Author : European Rugby League

France, England and Wales pick up wins in opening round of European U19s Championships

England, France and Wales made impressive starts to the U19s European Championship in the first round of matches held at the CREPS Font Romeu high performance facility in the French Pyrenees yesterday (Sunday).

Full back Eligh Wilkinson scored a first half hat trick and landed seven goals as holders England defeated Ukraine 70-8, Rio Walker and Zac Bennett each with two of their total of 14 tries. England head coach, Gary Hewer, commented:

“The boys have responded really well to the hot conditions and given a thorough performance against a very resilient Ukraine side who never stopped for the full 80 minutes.

“From a coaching point of view, it’s disappointing to concede a try but the effort and determination that the Ukrainians put in, and with the friendship and bonds we’ve created over the last four or five years, they deserved it.”

Hewer added: “We’ll utilise the whole squad over our group games but some of them put their hands up today showing what they can offer.”

Hooker Cruz Death claimed Ukraine’s late try, head coach Artur Martyrisian, noted: “It was a good experience for our team. We have not had a lot of time to train together and set aside our domestic championship because so many players are in the army.

“Great thanks to our heritage players because, without them, we might not have been able to participate.”

Leny Stacul was the French star with four tries as they beat Scotland 96-6. The host nation crossed 16 times in all, back rower Adrian De La Rose with a try treble, Thibault Guttierez kicking a perfect 15 conversions.

Scotland were reduced to 12 men in the 36th minute following a sending off.

In the third match, Wales held on to deny Serbia 52-30, Regan Preece with three tries and Kevan Phillips claiming 24 points from two tries and eight out of nine goals.

Wales head coach, Gary Dunn said of the victory: “I was pleased with the result more than the performance, there are loads of aspects to improve on.

“There were some good individual tries, and I can’t fault any of the effort, but we need to analyse this before we face England on Wednesday, Serbia were a little unknown to us.”

Serbia had three players sinbinned, scrum half Tyson Walker with two of their tries and a total of 18 points.

“I’m proud of the boys, both domestic and heritage players,” noted head coach Vladislav Dedic.

“We had to rally dig deep against a good side. The sinbins harmed us but when it was 13 on 13, we were the better side. We need to work on our discipline.”

The next fixtures on Wednesday 15 July will see:

Scotland v Ukraine (2pm kick off, local time)
France v Serbia (4pm)
England v Wales (6pm)

England 70

Eligh Wilkinson, Jason Frankling, Rio Walker, Rhomen Alick, Austen Coates, Jaiden Tallentire, Billy Joe Towers, Jack Barker, Bailey Worthington, Jake Lerigo, Kier Starkie, Zac Bennett, Connor Hall
Interchanges: Joshua Smith, Louey Pinkerton, Ryan Templeton, Dylan Morris

Tries: Wilkinson (1, 16, 32), Starkie (6), Worthington (9), Walker (11, 41), Frankling (25), Bennett (28, 35), Coates (32), Tallentire (50), Lerigo (60), Alick (66)
Goals: Wilkinson 7/14

Ukraine 8

Zac Gedz, Yaromyr Yaremus, Pavlo Pistoliuk, Oleksii Harkusha, Kostiantyn Prydatko, David Winter, Ruslan Lipisii, Nikita Korolchuk, Cruz Death, Nikita Korolchuk, Dmytro Cherneha, Roman Lomonos, Liam Gallagher
Interchanges: Anton Lukaschuck, Vladyslav Biletskyi, Oleksandr Vilinchuk, Roman Pomirchyi

Try: Death (78)
Goals: Gedz 2/2

Referee: Cody Kuxmann (USA)

Half Time: 36-0

France 96

Leny Stacul, Stevy Richmond, Thibault Guttierez, Louis Tranier, Clément Colin, 6 Ilan Boualem, Mathis Dumont, Leo Ricard, Mahault Beauvilliers, Lorik Lejeune, Adrian De La Rose, Steven Jocelyn, Joris Martignoles
Interchanges: Charly Martinez, Luka Clottes, Sione Pasikla Lamelangi, Yanis Ballet

