Prop’s Dubai delight

RUGBY:

WHILE most people at home were preparing themselves for the first snow of winter, Anthony Morrison was putting in a shift in far sunnier climes.

The Saddleworth Rangers prop was in the BARLA Great Britain Lions squad for the ground-breaking week-long trip to Dubai. Morrison and his team mates faced Pakistan, in their debut against a British amateur side.

The Lions romped to victory, scoring 11 tries in the 60-0 success in the impressive Sports City Stadium. Morrison (20), an apprentice electrician, said: “I played for about an hour and I was pleased with my performance. The first 10 minutes were really competitive, but then we got on top and it was quite comfortable. Pakistan worked hard, but our skills and fitness levels were better.”

Although Morrison did not feature in the sevens tournament which followed the one-off international — the Lions bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the competition — he can still take plenty of positives from the short tour.

He was a late call-up to the squad after impressing for Lancashire in the BARLA County Tri-Series.

“It was my first time in Dubai and it was really good,” said Morrison, grandson of former Oldham and Warrington RL player Ray Clark.

“Being alongside different players was a great experience — and the pitches were bang-on as well.”