THE youngsters of Hindpool Tigers got the opportunity to hone their skills with the community foundation team from Super League side Wigan Warriors this week.

Two groups of players from ages five to seven and eight to 11 attended the two-day rugby camp at Brisbane Park, where they were put through their paces.

Monday saw them work on attacking skills, while Tuesday saw the focus switch to the defensive side of the game.

And the camp proved just as rewarding for the Warriors community foundation's Reece Hampson.

“It's a good opportunity because they haven't got many professional teams around here, so we come to try to help out a bit,” said Wigan community sports coach Hampson.

“They're quite tough, most of the lads around here. We don't have any crying, but in Wigan you see quite a bit, so it's quite good.

“You don't see the teams around here on TV, but they love it more than anything. It's brilliant to come up and see.”

Also in attendance with coaches and passing on advice was up-and-coming Wigan winger Adam Ford, who hails from Barrow.

The 16-year-old, who is another product of the Barrow Island talent factory and went to school at Furness Academy, was delighted to be able to pass on some tips to the group of enthusiastic youngsters.

"It's been a while since I've done anything in Barrow rugby-related, so it's nice to come back and do it,” said Ford.

"Hopefully it can inspire some of these lads. I didn't play at this age and I don't know what they're like, but I'm hoping it will have a big impact on them."

Hampson hopes the camp will serve to inspire the next generation of players, along with perhaps follow in the footsteps of Ford and those others from the area who have gone on to play at the top level of the sport.

"Hopefully they can get a lot out of it,” said Hampson.

“We've recruited quite a few players from around here, we've got a few in our under-19s and we've got Lee Mossop from Cumbria in the first-team.

"We want to make rugby league into a bigger sport. That's the main aim and that's why we come all over the place, and spread the word about rugby league and make it more popular."