This Sporting Life

This Sporting Life is a 1963 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson, and adapted by David Storey from his 1960 novel. It stars Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, William Hartnell, and Alan Badel. Harris, in his first starring role, portrays a rugby league footballer in Wakefield, a mining city in Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting life. The film opened at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End on 7 February 1963.