On 28th May, new Czech club side Beroun Black Panthers welcomed Halton Farnworth Hornets 15s for a two-day tour.

Day one of the tour saw the Halton Farnworth squad, their coaches, two Beroun Under-16 players and Czech development officer Andy Fairhurst travel to Usti nad Labem, a city north of Prague near the German border.

Usti nad Labem is a factory town involved in the production of chemicals and has a twinning arrangement with Halton. The Hornets' trip to the city was the first youth-group visit of its kind and was supported by the councils of Halton and Usti through their twinning fund.

In Usti, the Halton Farnworth squad took part in an exhibition training session at a local school, in front of 300 pupils, then held a joint skills/small-sided session with 50 of these students.

Halton Farnsworth donated a large number of balls, training kit and rugby DVDs to encourage them to start playing rugby.

On day two of the tour, the party travelled to Srbsko, a town near Beroun, where the Black Panthers took on Halton Farnsworth Hornets in a friendly game.

Beroun fielded a number of debutants for the game and featured several players from the ongoing Prague international schools programme, who are showing good signs of progress.

The result was a comprehensive win for Halton Farnsworth although Beroun stand off Honza Buben scored one try for the home team.

After the game, Halton Farnsworth presented Beroun's players with a ball each and donated training kit, tackle shields and water bottles to the new Czech club in order to help their continued progress.

Czech preparations to host September's European Nations Cup Under-18s continue to fall into place.

Following a meeting with the Beroun mayor's office, the city have agreed to give the tournament their official backing, including a financial contribution, promotional support in the city's official networks and publications, and at a strategic level.

It's also been agreed that students from the local Hlinky high school (16-19-year-olds) will provide logistics and ground support during the tournament. As well as assisting the participating teams and acting as ground stewards, Hlinky students will also provide match catering through the school's catering and hospitality education department.

The senior national team kicks off the new season on Saturday 12th July, at home to Italy in Beroun.