So what is Masters Rugby League?

If you’re 35 or over then Masters Rugby League is the game for you!

Masters is strictly a social version of the sport and the rules are slightly modified to cater for the older player.

There are no winners, no champions and no cup finals. Masters is about is the spirit of the game.

The most important rule is: “everyone has to buy a drink for their opposite number.”

Players wear different coloured shorts which correspond to their age. If you’re aged 35-39 years you wear white shorts, 40-49 years – black shorts, 50-59 years – red shorts and 60+ years – gold shorts.

There are different rules which correspond to a player’s age.

• White and Black short players tend to tackle each other normally.
• On attack, RED short players must be physically stopped and held.
• On defence, red short players must make a definite handed hold on the attacker. In defence, a GOLD short player touches his opponent: he stands at the point of the tackle and raises his hand to indicate the tackle to the referee. The tackled player MUST return to the point of the tackle to play the ball.2
• On attack, the defender must remove the tag  from the GOLD short player. The tackling player stands at the point of the tackle and raises his hand to indicate the tackle to the referee. The tackled GOLD short player MUST return to the point of the tackle to play the ball.
• It all leads to some great games and a fun day out.

More news about players appearing and the structure of the day is to follow but with three sides coming from England, in addition to the South Wales Scorpions v Hunslet Hawks match, it’s set to be a great day.

To buy tickets, priced £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 juniors, go to www.scorpionsrl.com.

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