Sides from six nations – Holland, England, Wales, France, Germany and the Czech Republic – will take part in the second, annual Rotterdam 9s, hosted by Rotterdam Pitbulls RLFC on Saturday 8 April at Rotterdamse Studented Rugby Club.

 The event is organised by the Nederlandse Rugby League Bond and last year saw teams from Belgium and Australia take part in what is a truly cosmopolitan day.

 Netherlands teams Harderwijk Dolphins, Amsterdam Cobras and Rotterdam Pitbulls  will face competition from Wests Warriors (England), Swansea University (Wales), TSV Karlshöfen (Germany), RLC Dragons Krupka (Czech Republic) and Nanterre 92 "Les Hussards" Paris (France).

 The first game kicks off at 10:00 and the finals are scheduled to be held at around 18:00.

 Jason Bruygoms, NRLB development officer and the Rotterdam 9s coordinator said: “We are very excited about the tournament after 2016 was such a success and we hope that the Rotterdam 9s will become highly respected in the international calendar, but with a distinctly club feeling. We hope to expand the tournament each year to include more teams.

 “The nines concept is a great development tool for us and gives the sport some great exposure just before the domestic season starts on 22 April.”

 The NRLB will play a four-team championship for the first time in its history following the successful formation of Harderwijk Dolphins RLFC last year.