The Penrith Panthers will have access to one of the world’s best training facilities during their trip to the UK, with Premier League and European champions Manchester City opening their doors to the NRL team next month.
The Sydney Morning Herald has detailed the Panthers’ travel arrangements ahead of their World Club Challenge showdown with the Wigan Warriors, with the three-time NRL champions expected to be allowed access to City’s cutting-edge facilities as they seek to win their first World Club Challenge on UK soil.
According to the report, the Panthers players will be guests of the club when they host Chelsea on February 17th and will subsequently train on the complex in the build-up to the contest. An opposed trip with Warrington Wolves has also been arranged in the days leading up to the contest.
Penrith are said to be taking the match very seriously, spurred on from their shock defeat to St Helens last year. Their general manager, Jason Wrigley, is flying to England later this week.
“We’re incredibly appreciative of what Manchester City have offered us, the World Club Challenge is important to the club, but the chance for the playing group to go overseas and experience the City campus will be enormous,” Chief Executive Matt Cameron told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The club’s success [in] the last three years has helped with brand awareness, and you can only imagine what linking with a club like City will do for us. It’s a recognition in some ways that we’re good enough to represent the NRL and our game on the international stage.”
The contest is set to be a sell-out, with Wigan announcing on Tuesday they hold already sold 23,000 tickets for the match, which takes place on February 24th.
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