Tries : Richmond (2), Stacul (12, 41, 56, 73), Martignoles (15), Guttierez (23), De La Rose (26, 51, 58), Clottes (32), Colin (39, 67), Martinez (43), Boualem (70), Beauvilliers (75)
Goals: Guttierez 15/15, Beauvilliers 1/1

Sin Bin: Adrian De La Rose (35 – dangerous tackle)

Scotland 6

Connor Mcguinness, Shaun Callan, Max Erasmus, Harry Woodard, Finlay Davies, Oscar Ellicott-Mcculloch, Zack Emerson, Lucas Anderson Moore, Isaac Maclean, Arran Jamieson, Charlie Jackson, Ethan Frary, Seth Clapham
Interchanges: Jarrod Jones, Jacob Walker, Cullin Stoddart-Shannly, Ben Milnes

Try: Maclean (7)
Goal: Callan 1/1

Sent Off: Charlie Jackson (36 punching)

Referee: Lucas Seal (England)

Half Time: 42-6

Serbia 30

Kai Saric, Filip Punos, Archie Wheeler, Aleksa Radojkovic, Strahinja Milankovic, Danilo Gavrilovic, Tyson Walker, Branko Nedeljkovic, Danilo Todorovic, Mateja Stojkovic, Jakov Dojcinovic, Nikola Savic, Zaric Saban
Interchanges: Uros Polic, Uros Rusimovic, Milan Milovanovic, Mihajlo Malesevic

Tries: Saric (28), Walker (35, 74), Wheeler (65), Saban (68)
Goals: Walker 5/5

Sin Bin: N. Savic (6 – professional foul), K. Saric (8 – professional foul), K. Saric (38 – unprofessional conduct)

Wales 52

Ioan Herbert, Alex Richardson, Evan Rowlands, Ethan Williams, Regan Preece, Joshua Gabrielsen, Kavan Phillips, Cae Jones, Oliver Rees, Oliver Bellavia-Walker, James Tucker, Oscar Jones, Will Mathers
Interchanges: Kyson Rees, Jacob Morris, Rhys Hughes, Evan Williams

Tries: Ethan Williams (11), Preece (15, 23, 57), Phillips (18, 71), Morris (39), Herbert (53, 62)
Goals: Phillips 8/9

Sin Bin: Morris (50 – unprofessional conduct)
Sent Off: Morris (67 – punching)

Referee: Mateo Roca (France)

Half Time: 12-30

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The post France, England and Wales pick up wins appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : European Rugby League

England women too powerful

Match report

A powerful performance by a new-look England women’s side saw them run in eleven tries to defeat Wales 62-0 at the Lextan Gnoll, Neath.

Four of their six debutants were on the scoresheet, player of the match, Wigan teenager Isabel Rowe, landing 22 points from a try and nine goals.

This fixture is really important,” said England women’s head coach Stuart Barrow.

“Wales were really good, and it gave me the opportunity to give out more caps who all performed well, while the leadership of Jodie Cunningham was really important.

Our player pool is developing and competition is getting better. Our aim is to close the gap before the World Cup.”

The visitors, rebuilding after their shellacking against the Jillaroos in Las Vegas in March, led 22-0 at the break, first time starters Jenna Foubister – from a kick by Rowe.

Molly Jones and Leeds’s Lucy Murray among their try scorers.

Another debutant, Eva Hunter crossed twice in the second period as England’s superior fitness told late on, all their player coming from Super League.

Anna Davies – who scored five times when England earned their biggest-ever win against Wales at Headingley last November – also crossed twice, Bella Sykes going over for her first try in the national colours.

“I probably wasn’t the happiest with my performance the first half, but for the second I just told myself to enjoy it.

I’m playing with some amazing girls so that made my job really easy,” said 18-year-old Rowe.

“Everyone wants to play in a World Cup for England, there’s a lot of competition and I’m really looking forward to doing all that I can to get on that plane.”

Wales, who beat Scotland the week before, showed distinct improvement from their last time out against England as they build for appearing in their first Women’s World Cup next year, going close on a number of occasions, Charlie Munday with their best chance, just halted by a fine try saving tackle from Grace Banks.

Wales women’s head coach, Tom Brindle, commented:

“Our metric wasn’t the scoreline, we set some challenges on ourselves and part of that was we wanted to own our version of that game and I think we did, we competed for as long as we could, the effort and commitment for the badge never faltered.

