CLUB hockey rivals and great mates Rory Walker and Sam Mudford will leave on Friday for the Australian All-Schools tour of South Africa fresh from helping NSW Combined Catholic Schools to victory.
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Walker, who plays striker for Norths in the Hunter Coast Men’s Premier League, and Wests midfielder Mudford gained selection in the Australian under-16 team after starring for the second-placed NSW side last August at the national all schools titles in Perth. Josh Dowrick, who plays for Norths in Newcastle, has since joined them in the touring squad.
The trio helped NSW Combined Catholic Schools take out the tri-series tournament against the independent and state schools sides at Olympic Park, Homebush, on Monday.
Mudford, an attacking midfielder from Taree, Dowrick, a defender from Port Macquarie, and St Francis Xavier’s College student Walker will combined again when the 18-member national squad gather on Friday.
The squad play matches against the Western Province Schoolboys Invitation XI in Cape Town on July 4 and 5, then the KwaZulu-Natal men's Invitation XI in Durban on July 9.
The games will be the lead-up to a three-Test series against the South African under-18 schools team in Pretoria from July 12-14.
This article originally appeared in the Newcastle Herald