A RUGBY star at a Colwyn Bay school has been putting his skills to good use as part of a prestigious academy.

Tom Roebuck, who will be joining Rydal Penrhos in September, was part of the Sale Sharks Rugby Academy that achieved success on a recent tour of Ireland.

Lead Coach Warren Spragg said: “As a coaching group we were really pleased with all aspects of the tour. The facilities at University of Limerick and University College, Dublin were top quality and it was a great experience for our lads to face a different challenge on the pitch.

“The players took on a lot of responsibility in terms of match preparation, setting their own expectations and reviewing their own development on and off the pitch. The atmosphere for the Leinster game, in particular, was quite hostile at times and we believe that this type of exposure will prove valuable in the coming years as some of these players progress into the senior Sharks squad.”

The squad spent their first three days in Limerick, beating Munster 26-19 in an exciting game of contrasting styles, before coming through a hard fought game against Leinster with a 41-19 victory.

Tom is the latest pupil to feature for the academy, with Josh Lynch currently part of the development set-up, while Kieron McNamara was also part of the academy for a brief time.

Director of Sport Allen Boyd, said: “Sale Sharks are proven to be one of the premierships leading academies and having coached Cheshire U16s and North England U16s in the past I have worked with them on the development of a number of players over the past ten years with a number of those players remaining in the professional game which is really pleasing.

“Hopefully Tom can continue his fantastic development with us here at Rydal Penrhos and we look forward to welcoming him to our ranks next month.”