Seven Illawarriors to tour USA with NSW Cockatoos
NSW Country LogoSeven current Illawarriors have been selected for the NSW Country Rugby Union tour squad to undertake the USA Development Tour during October & November this year. Congratulations to Illawarra’s Ben Greentree (Camden), Andre Itula (Avondale), Matt Lee (University), Mark Minter (Camden), Lee Russell (Camden), Eli Sinoti (Avondale) and Paul Tuala (University) who have been selected for the Cockatoos squad which will begin preparations for the USA Tour after the Illawarra Senior Competitions culminate in the Grand Finals on Saturday, 20 September at WIN Stadium.
A squad of twenty six players and nine officials will participate in the sixteen day tour to the west coast of the United States, where they will play four matches against two leading club teams, a regional representative team and a state representative team.
The match schedule for the tour is
NSWCRU President Barry Ruddy said “the tour was a very important part of the Union’s program, which continued to provide a quality representative pathway for Country based players, officials, coaches and support staff”.
“The intention is for a tour of this nature to be undertaken every four years, which would provide players with something to strive and aim for, as the four year period is the normal term for a Country representative player” added Ruddy.
He went on to say
The tour was not just for the players, but would provide experience for the coaches and support staff, together with a Country referee who would also participate on the tour”.
The twenty six players selected to undertake the tour comprise of seventeen who are capped Cockatoos, four current Cockatoo Colts and five uncapped senior players who have represented their zones at this year’s Country Championships.
Cockatoo Coaches Shannon
Fraser and Stacey Sykes are pleased with the composition of the touring squad, which has a good cross section of Cockatoo experience, players who have been on the cusp of Cockatoo selection, together with up and coming talent from the Colts.
Fraser said “it was a great opportunity for the touring party as a group, as it would provide everyone with exposure to Rugby at another level, which would be beneficial to their respective developments.