Rugby League in Norway

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Rugby league in Norway was started by Norwegian school teacher Justin Ryan in January 2006.

He is working on starting up the game in Sarpsborg in the South-east of Norway, two hours drive from Oslo. He is a passionate fan of the game and that passion has rubbed off on his students, who are eager to learn more about the game. He began showing them videos of rugby league matches and the students liked what they saw. This led to Justin setting up a tournament in September after receiving rugby league equipment from the Australian Rugby League and the Rugby Football League in England. The students at the school now play tag rugby league (no tackling) during recess and after school. Both boys and girls participate and most students are aged between 9 and 13 years old. In recognition of these efforts, Norway is now an affiliate member of the Rugby League International Federation.

[edit] Future plans

Because the running of Norwegian Rugby League is still very much a one man show, it is difficult to make any realistic long-term goals. However, Justin aims to continue introducing rugby league to students that wish to learn. Justin also aims to hold rugby league tournaments at least once a month. The next tournament will be attended by London Skolars recruit Warren Helig and Scott Edwards, who plans to introduce rugby league to Sweden.