When IMG were piecing together their radical plans to overhaul rugby league from top to bottom, towns like Batley – and occasions like these – were probably as far from the minds of the powerbrokers as one could imagine. But afternoons like these every once in a while can remind you just how important a role clubs like Batley Bulldogs play not just in this sport, but in their local community, too.
From the moment you arrive at Mount Pleasant – aka the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium – you are transported to a world away from the bright lights of Super League and the pomp and circumstance that comes with the game’s elite clubs. The smell of the burger vans hits you between the eyes and lingers towards the terraces. The pitch and its incredible profound slope that has to be seen to be believed is so close to the stands that you can reach out and touch the players and hear every word they are saying. This is as traditional a sporting experience you could wish to find.
