NRL Touch Premiership teams named

Author: Richard Becht & warriors.kiwi
Timestamp: Fri 24 May 2019, 02:31 PM

The Vodafone Warriors’ men’s and women’s teams have both been boosted by the return of New Zealand World Cup representatives for Saturday’s NRL Touch Premiership matches against the Wests Tigers at Rarotonga Mount Smart Stadium.

The club’s debut outings on May 5 coincided with the World Cup in Malaysia but, despite the absence of leading players, the Vodafone Warriors came away with victories in both contests with the Sydney Roosters.

Touch New Zealand’s general manager sport operations Micheal King said the success in the opening matches had been a huge boost.

“We should go in fairly confident on the back of good results in our first matches (against the Sydney Roosters),” he said.

“We’ve got out official squad back from the World Cup but, having said that, it’s a new competition for us, a new environment and with slightly different rules. We’ll give it our best shot.”

King and veteran New Zealand international Michael Cavanagh said the touch community was relishing involvement in the NRL Touch Premiership.

“We see this as a prime opportunity for the sport and Touch New Zealand to come together under the brand of the Vodafone Warriors. It’s immense,” said King.

Cavanagh added: “It’s a real privilege and honour to be able to represent not only the touch community but also our friends and family and play under the Warriors’ banner. I think it’s massive for the growth and development of our sport.”

Tomorrow’s touch fixtures follow the Canterbury Cup NSW match between the Vodafone Warriors and the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles kicking off at 2.40pm. Gates open at 2.30pm.

The women’s NRL Touch Premiership match starts at 5.30pm with the men on from 6.10pm.