Ukraine set to welcome first touring team

The Unison sponsored BARLA Under 23s are set to become the inaugural rugby league touring party to visit Ukraine.

They will face the national team and one of the strongest club sides in the region, with the majority of the young party first timers to playing the code abroad.

Ukraine RL Manager Artur Martyrosyan Senior is looking forward to their arrival.

“We are busy preparing for BARLA`s visit to make sure they have a great time on and off the field” he said.

“It should be a good opportunity for Ukraine to gain more Rugby League experience as we did last year when the GB Student Team came to Kharkiv.”

“We believe that fixtures like this will help us to keep improving our game. We are grateful to BARLA and the RLEF for giving us this opportunity.”

Kevin Armitstead is set to coach the tourists and he will have Martin Oglanby as his assistant.

The squad are due to fly out to Ukranian capital Kiev from Luton on Monday 15th June and then onto Kharkiv where they will be based.

The international match against the Ukrainian national side will be played on the evening of Wednesday 17th and it is then planned that on the Friday the BARLA side will help with a development programme to further raise the profile of the sport.

On Saturday 20th they will face Vereya, Moscow Region before departing back to Kiev where a day of sight seeing will be the last item on their itinerary before touching back down in Luton on Monday 22nd June.
 
BARLA International Manager Mick Turner said, “I would like to thank our sponsors Unison, as well as all the clubs for their support.”

“It is a great opportunity to visit different places, see different cultures and, no doubt, forge lasting friendships. The tour is a stepping stone to bigger things for a lot of these players and coaches and I hope they enjoy this experience.”