FURNESS Raiders trio Josh Blinkhorn, Tom Farren and Dan Knott have been called up for the England Community Lions squad.

The young trio have been named in the Under-19s squad which will play in the Under-19 European Championship later this year.

Blinkhorn, who plays for Millom, Tom Farren from Roose Pioneers and Dan Knott from Dalton are all members of Barrow Raiders development academy side – Furness Raiders.

The talented youngsters have caught the eye of England coach Gary Hewer and his coaching team, and have been rewarded with the call-ups.

The news has delighted everyone at the Cumbrian Club, and Furness Raiders coach Paul McMillan told The Mail the trio deserve their shot.

“They have put a lot of hard work in to get where they are, and they are being rewarded for that,” he said.

“All three lads are great kids. They are all eager to learn and every session they are learning and improving.

“It’s brilliant for us to see them called up, it just shows that we are doing something right, but the lads deserve a lot of credit.”

McMillan feels that having three players from the Furness squad called up at international level is recognition for both the players and the club.

And he also feels it shows that Cumbria is a region with a big talent pool, and that people are starting to realise that.

He added: “Hopefully this shows that we are doing is right and we are putting them on the best footing to achieve their dreams of playing professional rugby  .

“Cumbria is a hotbed for Rugby League and we are starting to get the recognition we deserve now.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’d still like to get more, but now that we have got back up and running following a bit of break for Covid we are back in the groove now, and hopefully we will be producing as many players as we can for Barrow Raiders.”

He also gave The Mail a brief insight into some of the skills the young trio possess.

“Tom’s a year older than the other two and has been at Furness Raiders for three years, and we’ve had Josh and Dan with us for two years,” he said.

“Dan Knott has got absolute pace to burn, he’s lightning quick and can play full-back or wing

“Josh is a specialist hooker, again he’s quick.

“He’s quick out of the blocks from the ruck and likes to take the line on from acting half-back, and scores quite a few tries for us as well.

“Tom is a hard running forward with deceptive pace. He’s been an outstanding junior at local club Roose Pioneers.”