WEST Bowling’s Elliott Cousins has just returned from the trip of a lifetime with the England Community Lions.
The 31-year-old got back to West Yorkshire on Tuesday having represented his country in a selection of games in Perth, Australia.
A two-match series against Western Australia was the highlight of the trip, but they also took on a WA (Western Australia) Chairman’s XIII as well as taking part in the Harmony Nines Cup from November 1-3.
Out of the 22-man squad, which included rugby league players from other northern communities, Cousins was the only representative from Bradford, and specifically West Bowling.
Speaking to the T&A following his return to England, the 31-year-old couldn’t contain his pride when reflecting on the trip.
He said: “Overall, it was a fantastic three weeks in Australia, and it couldn’t have gone any better.
“Representing my country and singing the national anthem; the feeling of that doesn’t get much better. Knowing that my family and twin boys were watching at home made it extra special too.
“We forged a great bond as a team and made some memories together that will last forever.
“I think we all did ourselves extremely proud.”
The Community Lions narrowly lost their first contest of the tour against the Chairman’s XIII by a scoreline of 24-22.
However, they soon bounced back to claim the double over Western Australia in a two-game series (22-0 and 23-14 victories), before they exited the Harmony Nines tournament in the quarter-finals having been edged out by Western Fijians Blues (12-4).
Reflecting on the match action, Cousins picked out the test series victory as the standout moment.
He said: “I’ve been playing rugby since I was 6-years-old, I’m now 31, so I’ve been playing for a long time now.
“The achievement of going to Australia and beating them in their own back yard across the series will not be beaten, for sure.
“I think a lot of people doubted the squad that we picked, and I’m sure a lot of people wrote us off before we even got there, so to get over the line and play some really good rugby in challenging conditions was a fantastic achievement.”
He added: “The series victory speaks for itself, but I also loved the culture aspect of it all, particularly in the Harmony Nines.
“There was over 6,000 people there and a lot of different cultures were on show. We came face to face with the Haka and Samoa’s Siva Tau which were fantastic experiences.
“We were welcomed with open arms too, and that made the experience extra special.”
With the Community Lions players away from their families for three weeks, the coaching staff put a real emphasis on connecting the players with their families back home, something that Cousins and the rest of the squad were extremely grateful for.
He said: “The coaches managed to put together video messages from our families back home, which was extremely emotional.
“Being away from your loved ones for that period of time can bring you down, but that gave us a boost at the right time to go and get the victory we wanted in the series.”
Cousins added: “That touch was special from the coaching staff because, although we were able to Facetime our families at points, we were eight hours ahead, so it was challenging.
“For the video session, we all got together, sat in a circle and it made us realise why were here, and that was for our families.
“We all wanted to make them proud and hopefully we did that.”
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