“We’ve learned a lot and got to get fitter, faster, stronger, but where we are at the moment, they’ve done everything to their absolute maximum. I can’t ask for more.”

FULL TIME

Wales 0 – 62 England

Wales

TRIES :
GOALS :

England

TRIES : Jenna Foubister (6), Molly Jones (8), Anna Davies (19), Lucy Murray (30), Eva Hunter (41), Isabel Rowe (51), Isabella Skyes (54), Eboni Partington (54), Anna Davies (60), Georgia Wilson (68), Eva Hunter (72)
GOALS : Isabel Rowe 9

TEAMS

Wales

Leanne Burnell, Lucia Davies, Olivia Williams, Kathryn Salter, Dani McGifford, Megan Whittaker, Amberly Ruck, Agnes Wood, Carys Marsh, Gracie Hobbs, Georgia Cussons, Charlie Mundy, Bethan Dainton. Subs: Jasmine Gibbons, Ffion Jenkins, Amy Price, Hannah Jones

England

Gracie Banks, Anna Davies, Georgia Wilson, Molly Jones, Eboni Partington, Isabel Rowe, Jenna Foubister, Olivia Wood, Katie Mottershead, Isabel Northorp, Lucy Murray, Eva Hunter, Jodie Cunningham. Subs: Ruby Bruce, Victoria Whitfield, Isabella Skyes, Savannah Andrade

Match info

Date : 9 Aug 2025
Kick-off : 17:30
Venue : The Gnoll, Neath
Competition : Senior Women’s International
Referee : Geoff Poumes (France)

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The post England women too powerful appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : European Rugby League

France u17s smash England

Match report

France made it a clean sweep in their two match series against England U17s as they ran out 12-56 winners for the second match of their tour at Rochdale Mayfield.

The visitors were straight out of the blocks with Elies Janzac scoring two early tries to put the visitors on the backfoot.

However, determined not to be whitewashed for the second time in a week, England dug deep and moved ahead as Ryan Templeton and Logan Metcalfe found their way to the line, with Templeton on target for both with the boot.

The lead was short lived as France hit back Titoua Binda, Tom Zitter and Luka Clottes all posting scores to put them into a 12-24 lead at the break.

The second half belonged to Les Bleus as Joris Martignoles and Lorik Lejeune keeping the scoreboard moving over, before Binda added his second and Janzac completed his hat trick just after the hour mark.

England rallied their defensive effort, but Zitter had the final word, crossing in the final seconds to post a final try, with 12-56 the final score.

England

Ethan Timlin Hammond, Jason Frankling, Rylan Templeton, Jake Hargreaves, Edward Mills, Jaiden Tallantine, Preston Melay, Danile Houghton, Dylan Morris, Charlie Roberts, Ben Clements, Logan Metcalfe.

Interchanges: Cameron Bradshaw, Dylan Hodgson, Byron Smith, Jake Taylor, Aaron Briggs.

England 12

Tries: Ryan Templeton (12), Logan Metcalfe (15)
Goals: Ryan Templeton 2/2

France

Clement Colin, Tom Zitter, Elies, Janzac, Gauthier Mouchon, Rafael Zapata, Nathan Gandou, Tom Guilhaumou, Lorik Lejeune, Kilian Belmaaziz, Teddy Cadenas, Sione Lamelangi, Luka Clottes, Joris Martignoles.

Interchanges. Titoua Binda, Naif Benabbon, Antoine Bonal, Nessy Buche, Keylan Ballester.

France 56

Tries: Elies Janzac (3, 8,64), Titoua Binda (22, 60), Tom Zitter, (34, 79), Luka Clottes (39), Joris Martignoles (43), Lorik Lejeune (55), Tom Guilhaumou (77),
Goals: Joris Martignoles 3/7, Clement Colin 2/4

Match info

Date : 16 Jul 2025
Kick-off : 18:30
Venue : Rochdale Mayfield
Competition : U17M Youth International
Referee : Erin Watson (England)

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The post France u17s smash England appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Story : European Rugby League Federation

England u18s win 4 nations title

England Community Lions win 4 Nations u18 title (Photo : ERL)

England took the U18 Four Nations title after beating runners-up Wales 34-0.

