Rugby League World Cup – Shot Of The Month – October 2022
‘Shot of the Month’ is brought to you by Sport Industry Awards partner Shutterstock. In this ongoing image-led series, we turn the spotlight on those behind the lens. Telling the story of the standout photos that grace newspapers, magazines and digital screens around the world from the photographer’s point of view.
Paul Currie, Shutterstock Sports Photographer
This month, the sports agenda has been packed with Rugby League World Cup games. From Tonga v Wales to Jamaica v Ireland, the games have all been as exhilarating as the next. So far, we have seen 20 games taking place in stadiums across the UK. The World Cup is an amazing opportunity for cities across the country to host world class games, taking place in Newcastle, Coventry, Warrington, and more. Supporters are moving around the country to show their support for the boys in white!
Photographing Rugby League is much more difficult than Rugby Union. The games are often more fast paced with fewer players to focus on. And, with some of the fastest players in the world coming head-to-head, photographers must be on the ball to capture those all-important moments. Rugby League certainly keeps photographers on its toes.
This is all the truer given that the majority of this World Cup was held in small, more intimate stadiums. You can see the fans’ reactions to every move on the pitch, and ensuring you capture these emotions is a huge part of recreating the atmosphere for those at home. Spectators are the ones that heighten the emotion of a game, and so ensuring that we get some strong images of the crowd, is just as important as the players. I am very glad to have been focused on the pitch when Dom Young scored this spectacular try against France.
The team’s triumph against France is just one of many when it comes to this tournament. England seem to be moving through the teams, victory after victory! Let’s just hope it stays that way into next month!
I have been a photographer for over three decades. Sports photography is just one of my many focus areas, but is definitely a favourite. Every day is completely different. In terms of sporting events, I can be at a university game one day and then a World Cup game the next. This range allows me to see all different levels of skill and pace. Photographing games like this one is understandably more difficult. Capturing the small details in each player’s move is more important, and much more difficult to capture when they are moving so rapidly. Whilst being the most fun, professional standard rugby provides the most challenges, that’s for sure.
