SADDLEWORTH Rangers are back from an end-of-season trip to Norway where they played a training game against the national team.
The match, which was played over four 20-minute quarters, was the start of the Norway national team’s preparations for their European B qualifying campaign next year, part of the build up to the next World Cup.
Rangers triumphed 88-16 with Finn Winterbottom named player of the match.
Austerlands-based Anne Haigh, president of Rugby League Norway, said: “Norway was extremely strict with its Covid restrictions, and the national team was not allowed to train for two years.
“Saddleworth Rangers helped us to restart the national team which has a new coach and a lot of new players.”
The Norwegian national team will continue its preparations with a friendly against Poland on November 12 in London to coincide with them watching the World Cup semi-final.
Rugby league is still in its infancy in Norway where there are only about 450 registered amateur players and only nine clubs and five open-age teams in the country where Anne admitted 90 per cent of the population have probably never heard of the sport.
It had been hoped to play two matches against Rangers, the other being an Under-21 game, but the Norwegians were unable to muster enough players at that age group.
The Haigh family has strong links with Rangers as Anne’s sons Lars and Nils are former players at Shaw Hall Bank Road.
And as part of the drive to develop the sport, Anne recently organised a training camp at Rangers for 40 youngsters from four clubs is Norway – Farsund Bobcats, Sandnes Raiders, Lillestrom Lions and Romerike Rottweilers.
There was coaching at Rangers while the highlight for the children were their first-ever competitive matches. The boys played against Rangers at Under-11, 13 and 15 while the girls’ game saw Waterhead Warriors provide the opposition.
The party also attended the Warrington Wolves versus Leeds Rhinos Super League game when they were flag carriers before the start of the match.
