Rugby League Norge has named a 26-man squad to compete in the 2012 Nordic Cup against Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark.
Norway has seen impressive growth over the past three years with a host of new clubs joining the sport as well as a junior programme being established during the winter which has given a large number of new players the chance to get their first taste of international rugby league.
New head coach of the ‘Vikingene’, Matt South commented, “All I am hoping is to get the guys to another level by speeding up the play and controlling the play the ball. I hope both new and established can learn and become better players .”
Head of RL Norge Warren Heilig added, “We have chosen a number of new players this year, each of the eight clubs has a representative in the national squad. We hope that this experiment will have benefits in the future for our domestic league.”
Norway will take on Sweden in Gothenburg this Saturday and Denmark a week later on August 4th at the Bislett Stadion, Oslo. Both matches kick off at 15.00hrs.
NORWAY XIII SQUAD
Reece Prosser, Magnus Sundsfjord (Bodø Barbarians), Mads Ove Haukland, Kristoffer Milligan, Roger Stenlund (Flekkefjord Tigers), Daniel Fagerås, Sonny Mellor, Robin Svendson (Flisbyen Broncos), Jørgen Schmidt (Fredrikstad Falcons), Omar Bagdhadi (Kristiansand Krusaders), Peter Engeland, Nils Haigh, Cam Leslie, Anders Linnestå, Erlend Meldalen, Fredrik Skovly (c), Martin Skovly, Callum Sullivan (Oslo Capitals), Kevin Båtnes, Andreas Bjugn, Kai Roger Holm (Porsgrunn Pirates), Lars Haigh, Thomas Hilton (Saddleworth Rangers), Isaac Schmidt, Joshua Skidmore-Hornby, Henrik Roalsø (Tromsø Polar Bears)