Workington teammates Jarrod Sammut and Theerapol Ritson will put aside friendship when they star for Malta and Thailand next month.
The match will be played at Princes Royal College Stadium in Chiang Mai on 29 October.
Ritson, a 20-year-old winger has had a great season despite the issues at Workington. Known locally as Tee, he qualifies for selection through his mother Yad and is thrilled to have been included in the squad.
He said: “The training camp will be a great experience and will hopefully provide some good memories for me, which I believe are very important to pick up throughout your career.
“It’s great to be able to get opportunities like this and I aim to get the most out of it I can.”
He added: “It’ll be strange playing against my team-mate Jarrod but I am excited about the encounter. During his time at Town he’s taught me a lot and I’ve really enjoyed playing alongside him. He’s a really skilful player but he’s also very experienced and has been in the game for a long time. I’m looking forward to playing against him but once that whistle goes it’s business as usual.”
Ritson reflected: “It’s great to see Rugby League starting to take off in Thailand and I’m privileged to be a part of it. I’m really looking forward to this adventure and hopefully we can get the win over there, which would be historic for the country.”
Sammut said: “It’s always a great honour when asked to play for my parents’ heritage. To this day I still get that huge buzz of excitement putting on that red and white uniform. We’re not a huge country but we are huge in terms of our love for the game and the will to learn.
“Tee is a young player with huge potential and promise. He’s shown this year that he is more than capable of holding his own and excelling if he
chooses to make a career out of it. “I’m looking forward to playing against him. We’ve been giving one another little digs here and there and having a laugh. I think it’s a great achievement for Tee and a well-earned reward for his efforts this year.”
