Centurions player Nick Woolley, who is playing for the GB Teachers Rugby League team in Poland (see article below) - and just helped them to a win - has sent us a photo of some Polish players wearing our old St Albans Centurions strip. We asked Nick to say what it was like, and here is his blog:- " Over half term I was honoured with representing Beaumont School and Great Britain Teachers Rugby League Team in a two match series against the Poland National Team. I left Gatwick not knowing what to expect of Poland or the standard of rugby. I was overwhelmed with the welcome we received, not just our opponents but the whole local community within Lodz. There were huge language barriers but this did not get in the way of the hospitality and generosity shown to us. It was a great privilege to represent my country and profession, singing the national Anthem and even crossing the white-wash twice. It became clear that our trip was about helping to develop rugby league in Poland, their set up and facilities epitomized ‘grassroots rugby’. We played on converted football pitches, with poles attached to the posts for the ‘uprights’ and bench cushions as post protectors. To put it in context, last year there was only one team, but this year it has grown to six with plans to develop more. The passion and pride of the players and supporters were second to none, with local Government Officials and radio stations attending both fixtures. It was agreed that to aid their development we would all take over some old kit and ‘stash’ to share with the Polish clubs. Brian Parker, Chairman of St Albans Centurions, was kind enough to allow me to take nearly a full set of old kit with me. I will not forget their reaction of pure delight when I pulled the shirts out of the bag and handed them to the players. The Polish Captain and Founder was overwhelmed with all the kits and was quick to acknowledge our gesture saying how it would make it possible to use the shirts to develop more teams. If you are eligible to play for Poland and would like to find out more information about getting involved please contact the club. I would be happy to put you in touch so that you can join the legacy." Len McMain, St Albans Centurions long standing physio was in the Serbian corner as they played their two qualifying games in the World Cup in October. Len has been a member of the Serbian back room staff for several years, and also helped to establish the game in Serbia, taking rugby league kit and equipment over with him on his visits.
Len said "It was a great experience being with this team. Rugby League is growing fast in Serbia. There are over a thousand people playing the game now and new clubs being formed. Serbia could go on to great things in the future." Unfortunately the Serbian team could not qualify for the next World Cup, as they were beaten by Wales in Llanelli and by Italy in Belgrade. The photo shows Len, front row, far left, with the Serbian White Eagles team Centurions player Nick Woolley is set to become a trailblazer for the international game when he heads to Poland with the Great Britain Teachers Rugby League team. Nick, a school teacher at Beaumaont School, St Albans has been selected to play for the GB Teachers team in a tour which includes a match against the Polish national team. This tour is significant for Nick, not only for the fact that he will have the opportunity to represent his country, but also because it is the first time the GBTRL team has travelled overseas to play. The trip, which runs between October 26th to 30th, will feature a warm-up game against local club, the Lodz Magpies, followed by the showdown with the national team a few days later. It is also about spreading the word of rugby league and will also include the team donating kit to help the sport's development in Poland. GBTRL Head coach Marc Simon admits it is a hugely exciting prospect and one which reflects the progress that has been made since the team was formalized back in 2011. "It is a big opportunity for guys to play representative rugby,” Simon said. "In previous tournaments, the guys felt like it was a fairly friendly atmosphere because they had played at a reasonably high standard in their own local teams. But when you think we will soon be heading off to play other teams across Europe, this is huge for us ” The team might train out of Rochdale and Central Park in Wigan but they have players based all over the country. “We are heavily inundated from the North but are trying to open it up to everyone," Simon said. “We have guys who come up to train from St Albans and Hemel and there are also people from London who play.” Good luck Nick from everyone at The Cents, Two ex Cents players have represented Greece in the international match against Japan in Tokyo yesterday. Adam and Ryan Kambouris both played for several seasons at St Albans Centurions, before travelling to the south of France to continue their rugby league careers. Returning to their native Australia, the brothers were thrilled to be picked to play for Greece, for whom they hold dual nationality passports. Big Kambo and Little Kambo as they were known at their time at the Centurions helped the Greek team to a decisive victory of 72 points to nil over their Japanese hosts.
St Albans Centurions player and committee member Sam Norris will be making a verbal 'appearance' on St Albans very own radio station, Radio Verulam, on Saturday 8th October when he will be live on air, as part of the Sports Round Up programme, talking to Verulam FM about the Super League Grand Final, and rugby league in St Albans.
Radio Verulam want to make talking about St Albans Centurions a regular feature on their show in the build up to next season, so this should hopefully prove to be a good starting point as a great advert for the club in terms of promoting us to existing and new sponsors and players. Sam will be on the air about 4.35pm, so don't forget to tune in and listen. St Albans Centurions held their seniors end of season awards evening at the Robin Hood pub, St Albans on Saturday. Below are the players and the awards they were given. Well done boys.
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