Robinson: We can learn from league

14 April 2012

It is a mark of how important Andy Robinson regards his big idea of cross-code training camps that he was prepared to use up three of the 16 days per season he gets to spend with his England squad to launch a new relationship with rugby league. And all this a little more than a fortnight from the start of the Six Nations championship.

The England coach has enough on his plate, with a midfield injury crisis and a team who have largely misfired since becoming world champions 14 months ago, for critics to wonder why he is bothering to get up close and personal with Super League champions, Leeds Rhinos.

For a clear answer, however, you only need to spend a few minutes looking into Robinson's piercing blue eyes.

Sir Clive Woodward's successor and former assistant is one of the most serious men in sport and what England are doing now, in a bid to freshen up their approach and specifically to inject new ideas into attack, dates back to when Robinson was first smitten by rugby league.

The club he played for, Bath, were one of the first union teams to embrace rugby league ideas. That began as long ago as the amateur days of the 1980s when any contact with the 13-a-side game was a furtive exercise. However, it was during Bath's two ground-breaking cross-code challenge matches against Wigan in 1996 that Robinson's admiration for league grew deeper.

"I played in those Wigan-Bath games which took place first with league and then under union rules and I have had a massive interest in rugby league since then," said Robinson. "I admired the pace and skill of the league players and now as England coach I think the time is right to forge a proper relationship with rugby league which I believe will be to our mutual benefit."

England's three-day camp in Leeds, which has included noncontact but highly enthusiastic 'matches' between the two codes, finishes today and Robinson is passionate about its relevance in both the short and long-term.

"This is not a one-off affair, it is about forging an ongoing relationship," he said.

"Yes, we have our first Six Nations game coming up soon, and this is the first time we have got together as a squad since the autumn internationals, but when would be the right time to start doing something like this?

"We could have put this on hold for a year or two but why not grasp the moment now?

"The sessions we have had have been awesome experiences, for both the players and coaches and all the history about how union and league has lived apart means nothing to me.

"I'd love a couple of individual players to come up and train in their off season and in the buildup games. For the likes of Lewis Moody and Steve Thompson to spend a week here training would be fabulous for them. I think they would get so much benefit."

Looking forward to the Six Nations, Robinson said: "The tournament promises to be one of the greatest ever because there are a number of teams who genuinely believe they can win it.

"We start with a huge away game in Wales, and they think they have a chance, so it's very exciting.

"We as England coaches are also excited about trying to empower our players to improve themselves and fulfil their ambitions. This link with rugby league will provide a freshness and add a spark to our general preparations."

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