England team meet Prince Harry

James Gordon

HRH Prince Harry met the England team in Manchester earlier this week as part of his role as patron of the RFL.

As part of a trip to Manchester where Prince Harry visited a number of organisations and projects which each work in different ways to support sections of the city’s community, the sport’s patron met the England Elite Performance Squad at their final meeting ahead of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

During the reception, Prince Harry was welcomed by Rugby Football League Rugby Director, Kevin Sinfield MBE and introduced to various members of the squad, including; England captain, Sean O’Loughlin; England winger, Ryan Hall; England forward, Scott Taylor; England half-back, Luke Gale; England Assistant Coach, Paul Sculthorpe MBE and England Team Manager, Jamie Peacock MBE.

On Prince Harry’s visit to meet the England Elite Performance Squad, Rugby Football League Rugby Director, Kevin Sinfield, said: “It was an honour to have Prince Harry as our guest at the final Elite Performance Squad meeting this afternoon.

“I know he met a few of the players at a Sky Try festival event a couple of months ago but I’m pleased for the rest of the squad that they got the chance to spend time with our patron and see how passionate he is about our sport and the national team.

“It’s moments like these that give you that extra boost before a major tournament and shows the support that is there for the squad as we aim for World Cup success.”

The Rugby League World Cup takes place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this year and features 14 teams. England will play Australia in the opening game of the tournament in Melbourne on Friday,

October 27 and a further two group games against Lebanon in Sydney and France in Perth. The final will be held at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, December 2.