Cumbrian Rugby League star to captain England Under-19s at European Championship

A Cumbrian Rugby League star will captain England at the Under-19 European Championship.

Devan Sharp, who plays for Cleator-based Wath Brow Hornets, has been selected to captain the Lions as they travel to Serbia to defend the title that they won in 2022 in Lignano Sabbiadoro.

This follows Devan's selection to be the Lions' vice-captain when they defeated an open-age Brazil 18-10 at Ruskin Park in November 2023.

The Cumbrian has also been part of the Lions' five-man leadership group since their triumph in the Four Nations, where they faced Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Devan will now lead the Lions to Eastern Europe in July where they will play a number of games, including a pre-tournament clash with Serbia Under-21s, and then will face the possibility of meeting teams such as Ukraine, Scotland, France, and the USA.

After being named captain of the England Under-19 travelling squad, Devan expressed his pride.

He said: "It's an absolute honour to be selected as a player to represent your country but to be captain, that increases the honour.

"The position I play is scrum-half and that does involve being a leader and leading the team around the field but being given that captaincy role takes it up a notch on the field and the responsibilities also translate off the field.

"That will include guiding the payers and helping the players if they need support but I believe that I can take on that role 100 per cent."

Devan will be joined at the European Championships by a number of fellow Cumbrians who will be representing England.

These include Hesingham's Miller Dalton and Fletcher Holgate, as well as Sam Murtagh, with these players alongside Devan getting ready to fly the Cumbrian flag in Serbia.

He said: "The experience of going to Serbia, which is a place that I would not look at going to normally and getting that experience through Rugby makes it that much more honourable.

"To represent your country in any sport but in the sport I love Rugby is an absolute honour and privilege.

"We will be flying the Cumbrian flag as well as the England flag."