Wales have 11 players in the 2014 Great Britain and Ireland Academic Lions squad, which has been announced following last week’s Student Four Nations.

The week long competition hosted this year at the University of Nottingham culminated on Good Friday with England defeating Wales in a thrilling final.

The Great Britain and Ireland Academic Lions will compete in the RFL Associations cup which runs from May to June where they will compete against the GB Teachers, GB Police and the Armed Forces. They will then tour South Africa in late August / early September.

Wales scored more points than any other side in the Four Nations with 162 in their three games, over a quarter of them coming from Lloyd Thomas who notched 11 tries.

Thomas, the player of the tournament, said on his selection for the squad: “I am overwhelmed with the award that I have received and extremely excited about the opportunity to play for Great Britain. I’m also pleased so many of my Welsh team mates have also been selected”.

Brian Juliff, chairman of Wales Rugby League, said: “I’m delighted that Wales did so well in the tournament, scoring more points than anyone else.

“I’m equally delighted that we have 11 players in the Great Britain and Ireland squad. All of this just shows how hard we are working in Wales to develop young players and bring them through the system. Good luck to them all in their matches this summer.”

Paul Fletcher, Great Britain and Ireland head coach, said: “It’s been a fantastic competition with some excellent talent on display, we have watched the players closely throughout the week in training as well as during the games.

“We have decided on a 27 man train on Squad which will be reduced to 22 players after the Associations Cup for the tour which takes place later this year, I am really excited about the squad we have selected and looking forward to working with the players.”

SQUAD

ANTHONY SQUIRE (Loughborough University / England)

BEN STELMASZEK (Bangor University / Wales)

BILLY GRIFFITHS (University of Huddersfield / England)

BLAKE MAHOVIC (Manchester Metropolitan University / England)

CHRIS ATKIN (Liverpool John Moores University / England)

CHRIS BARRATT (Loughborough University / England)

DAN CAPAROSS-MIDWOOD (Newcastle University / England)

DAN PARKER (Leeds Metropolitan University / Scotland)

GAVIN GRANT (University of Bath / Scotland)

GAZ HYNES (Leeds Metropolitan University / England)

HARRISON ELLIOTT (University South Wales / Wales)

IAIN MURRAY (Northumbria University / England)

JACK HOWDLE (Loughborough University / England)

JOE WALSH (Manchester Metropolitan University / England)

JORDAN SHERIDAN (Cardiff Metropolitan University / Wales)

JOSH DIXON (Leeds Metropolitan University / England)

LEWIS WEAVER (Blackpool and The Fylde College / Wales)

LLOYD THOMAS (Loughborough University / Wales)

MARCUS WEBB (Bridgend College / Wales)

MIKE CONNOR (University of South Wales / Wales)

MORGAN EVANS (University of Bath / Wales)

OSIAN PHILLIPS (University of South Wales / Wales)

RICHARD HUGHES (Liverpool John Moores University / England)

SEAN RICHARDS (Leeds Metropolitan University / England)

TOM HALL (Leeds Metropolitan University / England)

TOM HUGHES (Loughborough University / Wales)

TRISTAN TREHAN (Loughborough University / Wales)

NRL unveil Four Nations tournament and Sydney misses out
Source - Triple M NRL

The NRL has unveiled it's schedule for the upcoming Four Nations tournament and Sydney has missed out on hosting a match.

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will host a double-header to open the end-of-season 2014 Four Nations tournament ahead of a first ever final for the event in New Zealand.

The seven-match tournament will also feature games in Melbourne, Wollongong, Dunedin and Whangarei, ahead of a first Four Nations Final in New Zealand, in the capital Wellington.

The 2014 tournament includes World Champs and Four Nations holders Australia, New Zealand, England and the winner of the mid-season Pacific Test between Fiji and Samoa to be played at Penrith, in Sydney’s west, on Saturday, May 3. Tickets for this match went on sale this week.*

The staging of the Four Nations Final in Wellington follows the success of the Four Nations double-header at Auckland’s Eden Park in 2010, as well as the stunning support from fans for the inaugural Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines.

The NSW Minister for Sport and Recreation, Ms Gabrielle Upton, applauded the decision to host one of the Four Nations Test matches in Wollongong.

“Having the Kangaroos playing at WIN Stadium is an absolute bonus for Rugby League fans in the Illawarra,” she said.

“The NRL could have scheduled this match in Sydney, but they have decided to reward fans in Wollongong and the region for their lifelong support of Rugby League.

“I have had ongoing conversations with the NRL about the importance of playing big matches at WIN Stadium, and this historic decision to schedule the first ever Kangaroos Test match there is a terrific outcome."

Ticket details for the 2014 Four Nations tournament will be released in May.

2014 FOUR NATIONS SCHEDULESaturday, October 25: Australia v New Zealand, England v Pacific Team at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Saturday, November 1: New Zealand v Pacific Team at Toll Stadium, Whangarei
Sunday, November 2: Australia v England at AAMI Park, Melbourne
Saturday, November 8: New Zealand v England at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
Sunday, November 9: Australia v Pacific Team at WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Saturday, November 15: Four Nations Final at Westpac Stadium, Wellington.

*Please note that tickets are now on sale for the Pacific Test between Fiji and Samoa to be played at Penrith’s Sportingbet Stadium on Saturday, May 3. Tickets are just $10 for adults and $5 for children (Under 4 Free on Knee) and are available from Ticketek.