RUGBY League was given an education at the University of Chester as national stars of the future touched down on campus.
The GB and Ireland Academic Lions Student Rugby League (SRL) squad visited the university’s main campus for its first team training session ahead of its forthcoming tour of Australia.
The squad is selected from the best players in the SRL Four Nations Championships and the England Colleges team and is coached by Paul Fletcher, Rugby League coach at Leeds and Clive Griffiths, a former Wales international player.
The tour will take in four games, including a warm-up game against the Northern Territories and a three-test series against the Australian student team.
Dr Craig Twist, senior lecturer in sport and exercise sciences, said: “The Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences has a growing reputation for its work in rugby league and it was great for the university to be involved in such high profile training.
“We also got some excellent feedback. Team manager Carl Richards said that the University of Chester was a great environment to train in and an ideal location for the team. He also added that he would like to use the university again in the preparation for the forthcoming tour.”
The SRL organises all aspects of the game within the further education and higher education sectors.
With more than 100 college and university teams playing across the whole of the UK, it is a vital component of the Rugby Football League.
The Student Rugby League runs the university competition on behalf of BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sports). All the fixtures, results and league tables can be found on the BUCS website www.bucs.org.uk.
