Mancunians is

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

and sports club fielding several rugby and handball teams across the city at various age groups. The club is a Sports Club Community Mutual (Co-operative) and carries out development work across the city of Manchester. The club submitted an expression of interest to the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...

to join Championship 1 in 2009 and are working with the Rugby Football League to develop their application further.

History

''Mancunians RL'' was formed on 2 April 2009 and joined the

RL Merit League The Rugby League Conference, also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Sco ...

. In their inaugural season they were able to field two full teams on several occasions due to the sheer numbers of players interested in the club. The club were RL Merit Club of the year in 2009. The club joined the

Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference, also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Sco ...

in 2010 and were crowned regional champions at the first attempt and were promoted to the North West Premier division of the Rugby League Conference for 2011. Mancunians RL announced a partnership between Manchester College, the

and

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

, to fund a full-time community coach to begin to increase participation in rugby league in Manchester. Manchester College began offering a rugby league academy in 2012, giving young people in Manchester the opportunity to study rugby league on a full-time basis and secure coaching and sports science qualifications, whilst also representing the college and the city at rugby league. Mancunians Handball was launched in 2012, with the club running several Handball after school clubs across the city. The club was reconstituted to a community benefit society (cooperative) in May 2012 in line with other successful sports clubs including FC Barcelona, FC United of Manchester, Rochdale Hornets, Bramley Buffaloes and Hunslet Hawks. In 2013 Mancunians launched a rugby league coaching scholarship in partnership Manchester Metropolitan University. On 12 November 2013, Mancunians held Manchester's largest ever schools rugby league tournament at Parrs Wood High School. Over 100 schools pupils took pay with several

Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...

mentoring the sides and presenting the winning side Wright Robinson college with the Mancunians Year 10 rugby league tournament trophy. On 15 November 2013 Mancunians launched a 13- to 16-year-old Rugby League Academy at Parrs Wood High School, Didsbury. In March 2015 the club announced their 20:20 Vision to have 1,000 participants across Manchester involved in the club by the year 2020. In November 2015 they began to offe
wheelchair rugby
for adults and children. In January 2016 Mancunians announced that they had expanded thei
geographical footprint
to encompass five areas of Manchester due to demand from partner schools and community groups and would be creating new leagues in the sports that they offer.

Club honours

* RLC North West: 2010

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mancunians RL Rugby League Conference teams Sport in Manchester Rugby clubs established in 2009 Rugby league teams in Greater Manchester Rugby league teams in England Handball clubs in England