The English dominated the match and were 24-0 up at the break as Wales couldn’t do a Four Nations double at Widnes.

Jake Lerigo had the first chance for England, but he was stopped in his tracks just a metre from the line, causing him to drop the ball.

Zak Bennett did eventually go over the line in the 12th minute to give the hosts the lead. Max Fleary converted well.

Dan Wilds nearly scored a try back for Wales but was stopped short of the line on the final tackle of a set.

Following that, a length of the field set culminated in Trent Ruddy scoring England’s second try with Fleary again adding the goal.

England continued to dominate as quick fire tries from Fleary, then Rio Walker, plus two goals from Fleary put the half-time score onto 24-0.

It took 14 minutes for England to add to their score. Ethan Gaffney ran over for their fifth try and Will Randall converted.

And with five minutes to go, Connor Hall charged through to put the icing on the cake for England.

“We saved our best performance to the end for this winner takes all game” commented Gary Hewer, England Coach. “The best thing about the performance was our defensive effort and keeping Wales to a zero!”

Full Time

England 34 – 0 Wales

Half Time

England 24 – 0 Wales

England

Eligh Wilkinson, Kieran Horner, Rio Walker, Rhomen Alick, Ethan Gaffney, Will Randall, Max Fleary, Harrison Dickinson, Bailey Worthington, Jake Lerigo, Zak Bennett, Kier Starkie, Connor Hall.
Interchanges: Xenden Callander, Louey Pinkerton, Jack Barker, Trent Ruddy, Alfie McCulloch, Josh Smith.

Tries: Zak Bennett (12), Trent Ruddy (23), Max Fleary (31), Rio Walker (34), Ethan Gaffney (53), Connor Hall (75)
Goals: Fleary 5/5, Randall 0/1

Wales

Ethan Williams, Alex Richardson, Evan Rowlands, Jack Wilcox, Ralf Roberts, Joshua Gabrielsen, Dan Wilds, Jacob Morris, Kyson Rees, Ollie Bellavia-Walker, Regan Preece, Oscar Jones, Charlie Thomas.
Interchanges: Oliver Rees, Rhodri Roberts, Rhys Hughes, James Tucker, Bobi Jones, Cae Jones, Reuben Malson.

Match info

Date : 12 Jul 2025
Kick-off : 14:00
Venue Halton Farnworth
Competition : U18M Youth International
Referee : Tyler Topping (England)

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The post England u18s win 4 nations title appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : England Rugby League

Rainford High victorious in Steven Mullaney Memorial Game with a record-breaking win

Rainford High’s Year 7 rugby league team were victorious in the Steven Mullaney Memorial Match – the national Year 7 Boys’ final of the RFL’s inspiresport Champion Schools competition, which was held on Saturday 7 June at Wembley Stadium.

The team secured the trophy after a record-breaking 40-0 victory over Sirius Academy West from Hull.

Which culminates an exceptional season for the Year 7 team who are now treble winners, having already secured both the St Helens Schools Rugby League Year 7 Cup and the North West Schools Rugby League Year 7 Trophy.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the competition, the Year 7’s record victory included seven tries and saw the talented team receive their trophy from members of the Mullaney family after an emphatic 80 minutes of play.

Oscar Lyon, captain of the Year 7 team, said: “I really enjoyed lifting the cup with the team. I had a 90% kick percentage and when I missed one conversion, my team cheered me up.

“All of the boys played amazing against a tough team. I was really proud and will remember it for the rest of my life!”

Man of the match went to prop player Archie Lane, who scored two tries and impressed the onlooking crowds with his sprinting.

Archie added: “It was a great experience playing at Wembley and winning made it all the better.

“Getting man of the match and walking up the Wembley stairs was great, and scoring two tries was like a dream come true!”

The Steven Mullaney Memorial Match is one of the most prestigious fixtures in the schools’ rugby league calendar.

To celebrate the momentous occasion of reaching the final, the Year 7 team were invited to St Helens RFC’s stadium on Friday 6 June to be waved off alongside the Saints women’s team who were also heading to Wembley to compete in the Challenge Cup trophy.

Beforehand, the team took a tour of the Totally Wicked Stadium and received a rebel-rousing team talk from James Roby, leadership, culture and performance coach at St Helens RFC and former hooker for the Saints.

