Wednesday afternoon saw primary school children from Prestwich and Whitefield having a go at touch rugby league as the sport makes continued strides in the local area. The festivals are promoted as part of the ‘Try It’ campaign that encourages anyone and everyone to give rugby league a try.

The Festival at Parrenthorn High School had teams from Ribble Drive, Sedgley Park, Park View, St Margaret’s, St Hilda’s and Hollins Grundy primary schools take part and all of the kids enjoyed the day. Next week, Unsworth, Whitefield, Sunnybank, St Andrews, Chapelfield, Butterstile, Higher Lane and Cam’s Lane will take part in a similar event at Philips High.

Speaking about the event, Community Coach Cliff Tamou said “touch rugby league is a great introduction for children to rugby. It gives them a chance to experience the game in a safe environment and to really enjoy themselves.”

“This is all part of wider work going on locally. We will have an Easter Camp in April where kids can spend two days learning more and having fun and we will be catering for anyone from age 5 – 12. At the same time we will also run a rugby league academy over the two days for anyone aged 12 – 15 in conjunction with former Great Britain captain Paul Sculthorpe’s ‘Scully 13 ‘ coaching team.”

Mike Palin from the Bury Broncos said “It is great to see youngsters playing the game as I never had chance at either primary school or high school in Prestwich. At Bury Broncos this year we will run a summer open age side where anyone can ‘Try It’ but it is great to see so many kids having a go too. Our aim is to build on this and to have two junior sides running right throughout the summer as well”.

Any parents interested in their children attending the two day Easter Camp can contact Cliff on bury.crlc@rfl.uk.com or directly on 07500972294. Cliff is the dedicated community coach in Bury supported by Link for Life, the Rugby Football League and Swinton Lions. The camp itself will last two full days and costs £10.

Anyone wantiing more information on the Broncos – either in playing open age or the setting up of junior sides, can contact Mike Palin on 07834686374 or at buryopenagerlfc@hotmail.co.uk.