Widnes to revist North East

Widnes Vikings are set to build on their 2015 visits to the North East of England, with a friendly against Newcastle Thunder scheduled for January.

The Vikings made a special effort for their trip to Magic Weekend in Newcastle last season, with the team wearing a special one-off striped kit to pay homage to Newcastle United FC.

Widnes also delivered coaching sessions to local schools and clubs while in the North East, and the sale of replica shirts raised £20,000 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer charity.

“The project in 2015 was to ensure that the Vikings were prominent in the North East, not only for the Magic Weekend itself, but throughout the build up to the event,” Vikings Director, Brian O’Connor said.

“Our objective was to leave a legacy which we now have a tremendous opportunity to build on in 2016.

“We have a fantastic relationship with Newcastle Thunder and the work that they are doing in the North East to grow the sport of rugby league is outstanding.

“If the revenue from this fixture goes someway to ensuring that the Thunders’ message only gets louder then it will no doubt benefit the growth of our game.

“I am sure that as we prepare this year’s Magic Weekend, the partnership with Newcastle Thunder will be instrumental in the success our initiative.”

The Vikings will play Thunder on Saturday, January 9 at Kingston Park, kick off 3pm, with the home team keeping all revenue raised from the game.