World Cup beckons for Limavady lad
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Daniel King touches down for Limavady.
DANIEL King is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime to play for the Irish Students Rugby League World Cup side in Australia.
The flying winger, who has been handed the vice-captaincy, flies down under to Brisbane, Queensland, on Saturday to compete against Wales on July 5, France on July 9 and the mighty All Blacks on July 13 in the group stages where the Irish side hope to improve on past performances.
The other group is made up of England, Scotland, Greece and host nation Australia.
The last Tertiary Student Rugby League World Cup didn't provide happy memories for the Irish who went through the entire tournament without a win, handing them their worst result since joining the World Cup in 1989.
With a new structure in place since then, the Irish will be looking for significant improvements on the field, and are sure to be boosted by the number of registered players in Ireland quadrupling since the last World Cup. The Irish's strong performance in the recent European Student Championship will also boost the side's confidence going into the 2008 tournament.
King is well aware that the Irish side have a tough task ahead if they wish to make progress in the competition, but is quietly confident that his side can cause an upset or two.
“ Ireland is not renowned for Rugby League," Daniel told The Northern Constitution, " but we have the talent in our squad to take advantage of any side that underestimates us."
