RFL: Rugby League of the Extraordinary

If you like your commercials rough, rugged and raw, you’re in for a treat, as Therapy Films director Lee Ford’s latest spot for the Rugby League welcomes you into the world of some of its top stars and their gruelling training regimes.

Not only does the commercial follow the players as they clench and strain at a murky, South London warehouse though, it sees them swap standard gym equipment for flaming boulders, poles, chains and a rubbish skip as they get to grips with the heavy materials.

“I wanted to go for a grungy, industrial look, but it also had to have scale for some of the scenes. It was dark, dirty and covered in pigeon shit, but was perfect,” says director Ford.

The job saw a combined effort between agency VCCP, Therapy, Munky, Assembly Rooms, Adelphoi Music, 750mph and of course, the players (in order of appearance) Tom Briscoe, Sam Tomkins, Eorl Crabtree, James Roby and Michael Dobson.

“Every single one of the players was a star; they all completely bought into the concept and wanted to do their best for the film,” explains Ford. “I've had the privilege in the past of working with some of the best sports people in the world, and some can be ‘challenging’, shall we say? But these guys were all fantastic and surprisingly all of them nailed their performances in the first take.”

The shoot took place in an old Tate & Lyle factory in Greenwich and Ford reveals that most of the effects in the film were shot in-camera due to budget and time (with the players) considerations.

Although takes were limited though, the director admits that he probably prefers working that way, but there is the added pressure of having to capture tricky physical effects.

He concludes by revealing that the most surreal moment for him was “probably asking a 6’6", 18-stone Eorl Crabtree (who incidentally is the nephew of the late wrestling star Big Daddy) to ‘do it with more intensity next time’.”

“I thought I was going to end up in the skip,” he says, “Luckily he’s a great sport and a better performer than some professional actors I've worked with.”