Ballard Named Tour Captain

The BARLA Under-19s kick off their five-game tour of South Africa on Saturday afternoon at 5.30pm local time with a game against South Africa Students in Pretoria.

Mark Ballard (pictured), from the Leigh East club, is the tour captain. His elder brothers, Andy and Paul, are wingers in the professional game with Barrow and Blackpool respectively.

"I was a bit surprised to be named captain but I was made up," he said, "It's a big honour. Captaining your country isn't something you turn your nose up at.

"The tour's going well so far with everyone bonding. We've all mixed well and there are no cliques. Everyone's getting on well," said the hooker, who is a regular with Leigh East in the National Conference Premier Division.

The remaining four games are against South Africa Junior Development on Wednesday, South Africa Schools next Saturday, South Africa President's XIII and South Africa Rhinos Under-21s.

BARLA U19 team to face South Africa Students: 4 Pat Foulstone, 6 Adam Gant, 24 Greg Worrall, 15 Daniel Rooney (Vice-Captain), 3 Peter Caddy, 5 Ross Gainsford, 16 Daniel Rowse, 10 Zach Johnson, 1 Mark Ballard (Captain), 22 Alexander Walmsley, 12 Kurtis Marsh, 19 Thomas Spencer, 20 Liam Thompson. Subs: 8 Kenneth Hughes, 21 Anthony Tognola, 17 Karl Sandford, 23 Lewis Wilson.