Oasis MediaCityUK Academy made a return to rugby league with the support of the Salford Red Devils Foundation on Wednesday night.
A Year 8 side had the honour of representing the Academy for the first time in five years, as they took to the field against Buile Hill Visual Arts College.
Oasis have been working alongside the Foundation to develop rugby league at the school’s Trafford Road campus, benefitting from Salford Red Devils Foundation’s expert coaching staff.
Despite having just three weeks’ preparation for the match, Oasis fell just short against an experienced Buile Hill side.
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But Foundation coach Jay Boyd was very impressed with the rugby on display, saying: “Both schools did really well, it was a high standard of rugby.
“Oasis can be really proud of their achievements, despite being new to the sport they remained competitive throughout the game.
“They’ve been really good to work with, they’ve listened well and you can really see they’re taking on board what we are teaching them, and they have bags of enthusiasm.”
Going forward, the Foundation says it will continue its work with local schools to grow grassroots rugby league in Salford.
Salford Red Devils Foundation are also hosting a Rugby 9’s tournament at the AJ Bell this week.
The Salford Champions League competition is one of the most hotly-anticipated events in the Salford school sports calendar.
Head of player development Danny Barton believes that having a strong rugby league presence at school level is key to developing the game in the long term.
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He said: “It’s massively important to have local schools engaging and actively promoting rugby league, as it is many kids first exposure to the sport, Oasis and Buile Hill are great examples of success stories we’ve had through the programme and there will be a lot more to come.”
If you are interested in getting involved with rugby league at a community level email danny.barton@reddevilsrugby.co.uk or call 0161 7861591
