The England Lion Hearts are a representative side selected from the best players in the country playing in the Cooperative Rugby League National and Regional Competitions.

The North East have 10 teams competing in the North East Regional Division and each club nominated a number of players to represent the North East in the Regional Championships held in Derby on the 31^st of May.

As Regional Champions and National Finalists, Jarrow Vikings were invited to nominate 5 players to be part of the 25 man squad. A number of prime contenders were not available due to injury and work commitments, but the 5 selected were more than capable of representing the club well.

The 5, pictured, are Daniel Barron, Andy Gray, Michael Ewart, Barry Walker and Jordan Robinson.

The North East was drawn in a pool with London and the South and the North West. Neither of the opposition was going to be easy games, with the massive expansion of the game in the South and the traditional "Heartlands" roots of the game in the North West.

First up were London and the South and in a hard fought contest the North East lost out in the final seconds of the game to a late try, but were in fine spirits for the next test of the North West.

Brimming with confidence from their first victory earlier in the day against the London outfit, the North West showed why they were favorites for the competition and punished the North East every time they made a mistake. The final score of 6 tries to 2 was a good reflection of the dominance but also the spirit of the North East players.

Battered and bruised the North East's final game was against a combined South West and London side, again they were unlucky to lose by 2 points with the final play of the game.

The effort and determined performance for every one of the 19 players that pulled on the North East shirt was recognized and rewarded by the England selectors when no more than 6 players were selected to join the 25 man England squad, Jimmy Baldwin (Wallsend Eagles), Luke Watson (Peterlee Pumas), Andy Gray and Barry Walker (Jarrow Vikings) and Don Payne and Craig Sykes (Northallerton Stallions) will have the chance to pull on the England jersey.

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The photo shows Vikings sponsor Norman Scott with the 2 selected players, Andy Gray left and Barry Walker on the right.

John Gray, North East Development Officer for the RFL and coach of Jarrow Vikings, praised those who had made the final squad.

He said: "We have only ever had one other player from the North East selected before this year.

"To have six players selected from one trial game is a fantastic achievement. We are a developing area in rugby league and it is a credit to the clubs and the coaches in this region these players are winning an England shirt."

Lionhearts' head coach Marc Simon said he was impressed by the North East sides' organisation considering the short time they had been together.

He said: "They had a good calibre of players, and I was not just looking for people who can play rugby but for leaders and characters on the pitch.

"There are more members of the squad from the North East because of the way they went about their rugby as they linked well as a collective rather than working as individuals and were vocal around the park."

The Lion Hearts take on the Scottish Brave Hearts on Saturday 12^th June in Glasgow.

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