The sport is coming together to support the renamed Seriously Injured Players Fund.
Fans at all matches in the Betfred Super League, Women’s Super League and Championship, as well as the Final of the 1895 Cup, will be given the opportunity to show their support for seriously injured players and their families.
This is under a new initiative launched jointly by Rugby League Cares, Rugby League Commercial and the Rugby Football League.
This coincides with the launch by RL Cares of the Seriously Injured Players Fund, a new name for the Rugby League Benevolent Fund.
It has been rebranded 21 years after its foundation in 2005, in response to the injuries suffered by Danny Scott and the late Matt King OBE.
Matt King OBE, pictured with England’s Sam Tomkins ahead of a 4 Nations game at Wembley in 2011, suffered a serious spinal at the age of 17 playing for London Broncos’ academy, and he died at the age of just 33 in 2021. (Image: Vaughn Ridley/SWpix.com)
Bulls’ game during Charity Round will take place on Saturday, August 29, as they visit the South of France to play Toulouse in an 8pm kick-off.
Francis Stephenson, the former England forward who took over as general manager of the Benevolent Fund last winter, has driven the relaunch as the Seriously Injured Players Fund.
He has praised the support of the sport in establishing the Charity Round, saying: “It will be a first for rugby league to have the whole sport coming together knowing that all the money we raise will be in aid of seriously injured players and their families.
“The sport is rightly proud of the work the Benevolent Fund has done over the last two decades.
“But from discussions with clubs and other key stakeholders over the winter, it became clear that the growth of Rugby League Cares and all the wonderful work the charity does around mental fitness and wellbeing has led to some confusion about its role.
“That’s why we wanted to remove that confusion with a new title and brand for the charity which leaves no doubt about its purpose.
“Fans will now know, when they support the Charity Round, or the Seriously Injured Players Fund in any other way, that their money will go directly to enhancing the lives of those players and their families.
“Rugby league continues to prioritise player safety and minimising the number of serious injuries.
“But we have to recognise that in a collision sport, accidents will occasionally happen, so we have to be prepared to react as necessary.
“The Seriously Injured Players Fund is how we do that, as well as continuing to support the long-term beneficiaries.
“It’s typical of those beneficiaries that they have volunteered to be at the centre of a physical fundraising challenge which we’ll be announcing later in the summer.
“We’re all massively grateful to Rugby League Commercial and the Rugby Football League for their support in the introduction of the RL Cares Charity Round, and likewise to clubs at all levels.
“Timing the Charity Round to coincide with the anniversary of the foundation of the sport in 1895 provides the chance for clubs and supporters to come together and celebrate everything that’s great about rugby league.”