TORONTO — The Canadian men's and women's rugby league teams will travel to Serbia in September for five international matches.
The joint tour, a first for the Canadian national sides, is set for Sept. 12-22.
Ben Fleming, who will coach both teams, said the plan is for the Canadian men (known as the Wolverines) to play a warmup match against Bosnia before facing Serbia twice. The women, known as the Ravens, will play Serbia twice.
For the players, it's a chance to focus on rugby league.
"This is very rare but this is something we really want to look forward to doing year-in and year-out," said Fleming. "We have some great opportunities the next year and the year after that we want to keep working towards. But we can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results. We need to look at tours.
"Serbia has been incredibly hospitable, pretty much from the get-go, in looking after us and accommodating us."
All the teams competing have agreed to field domestic players. For Canada, that is partly due to the cost of bringing it overseas pros from Australia and New Zealand. But it is also to help upgrade the skills of domestic players.
Those going on tour will pay for representing their country. While the tour has some sponsors, Fleming estimates each player will contribute some $2,500 although the figure will depend on where they fly from.
The Canadian women are currently ranked fourth in the world, behind Australia, England and New Zealand. Canada's men stand 21st, below 17th-ranked Serbia.
In January, Red Star Belgrade fielded a side in the first round of England's Challenge Cup, losing 38-10 to amateur side Millom.
The Canada Rugby League Association says the September matches kick off the start of the Ravens' preparations for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.
The Wolverines failed to make the men's World Cup field, losing to Jamaica in qualifying.
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
