England Colleges enjoy Belgium trip
England Colleges recently helped to spread the gospel of rugby league in Europe, by touring Belgium.
They won their game against the Belgian national team 72-6, and left a good impression behind them.
The England squad included four players from the University of Gloucestershire All Golds, with one, Josh Williams, being judged man of the match by coach Dean Reacher.
Williams bagged a hat-trick of tries in the game, as did his team-mate Tom Blakey, and was delighted to have been part of a great experience for the students.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the tour as a whole, it was a group of great guys I was playing with and to get the win was fantastic,” he said.
“Thanks to the England Colleges coaching staff we have come a long way in a couple of sessions and it really paid off.
“It was great to play with Frankie Foster, Dale Cooper and Lewis McKissick starting alongside me and the boys all put out a good performance.”
The other try scorers were Lewis McKissick with two, while James Forey, Adam Barrass, Cameron Bouller, Jake Ward and Sam Mason all scored one.
Head coach Reacher was proud of the efforts of his players, and felt that the experience would stand them all in good stead.
“The lads did really well, applying themselves in difficult situations, with a really hot day and a couple of early injuries, but the players adapted fantastically,” he said.
“The Belgium open age team did not stop for 80 minutes, credit to their team.
“The full squad showed development on the field. A big thank you to Belgium Rugby league for welcoming and looking after us throughout.”
England Colleges full squad:
Darion Ball, Wigan Warriors Education Academy
Dan Harrison, Runshaw
Joe Bold, West Lakes Academy
Cameron Bouller, Runshaw College
Jake Boardman, Hopwood Hall
Jack Sherrat, Warrington Collegiate
Sam Mason, Hopwood Hall
Rob Pritchard, Runshaw
Lewis Mckissick, Hartpury
Josh Williams, Crypt
Frankie Foster, St Peters
Dale Cooper, St Peters
James Forey, Ravenscliffe
Josh Lawrence, Oaklands College
Adam Barrass, Gateshead College
Craig Banks, Gateshead College
Gabriel Gatu, St Mary’s
Tom Blakely, St Mary’s
Brad Hill, Calderdale
Jake Ward, New College Pontefract