Off the back of winning every game of the season; the University of Birmingham Rugby League team required a win against Nottingham 2s on the final day of the season to top the Midlands 1A league and secure their playoff position to the Premier Division. Last week on the sports show we had the pleasure of interviewing both the president and vice president of the team, Rob Campbell and Huey Chadwick. The boys spoke with optimism when asked about upcoming fixture, feeling confident they would do what was necessary following a comprehensive 32-0 win against Nottingham 2s earlier in the season. With the squad size of the rugby league team being vastly smaller than that of the university rugby union squad, Huey spoke about the friendship between the players, a unity that in hindsight was vital to getting them over the line (literally and figuratively) on the final day of the season. Myself, Joe Camp and my co-commentator Aidan Clarke covered the game on BURN FM at the Bournbrook pitches, with a determined Nottingham side looking to disrupt Birmingham’s impeccable season.
And they were certainly doing a good job of it up until half time, as Birmingham trailed at the midway point and were dominated for large parts of the opening forty minutes. It required the Birmingham boys to dig deep and pull out an immense second half performance, scoring six tries and impressing spectators with an impenetrable defensive display to finish the season in style, ultimately winning 38-22. Huey mentioned in our interview that such successes were unimaginable just a matter of years ago and following such a dominant season it is vital that the team are not just given their flowers, but also the adequate resources and exposure in the coming seasons to reflect the ability and success of the squad. With the playoffs to Premier Division fixed firmly in their sights, the rugby lads have got a hell of a finale to end the season, and us here at BURN FM wish them all the best. With rumours of a day-long university rugby league 9’s tournament coming this summer, make sure you watch this space.
