Being on the RFL press list gets you some interesting stories sent through and one such story that landed in my inbox today featured England Academy skipper Adam Milner. The Castleford hooker is a top prospect and will be looking to break into the Tigers first team on a regular basis before too long. Before then however, he has the little matter of leading the England Academy team out against the Aussie Schoolboys.
Here is a copy of the press release:
Milner will join a list of past England Academy captains which includes England’s recent Four Nations captain James Graham. Graham’s international teammates Sam Burgess and Luke Robinson are just a selection of other players who have recently represented the England Academy side before progressing to senior level and Milner is hoping to follow their footsteps.
“It’s a great privilege for me to be named as captain of the England side,” said Milner. “It’s also a bit of a surprise. I’ve never really been a captain before but I’m really honoured to be given the captains role and I can’t wait to lead the boys out to face the Schoolboys.”
“If I can be anything like some of the players who have previously played for the Academy then I’d be delighted. To be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Burgess and Graham is an honour for me, but I know I have a long way to go before I can be considered in their class. But it’s a great confidence boost to know so many academy players have gone on to become England players.”
On the eve of the Academy's first Test against the Australian Schoolboys, Milner and his squad know they have the opportunity to prove themselves against their counterparts from Down Under and he says there is a confident mood within the Academy camp.
“Training so far has been going good,” said the Castleford Tigers player. “We’ve worked hard at getting the squad to blend together and the team spirit now is fantastic.
“We’re expecting the games against the Australians to be very tough and we’ve heard rumours about the players coming over here, but we've been studying their team to see what exactly we’re going up against and what we need to do.
“We’ve got some very talented players in this side and I’m confident that we can perform well on the day and get the result that we all want.”
Tickets for the England Academy versus Australian Schoolboy on Saturday, December 4 at Leigh Sports Village (K.O 2:00pm) can be purchased on the day and cost £3.
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