Rugby League: Laying the foundations

For Michael Ratu it has been a long season, which may seem odd considering the Rochdale Hornets centre is yet to feature in 2017 due to injury.

The last time he took to the field was in France during the dramatic Promotion Final triumph over Toulouse Olympique, however he was doing it tough with a shoulder injury that still isn’t right.

That injury is what has made the last eight months so hard for Ratu on the playing side of things, however he is using his role as a Community Coach for the club’s Sporting Foundation to his advantage.

When asked if his job is keeping him going, he simply replied with ‘you’re probably bang on with that’, and although the frustration of his lengthy lay-off is obvious, so is the passion and love he has for his role with the foundation.

He added: “Without sounding doom and gloom it’s tough being injured, no matter what injury you have from a dead leg to an ACL it is tough.

“A lot of players deal with it differently and it’s part and parcel of the game, but for me it’s something I’ve had to deal with quite a lot throughout my career.

“I don’t know if you could say I’m an expert coming back from injury because I still haven’t with this one yet and it’s frustrating.”

That word, ‘frustrating’, pops up a lot when discussing injuries in sport and it is a mental test as much as it is a physical one when a player goes through a spell on the side lines.

It’s especially difficult to deal with if like Ratu you’re unsure of a return date however his work has become a welcome distraction, as he eyes a return to action in the not so distant future.

He said: “It’s not like other jobs I have been involved with in my life, it’s something I can still set my focus on rugby but from a more positive point of view of helping people.

“I’ve thrown my energy into different programmes offering free sessions to children and also helping struggling clubs out, and obviously being a Rochdale lad I have quite a lot of relationships with everybody in the rugby community.

“I’d like to say I am passionate about it, so I want teams to progress and do well because I know the people involved and I make it personal.

“It’s took a lot of my thoughts off this injury because it’s not as clear cut with my return date, people are asking when I am back and I’m even asking myself that question.

“I’m just taking it week by week at the minute and with that it’s making me feel a bit better.

“Everyone has goals and sometimes you have good and bad weeks, but I always know there’s another week to come.

“I think I’m coming to the end of the injury now and I really want to get back in with the boys, but the community role is really helping at the moment.

“Having said that, it’s the toughest injury I’ve had.”

Alongside head coach Alan Kilshaw, team mate Jay Lobwein and coach Chris Churm, he delivers sessions and programmes throughout the town and surrounding areas, from free training sessions for school children to running a wheelchair rugby league team.

It is a job he finds rewarding and his dedication for the role can be heard in his voice as he explains how seeing the children he is coaching progress is as good as playing the game he loves.

He said: “It’s still hard, but at the moment I am playing my games through the kids by trying to make them better and getting involved when they are competing.

“I get a real kick out of seeing them compete, and it’s as simple as a shoulder tackle drill we did in the week. We we’re doing the drill for 15 minutes then taking it into a game and repeating that, and to see the kids improving and using the techniques was great.

“To have an impact on the kids and see them learning at such a young age is, for me, as good as playing in a sense because if I can’t play I want to help someone else play.

“That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to get involved in this job and I’ve never really had the chance to give something back to younger kids.

“That’s what it’s all about, and if you’re coming towards the end of your career or struggling with injury like myself, then if you can give something back it makes things 10 times easier.

“I am in a career doing what I love but at the moment I can’t do that so I am focusing my energy on the foundation, but when I do come back I will appreciate it a lot more and I will reflect on my time as a coach in a different way.”

Rochdale is in his blood, as his grandfather and namesake Michael represented the club in the 60s before his uncle Emon was a star in the 90s for Hornets.

The family are very much a part of the Fijian heritage which runs through the club, and he is incredibly proud to have represented his hometown as he hopes he isn’t the last of his family to wear blue, white and red.

He said: “Mark Wynn asked me what the club meant to me before the Sheffield game, and to be honest I’d never been asked that before.

“Being here for four years and seeing the background of my uncle and my granddad and the Fijian heritage makes me very proud to be a part of my hometown club.

“People take playing for their hometown club for granted, and being in the community coaching so much has made me want to see more players from the area representing the town and the club.

“My links to the club with my background and my family adds to the pressure when I pull on the shirt, but it also adds to the pride and makes me feel lucky and blessed to be in the position I am in.

“That sense of pride and achievement makes me want to get out there even more, and I am pretty sure there will be more Ratu’s to play for the club.”