After watching Netflix Tour de France show Unchained, Daily Mirror columnist Jamie Peacock believes rugby league needs its own docuseries to promote the sport and open it to new audiences
Rugby league needs to get its own docuseries showcasing our great athletes.
Just recently I’ve sat down and watched Unchained, the gripping Netflix show about the Tour de France. Having watched it and seen the personalities involved, the clashes and the rivalries, it made me more interested in sitting down for six hours to watch the Tour de France live on TV. Which is what I’ve done because I now know the stories behind the people riding on the bike and the people behind the teams competing in it.
That personal insight is something we need to get in rugby league. Much like Unchained, F1’s Drive to Survive or golf’s Full Swing, we need a series which follows the Super League teams and goes behind the scenes with some of the characters who play our sport in this country. There’s some really interesting personalities who would be fascinating to follow. I believe inside a changing room at the end of a game is as close as you’ll get in civilian life to the aftermath of a battlefield.
And as an ex-player now, six years after I’ve retired, it shocks me a little just how absolutely brutal it all is and how battered everyone is after 80 minutes. You see just what a physical sport it is and can more appreciate the athletes we’re lucky enough to have in our game. We need more people to see that. And, for those who aren’t interested in rugby league, a TV docuseries would be a great way to get a hook into them.