Elliott Cousins set for Australia with England Rugby League

The 31-year-old flies from Manchester to Australia, via Dubai, on Sunday to represent the England Community Lions in a three-game series in Perth.

There, they will face off with WA (Western Australia) Chairman’s XIII on October 19, WA Men’s on October 24 and a second WA Men’s side on October 29, whilst the Lions will also participate in the Harmony Cup from November 1-3.

Out of the 22-man squad, which includes rugby league players from other northern communities, Cousins is the only representative from Bradford, and specifically West Bowling.

Looking ahead to the trip, he said: “There is an element of nervousness about it, but more a feeling of excitement because I’m going with 21 top blokes and a strong coaching team, so it’s something I’m really looking forward to.

“Obviously, we are going into untested waters so there’s always that element of nervousness behind it, but we are going to play against some of the best, in a sport that their country thrives in.

“However, we are a confident group, and we feel that we will be able to compete with them and get some good results.”

Elliott Cousins (ball in hand) is the only player from West Bowling to have been selected for this Australian tour (Image: Submitted) Cousins admitted that he didn’t expect an opportunity of this magnitude to arise this late into his career.

He said:  “When I was younger, I was in the Bradford Bulls youth system, and then I went to play in France for a while.

“I’m 31 years-old now, and I have had opportunities to play at a higher level throughout my career, but I never thought I’d get the opportunity to represent my country. So, once that chance presented itself, I was never going to turn it down.

“Just 18 months ago, I was even considering hanging my boots up, so to be heading to Australia to represent England is an amazing feeling.”

Cousins went on to express his delight and pride at being a West Bowling representative in Australia.

He said: “I’m proud to have been selected, but what I would say is that the guys at West Bowling have got me there.

“Playing in a team like West Bowling, the players make you look good, so hats off to everyone at the club.

“They’ve given me the opportunity to play and to put my name forward for this fantastic experience, so I won’t be taking it for granted. I can’t thank them enough.”

Cousins added: “I’m looking forward to just getting out there because I’ve never been to Australia. More importantly, I’m looking forward to putting on that England jersey and singing the national anthem.

“I want to do my family and children proud whilst I’m out there, and of course my club West Bowling.”

Looking ahead to the experience of playing in far different conditions to that of West Yorkshire, Cousins said: “I won’t have experienced anything quite like it (playing in Australia).

“Summer has just started in Perth, so we’ll be in the heat of the season. It will be a tough ask for us to go over there and adapt to the conditions, but the staff have put some good regimes in place for when we land.”

Discussing his and England’s goals for the tournament, Cousins said: “It would be massive if we could get the victory overall.

“We’re going over there, confident in ourselves, but we know that we won’t be getting any respect. We all plan to do ourselves proud.”