London Skolars are delighted to announce that a further 4 of our Juniors have been selected to represent North London in the inaugural U19 Origin match this coming October.
U17’s Captain Rodell Reid and fellow U17’s players and Barnet and Southgate College students Bledar Ramushi, Omar Benhoura and Luca Vettori have all been named in the 20 man train on squad for the one off fixture to be played on October 3rd.
Whilst there have been previous U19’s and U17’s Origin matches, the past few years has seen this age group cease. However following discussions with the London Junior League, London Broncos and the League One Clubs including Skolars, it was deemed appropriate that a one-off game was to be introduced into the Origin calendar for 2015.
The U19’s fixture brings together all those players from the London Junior League U17’s age group, plus any players who are of U18 and U19 age groups but currently playing in the London Men’s Leagues. It promises to be a really tough contest with some fantastic young players on show.
All four players have shone for Skolars this year in both the U17’s side and the A team. Bledar, Rodell and Omar have been important figures for the U17 age group this year, providing some experience and guiding some of the younger players through what was a very tough league. Luca has stepped up from the U17’s age group, to feature heavily for the ‘A’ Team, a lighting quick attacker, with a great step and exciting ability to beat defender’s one on one, Luca has coped well with life in the Men’s League.
Community Development Manager and Barnet and Southgate Academy Coach Matt Cuss spoke of the player’s inclusions ‘I’ve worked with all 4 players across these last two seasons and am extremely pleased to see them getting rewarded for their efforts this year. The U19’s Origin fixture will give the players who have reached the end of their Junior League career’s a chance of representative Rugby League and I’m sure will highlight how important the U19 age group is for the whole of London RL. Whilst some will make the step up to Men’s Rugby, others are not ready and so it’s important that we bridge that gap with programmes like our Tier 3 Academy at Barnet and Southgate College. Bledar, Omar and Luca have all come through the Junior pathway at the club and all currently study at Barnet and Southgate College. So selections like this one really do highlight the development of these players and the important work that is done through Academy programmes like ours.
Bledar, Rodell, Omar and Luca join 15 other young Skolars across our Junior age groups who will all represent North London in this year’s Hard Rock Café Origin Series.
Further information on our Tier 3 Academy Programme at Barnet and Southgate can be found by following the link http://www.barnetsouthgate.ac.uk/delivering-careers/sports-science-and-management/rugby-education-academy
Or by contacting Matt Cuss via email matthewcuss@skolarsrl.com
