Neil McCarthy (rugby union) was effectively ended in 2002 by a serious knee injury. McCarthy spent two years attempting to come back from the injury which included a final spell with Orrell Rugby, eventually retiring in 2004 after further complications from the original injury. He was Leicester Tigers Academy director from 2007-2015 and produced current England players George Ford, Manu Tuilagi, Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Billy Twelvetrees and the Youngs Brothers Ben and Tom. On 11 March 2015, McCarthy returned to Gloucester Rugby to become their new Head of Academy. Having restructured and established the Gloucester academy as a leading programme McCarthy moved into
Rugby union in Queensland union players leaving for Sydney to play rugby league and get paid in the process, something which the amateur code of rugby union could not offer. In 1908, the QRU banned its players from going to Sydney to play rugby league, which resulted in disgruntled players forming the Queensland Rugby League. Of particular note was that at this time, league put down strong roots in the bush and in working class communities and these areas are still the heartland of the modern game of rugby league. In 1913 nine Christian Brothers' College Football Club (Brothers) players represented Queensland in the