Darrion Ball has been selected to represent England at the Rugby League Commonwealth Championships 2018.
Darrion is a Plumbing apprentice at the College’s Centre of Excellence in Engineering, located at its Pagefield Centre, but will soon be jetting off for a once in a lifetime experience.
The Wigan St Judes full-back learned of his selection for the England 9s after attending a trial in November and competing against players from amateur clubs from all over the Lancashire and Yorkshire regions.
Darrion and the rest of the squad had to raise enough funds for the trip and are due to fly out to Brisbane on 17th February with matches taking place over two days.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we will get some good results and win the pool but there’s a few tough teams.
“It’s exciting and it will be the furthest I‘ve been away but it will be a good experience and I’m confident we can go far in the competition.”
England 9s will be up against Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Samoa in what looks like the tougher of the two pools.
The 22-year-old works as an apprentice for the council and studies for his Level 2 Plumbing qualification.
The former Deanery High School pupil, who plans to progress onto Level 3 plumbing next year, added: “An apprenticeship is an ideal way of gaining relevant qualifications alongside the industry experience, whilst earning a salary.”