South Africa Rugby League has announced that New South Wales Country will tour there in October. The visitors will land on 9 October and play two games, against a Combined Clubs select and the national side.

The match against the Rhinos will form part of a showcase day which will include the SARL Students facing an invitational side and, in a new development, the SARL Masters coming up against an Invitational Sables.  

The Sables is an initiative to promote the game to ex‐league players and the multitude of internationals principally from Australia, England, Scotland and the  Pacific Islands who were denied the chance to play against South Africa in the 1980s and ‘90s because the sport was banned in the country, and lifted after 1994’s historic democratic elections. While there, the New South Wales squad will be travelling to schools to promote the sport in conjunction with the Gauteng Sports Council.

Kobus Botha, President of SARL,  commented, “Rugby league has been through a transformation in the past few years and tours such as this show what we are capable of. Our students are participating in the forthcoming Student Rugby League World Cup and South Africa is in the running for the rights to host the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which are significant milestones here.” He added, “Other tours are being planned for the next  18 months and this will bring significant growth to the sport.”  

Terry Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of the Country Rugby League commented, “We are looking forward to bringing the best of the Country NSW to South Africa to showcase the game. All the players eligible are very excited about the groundbreaking concept and can only see the benefits it will bring in South Africa.”