Svenska Rugby League Förening has named their 21-man squad under new coach Sam Cammell for their international on 9 September, when they face the Netherlands for the first time, in Amsterdam.
“I'm very excited for my first game,” said Cammell. “It's going to be a big change from playing on the field with the guys to now helping from the sidelines. I’m very impressed with the young Swedish team I am taking over and think we are in with a real chance to shake our opposition”.
Andrew Bignell, newly appointed team manager, will be taking the field alongside a record number of eight Kungsbacka Broncos in the national team. “The representatives from the Broncos are predominantly forwards boasting size and mobility which will lay a strong platform for the halves to work from,” said Bignell. “These players have performed extremely well throughout the season with some dominant displays.”
The Swedes will be without inspirational leader Joakim Svensson who is still out injured after breaking his ankle during trials with League 1 sides Toronto Wolfpack and Hunslet Hawks, but Cammell welcomes back experienced players Anthony Groth and Fabian Wikander.
“With this new era of players and staff, we are trying to build for the future by giving opportunities for new and younger players on the international scene,” said Wikander. “There is a lot of work to do domestically but we hope this can help grow the game within Sweden. We are aiming to play more sanctioned internationals in the future.”
Sweden and Denmark conclude the Nordic Cup in October which was won by Norway at the weekend.
SWEDEN 21-MAN TRAIN-ON SQUAD
Krayem Josef, Alexander Ribbfors, Robert Tabell (Göteborg) Andrew Bignell, Christoffer Andréasson, Ruaidhrí O'Brien, Emil Sandeman, Plamen Lazarov, Janne Johansson, Peter Wiklund, Alex Eliasson (Kungsbacka Broncos) Jishu Chowdhury, Johnny Engström, Anthony Groth, Gaz Saltonstall (Stockholms Kungar) Sebastian Hylander, Sebastian Johnson-Cadwell, Carl Lindblom, Paris Ghavidel-Asgari (Skåne Stags) Volkan Ak, Fabian Wikander (unattached)