Commenting on the success of the team

Commenting on the success of the team, Mr Andrew Skerry, Year 7 learning leader and PE teacher, said: “The whole Wembley journey has been amazing. Wembley week was a fabulous experience for the whole team and staff.

“To win the national competition completed an unprecedented clean sweep and treble of all competitions entered, but all credit must go to the boys. We will go again next year and see if we can go back-to-back!”

As part of Rainford High’s ‘Wembley week’, the team attended a press conference on Monday at Oulton Hall Spa Hotel, were presented with their match shirts during a special evening at St Helens RFC on Wednesday and received a tour of Wembley Stadium when they arrived on Friday.

This year’s final was especially significant for Rainford High, as it coincided with the 20th anniversary of former student and St Helens RFC star Jonny Lomax’s appearance in the same final for the school.

The team’s success has been underpinned by Rainford High’s core values:

‘Everyone Helps, Everyone Matters, Everyone Succeeds’. The players have demonstrated outstanding commitment, attending regular training sessions and working together to improve individually and as a team.

Mr Ian Young, principal of Rainford High, said:

“We’re incredibly proud of our Year 7 rugby team and all that they have achieved this season.

Reaching a national final is one thing, but to be crowned champions in the way that they were after the spectacular performance they gave on the pitch is testament to the effort and teamwork the boys have shown all season.

“All boys have taken the opportunities they’ve been given over the past week with both hands and have enjoyed every moment, which has been fantastic to witness.

As a school, we’ve made memories that’ll last a lifetime, and I know the boys will have personally too.”

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Sea Eagles Pathways Wrap Rnd 4

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The post Rainford High victorious in Steven Mullaney Memorial appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : England Rugby League

Midlands Junior expand in a summer of rugby league

Midlands Junior playing opportunities to expand in a summer of rugby league activity (Photo : England Rugby League)

Midlands Junior playing opportunities to expand in a summer of rugby league activity

The weekend of 31st May 2025 heralds the return of competitive junior rugby league as the new Midlands Junior Merit Leagues for U15s and U17s begin.

This initiative has been some time in planning and is the culmination of volunteers’ work to establish further long-term strategy to the growing Midlands Rugby League scene.

In a move to create a league-based round robin of fixtures for those teams able to commit, it is the next step in creating a formal competitive season for a range of age groups across the Midlands region.

At U15s level

At U15s level, teams from NEW Ravens, Sherwood Wolfhunt, Leamington Royals and a joint team from Bassetlaw Bulldogs and North Midlands Knights (formerly Bolsover Bulls) will participate in the 6-round competition.

At U17s level

At U17s, Bassetlaw Bulldogs, Coventry Bears, North Midland Knights and a West Midlands All-stars team will make up the roster.

As part of the emerging Merit League system, teams will play home and away fixtures against their peers, being awarded points for winning, drawing, turning up and playing with full teams.

Further to the league structure – and alongside stand-alone fixtures between clubs – there will be further playing opportunities across the region with 6 summer festivals taking place for Primary-aged players and teams at U12s, U14s and U16s.

The festivals have been designed to ensure high-quality experiences for players, with hosts working towards a standardised format to ensure maximum enjoyment and participation.

Festivals at Coventry

Festivals at Coventry, Nottingham, NEW Ravens, Bassetlaw, Sherwood and North Midlands Knights are spread throughout the summer months. Organisers are delighted also to welcome back title sponsors, Paladin Sports UK for a second year.

Speaking of his delight at the prospect, Midlands Steering Group Chair, Phil Abbott enthused: “So much hard work has gone into making this happen, by a group of dedicated volunteers at Steering Group level.

We are absolutely delighted to get the new Merit Leagues off the ground and are excited to see just how well they can run this season. Feedback from those clubs taking part is already positive, in terms of the intrigue this is creating for players in those teams.

I am sure it won’t be all plain sailing, but we know that, for this region, if we don’t run with it now, we probably won’t for a long time.”

Midlands Junior playing opportunities to expand in a summer of rugby league activity (Photo : England Rugby League)

Abbott goes on to say

Abbott goes on to say: ‘We have worked to introduce some minimum standards for affiliate clubs to achieve over the course of the next 12 months.

