Rugby league in class of its own with Hull plans

The East Yorkshire club has joined forces with Sirius Academy in West Hull to launch the state-funded project which is unique in professional British sport.

It will see children given the chance to attend a school where the traditional curriculum is heavily fortified with rugby league learning, the ultimate aim being to deliver elite players of the future.

Such schemes are common on the continent where Spain, Holland, Italy and Germany all provide football schools of such a nature but no Premier League club has yet to commit and this void has been cited as a potential contributing factor to Engand's disastrous international form.

Agar told the Yorkshire Post: "As a club, it is great that we're right at the forefront of such a new and exciting initiative; a sporting academy with the focus very much on rugby league and in partnership with Hull FC.

"There's a lot of factors involved and plenty of benefits it could bring.

"The Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has spoken out recently and said it is the way forward for football so I think it speaks volumes for us at Hull FC to be the first sporting club in the country that has founded such a partnership."

Just as troubled football is looking for answers to its own dearth of international success, 44 years since it last won the World Cup, rugby league has long since acknowledged it is also in need of inspiration in its attempt to overhaul Australia on the global stage.

Compared to Super League, their domestic competition – the NRL – does have a far more focused development path for its potential youngsters.

Their training and education schemes, with similar academies, are largely felt to be more advanced while the sheer number of talented players emerging dwarfs English levels.

However, groundbreaking Hull have taken the first step towards evolving change and bridging the gap, hoping the stars of tomorrow will be found and nurtured in the classrooms and sports fields of the purpose-built academy.

Agar would ultimately like to see a conveyor belt of talent filtering through to his Super League plans once the link is established and promising youngsters will be given the time, expertise and training required to prosper.

But he insists there are wider positives.

"It's not just about potentially recruiting and training players for Hull FC but the bigger rewards are for the game," said Agar.

"We'll be in contact with more people, increasing participation levels and hopefully they'll all be getting a love for the sport that will last a lifetime.

"With such a high level of investment – 48m – they'll have state of the art facilities at their disposal and it will be a fine place in which to learn.

"I certainly wish this sort of thing had been around when I was young; rugby-mad children will be loving the idea of attending this school."

Hull FC will provide coaching staff and its playing squad to help bolster learning at the academy, which is due to open next year, but a new director of rugby will also be appointed to service both the new facility and the club's youth development.

That move is akin to how many private schools invest in their rugby union sides, often producing players of international calibre, and is a sign of how the academy intends to operate.

"The school will have the ability to recruit people to go there," said Agar.

"But maybe it's not just about elitism.

"Rugby league can teach people about discipline, hard work and teamwork and a director of rugby will be able to devise a programme that can encompass all sorts of things.

"If it is successful and it works – not just for Hull FC but for the city of Hull and the game as a whole – then maybe it will prove to be a way of getting more quality coaching, more people involved and greater connections with children.

"It is certainly an exciting prospect."

Sirius Academy is a specialist sport and environmental science academy for students aged 11 to 19, both boys and girls.

England coach Steve McNamara, who started out at Hull amateur club Skirlaugh ARLFC before turning professional with his hometown Airlie Birds, will be guest of honour at next year's opening.

Meanwhile, Agar takes his Hull side to Warrington this evening hoping to defeat the Challenge Cup finalists and hold onto the crucial fourth spot in Super League.