Boots 'n' All visited Widnes to discover how they were catering for their young players' futures
Widnes looking out for their youngsters' futures
For the stars of the Super League their financial futures may be secure - but there are hundreds of players for who, life after rugby, is far from certain.
Many players will have to take on another career once their playing days come to an end, while for young players coming through academy's injury or failing to make the grade could put a halt to their budding careers.
At Widnes Vikings they are doing their best to prepare their young players for life outside of rugby league.
Former Wigan, Warrington and Ireland star Liam Bretherton - who had his own career cut short by injury - is a course tutor on a National Diploma course at Riverside College, which educates Widnes Academy players.
"I was just lucky enough to play professional rugby at Super League and international level," Bretherton told
Boots 'n' All.
"Regardless of whether it was for a long or short time, I will always have that experience and if I can give these lads some of the experiences I had, and they can learn from that and not make the mistakes I made or use it to their benefit, then that's great for me."
Responsibility
The club also arrange taster sessions for the less academic students in a range of jobs from plumbing to plastering.
It is all part of Widnes' responsibility to their young protégées, believes Phil Finney, the Head of Youth Performance at the Vikings.
"I think we have got a responsibility to do this with these players.
"There are injuries and people who don't make the grade and we are not in a position like football where some players can retire when they finish playing the game.
"We have got a responsibility to make sure the lads have a pathway outside of rugby league."
The message is clearly getting through to the players, as well.
Chris Walsh, a member of the Viking's U18 academy, believes there is a strong argument for putting rugby to one side to focus on education, rather than the other way around.
"There is a temptation to put the rugby on the back burner and get on with education," he said.
"It is hard to pair the two of them when you have got training as soon as you get home from college but sometimes it is just a compromise, deciding which one is more important at that current time."