These are designed to help us up our game as administrators and to enhance the experience of all participants within our clubs.

We think we have a great product in the game of rugby league, but too often in the past we have let talk come before action.

We want to make sure we do our talking on the pitch, that our thinking is strategic and for the good of the region, not just our own clubs.

We want to populate teams across the region with eager rugby league players so that everybody benefits from positive gamedays.

Speaking of the initiatives, Stephen Guan, RFL’s Southern Regions Development Manager said: ‘The work Phil and the steering group have done to progress this is tremendous.

It has been a collaborative approach from the group, working closely with the clubs and ourselves at the RFL to develop the Primary and Junior offers across the Midlands.

“There is a strong community club presence across the Midlands with nearly a dozen of these having Primary and Junior RL offers.

Having a suitable competition structure and development opportunities in place is invaluable for the growth of not only these clubs, players and volunteers but for the game as a whole across the Midlands.

“One objective of our Southern Regions Strategic Framework is to utilise the experience and knowledge of our volunteer workforce and support this to progress elements of the sport in the South, the work happening here is a prime example of this.”

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SG Ball Cup Round 10 full results, ladder & top point scorers

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Lisa Fiola Cup Rnd 2 Full Results, Ladder & Player Stat’s

The post Midlands Junior expand in a summer of rugby league appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : England Rugby League

It’s England versus Wales in the inspiresport Champion Schools Year 7 Boys’ Final

Rugby League’s Year 7 Boys Champion Schools Final returns to Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June, when St Peters Catholic High School of Wigan take on Cardiff’s Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in the Steven Mullaney Memorial Game.

Supported by inspiresport, Champion Schools is the RFL’s flagship schools’ competition for girls and boys at years 7 to 11.

The Year 7 Boys Final is named after Steven Mullaney, the schoolboy who in 1986 thrilled spectators and television viewers alike by scoring a superb solo try.

As Wakefield schools defeated St Helens at Wembley in the Challenge Cup Final curtain-raiser, but who died in tragic circumstances the following year.

Ysgol Glantaf will make their third appearance at Wembley Stadium on June 8 having previously won the Year 7 Boys’ Final back in 2015.

The team will be flying the Welsh flag high when they take to the pitch with the Cardiff school continuing to impress following an appearance at St James’ Park in Newcastle for the Year 10 Girls’ Final last year.

Glantaf began their campaign with a trip to London’s Langley Park who they successfully defeated 38-4 before a quarter final victory against Archbishop Sentamu Academy.

Next up was an outstanding semi-final performance against Outwood Academy Freeston with the Welsh side progressing to Wembley after a 50-4 triumph.

St Peter’s have a rich history in this competition and have already featured in both the Year 11 Boys’ and Girls’ Finals in April and now their Year 7 Boys’ will have their chance to shine on the biggest of stages.

Their journey to Wembley started with a defeat of Malet Lambert to set up a quarter final against Cumbria’s St Benedict’s Catholic High School.

The resulting victory saw them face Malet Lambert once again in the semi-finals, and whilst the Hull side persevered, St Peter’s were eventually too strong and came out on top with a 26-6 win.

RFL National Education Manager, Andrea Murray, said: “Congratulations to both schools on making it to Wembley Stadium.

Both teams have done incredibly well throughout the tournament and are a real credit to their coaches.

The boys will be following in the footsteps of some famous Rugby League names who have played in the Steven Mullaney Memorial Game – among them Kevin Sinfield, Denis Betts, Bobbie Goulding and Phil Clarke.

“Champion Schools is not just about the teams involved but it is also giving opportunities to the next generation of Match Officials – including Liam and Cameron Breheny.

It was fantastic to see the two brothers taking charge of the semi-finals, and I look forward to seeing them progress their refereeing careers.

“I’d also like to thank Rochdale Mayfield for hosting, it was a brilliant occasion, and everyone involved had a fantastic day.”

The inspiresport Champion Schools Year 7 Boys Final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June (KO 10am) with Finals Day scheduled to take place on Friday 5 July at the DIY Kitchens Stadium in Wakefield.

All finalists will be confirmed in the coming weeks as the competition progresses.

