Jake Dietrich, Dylan Bodycott-Pielli and Zach Smith were among a group of 45 young men to play Rugby League on the island.

During the week-long tour the boys played warm up games in villages and participated in a Gala Day in Suva against schools and village teams with the academy team taking out the tournament.

Zach Smith said the whole trip was a great experience.

“I really enjoyed going to the schools and villages,” he said.

Local school and village children were delighted to have the Country Rugby League team visit and offer gifts, school supplies and football gear.

Zach said it was very rewarding seeing the looks on their faces when they handed out the footy equipment.

“The kids were so grateful because they don’t have very much,” he said.

As for the standard of the footy, Zach had this to say.

“It was brutal football,” he said.

Jake, Dylan and Zach thanked the Cooma community for their donations and sponsorship which allowed them to take the trip.

“Thankyou to everyone in Cooma for their support,” Zach said.

The Country Rugby League Academy side is already back in training for 2010 and will

be at the Cooma Showground on December 5 for a training session.