BA = Blue Army
RC = Ryan Cousins

BA = Full name and nickname if you have one ?
RC = Ryan Cousins, Nickname Spud

BA = How long have you been in Rugby League ?
RC = I started following the sport back in 2006,

BA = Have you played or coached in Rugby League ?
RC = Ive played some amateur rugby league for Northampton Demons, and have spent abit of time coaching with the Oxford Cavaliers on a Saturday for their matches having recently qualified as a level 1 coach so I am definitely looking forward to doing some more coaching in the future and hopefully gaining that level 2 badge one day.

BA = Do you like playing/coaching or watching ?
RC = I like both to be honest, its great working with the players trying to improve them and seeing how they develop on a coaching side of things. I will always be watching RL games either live if I get the opportunity when im not with the club or the Cavaliers, or on the TV especially my club sides the Wigan Warriors (sorry TC and Ade) or London Broncos and never miss an opportunity to watch the NRL games.

BA = What is your best moment in Rugby League ?
RC = For Oxford definitely it has to be that first ever game at Iffley Road when we played the South Wales Scorpions seeing all the hard work, the board, staff and players had put in, in such a short space of time, all come together it was a special moment for this club and we can all be very proud. On a personal note I was proud to have volunteered at the Rugby League World Cup and one of my shifts was working at the opening ceremony and double header down in Cardiff. Also being at Wembley and Old Trafford for the Challenge Cup Final and Grand Final to see Wigan secure the double.

BA = What is your funniest moment in Rugby League ?
RC = Now that’s a difficult one, I would have to say there was one particular incident in pre-season training involving a certain player (sorry Valu) All the players were in a line ready to do another one of Sy’s gruelling drills and when he blew the whistle all the players went accept for one, I turned around and there was Valu on the floor with his feet caught in the football nets and was trying to untangle himself whilst still trying to get up and start the running drill.

BA = What do you think of Rugby League in the south ?
RC = I think RL in the south is looking in great shape and will get stronger with the introduction of the Coventry Bears to League 1 next season. For all of the criticisms of the London Broncos that they have had from various quarters, they have produced some outstanding talent who have moved on to clubs up north with the most recent Mason Caton-Brown joining Salford who we face when we took on Hemel last year. I have no doubt that Champ One clubs in the south will start producing their own talent who will go on to represent clubs in the divisions above in the very near future. In our short existence we have seen this already with Shaun Robinson who was with us last year go on to sign for Dewsbury, Matty Hadden go on loan to Sheffield, and represent Ireland in the RL World Cup and Sean Morris who had a trial with the London Broncos in pre-season. There are some talented players in this division who could go on to a higher level and they need to be given a chance.

BA = Why did you become a Rugby League fan ?
RC = I was introduced to the sport in 2006 by the then Harlequins chairman Ian Lenagan when he invited me to watch their match vs St Helens and have followed it ever since.

BA = How did you become part of ORL ?
RC = Well I was due to work with the Northampton team when they were awarded a license for Championship One however this failed to materialise and I still had a desire to be a part of a Champ One side down south so I tracked down TC (Tony Colquitt) and we met up a few times during the off-season to see how I could get involved, and here I am today.

BA = What is it like working for the ORL ?
RC = It’s absolutely brilliant, don’t get me wrong its hard work and I really suffer when we lose but it’s so rewarding seeing what the boys have achieved this year, where we started with them on our first meeting in December to now. The backroom staff all work well together and we all have a great team spirit and are like one big family. I get called the mother of the group but I suppose I can live with that.

BA = Were do you see the ORL in the next 5 year ?
RC = I would love to see the whole game grow in Oxfordshire with Oxford RL getting stronger season by season and being firmly established in this division, players coming through from the U19’s and also the Cavaliers to represent Oxford RL. I think we will see the game being played in more schools and our community piece growing as we have some great people who want to make it work. We will be looking to work more closely with the University RL teams to pass our experience and expertise on to help them and by doing all of this will make the sport stronger in the county.

BA = Do you think you can help raise the profile of the ORL ?
RC = I am certainly trying, but we have a great team behind us who are all working hard to help raise the profile of the club. We have had great support from the local papers, and we are now starting to get coverage on the radio which will only help spread the word more and are working with the other sporting clubs in the city so we can attract new fans to the sport

BA = Can you tell us 5 thinks about the Club?
RC = 1, I was the first volunteer on board. 2, On the weekend of the 17th/18th May saw a milestone for the club when we saw 5 rugby league sides run out in Oxfordshire in the shape of the Cavaliers x2, Bartholomew School u12’s, Oxford RL U19’s and Oxford RL seniors. 3, We have had two super league players play for us already in the shape of Ryan McGoldrick and Karl Temata. 4, Oxford RL representation at the World Cup through Matty Hadden being part of Ireland team and me being on the media and communications team for the tournament. 5, We have two full Oxford blues in the squad in the shape of Sean Morris and Sam Egerton

BA = What would you like from the ORL Blue Army ?
RC = Keep doing what you are doing to be quite honest with you, your support especially at away games is amazing and we have some really dedicated supporters who go up and down the country with us and certainly have the most vocal fans which I know really helps the boys out on the field.

BA = Is there anything you would like to say to the Club, the player and are supporter ?
RC = Keep spreading the word of our great club, it’s an untapped secret down here at Iffley Road and we want more people to come down and experience this, I got hooked by one game and Im sure there are many others who will be the same if they just come down to one match.

Thank you Ryan for your time.