Related Links

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The post It’s England versus Wales Champion Schools Year 7 Boys appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : England Rugby League

England Lions u19s announce 32-player train-on squad

England Community Lions Under 19’s Head Coach Allan Coleman has announced a 32-player train-on squad for the European Championships.

This follows the February trial, held at Pilkington Recs, that saw players split across three teams who then played against each other.

Speaking on how selection worked, Coleman explained: “On the day I split the staff up over the three teams, I then took their feedback and nominated players, and that’s how we whittled it down.”

England Community Lions U19s TRIALS DAY in St Helens, trialists with Team Black

This squad is made up of players from 24 Community Rugby League clubs including representation from Cumbria, Lancashire, and Yorkshire and from famous old names like Millom, Siddal, and Leigh Miners Rangers.

“I was really excited by the amount of quality that was there at Pilks. We could have picked many more if I’m honest.

Unfortunately, though we can’t and it’s going to be even more of a difficult job now, cutting it back to 21,” Coleman said.

“I just feel that the squad we’ve got now gives us a real balance of quality.

There are three or four there for every position

There are three or four there for every position.

England Community Lions U19s TRIALS DAY in St Helens, trialists with Team Blue

That’s going to bring some challenges but also what I feel will be the best quality for England.”

While the squad includes several names that have impressed for England previously at earlier age groups.

There are also several players that have the chance to put their best foot forward including two players from Cottingham Tigers and one each from the likes of Lowca and Westgate Common.

“There are some kids out there that progressively come through the age groups of international representation.

But you also get some who don’t potentially get seen, and I think how we do the Lions programme now.

Especially through Alan Davidson, is we reach out to as many clubs as possibly can and it doesn’t matter what division they are in, it’s important they get as much opportunity as anyone else.

England Community Lions U19s TRIALS DAY in St Helens, trialists with Team Red

“That’s where you’ll see these hidden gems and it gives everyone a fair playing field.”

Coleman continued” “It’s really important that these clubs get exposure as well, then hopefully it grows their club. That’s also really important for us all on the Lions programme.”

The 32-player squad will meet up on the 6th March at Leigh Miners Rangers’ Twist Lane home for further training with a view to 21-player squad eventually being selected for the European Championships.

The squad in full:

Mark Alban (Newton Storm)
Tyler Birtle (Leigh Miners Rangers)
Mekhi Bridgeman-Reaney (Stanningley)
Kian Cockshott (Wibsey Warriors)
Kieran Dean (Thatto Heath)
Andy Djeukam (East Leeds)
Connor Goldthorpe (Thatto Heath)
Blaine Graham (Kells)
Archie Halmshaw (West Bowling)
Logan Holgate (Hensingham)
Toby Hughes (Newton Storm)
Noah Lancelott (Leigh Miners Rangers)
Josh Leeson (Westgate Common)
Ryan Lockett (Pilkington Recs)
Callum Murphy (Waterhead)
Jack Newbigin (Millom)
Harvey Oldroyd (Siddal)
George Painter (Cottingham Tigers)
Matthew Parkes (Leigh Miners Rangers)
Scott Parnaby (Waterhead)
Harry Penny (Ince Rose Bridge)
Bradlee Radford (East Hull)
Luc Slater (Orrell St James)
Jake Smith (Cottingham Tigers)
Mitchell Todd (Lowca)
Max Tordoff (West Bowling)
Dylan Turner (Oldham St Annes)
Josh Wagstaff (Langworthy Reds)
Kieran Welburn (West Hull)
Bradley Wheeler (Hunslet Club Parkside)
Rio Wilson-McQuistan (Millom)
Ryan Wood (Wigan St Judes)

Related Links

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Author : England RL

Barrow & District League celebrate annual Primary RL Festival

Barrow & District League held their annual Primary RL end of season festival yesterday at the home of Barrow Raiders.

Players from Barrow Island, Walney Central, Hindpool Tigers, Dalton, Millom, Ulverston, Askam, Marsh Hornets & Roose Pioneers all took part at U6, U7, U8, U9 & U10’s age groups.

The festival saw over 550 players take part with all the players receiving a medal for their endeavours on the day and over the season.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped with ensuring the day ran smoothly, ensuring all players received a positive playing experience and for their contributions, over the season, in helping develop the next generation of rugby league players.

Photo: Becky Beacock

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