BUDDING rugby league players enjoyed a visit to the Warrington Wolves to get inspired about the sport.

Millington-based Children’s Adventure Farm Trust gave a group of children from Manchester the chance to not only tour The Halliwell Jones Stadium but meet players and coaches.

They were enjoying a holiday at the charity base near Lymm.

Some 16 children were invited thanks to a unique link-up largely organised by Wire centre Ryan Atkins.

He has been has been supporting the charity, which provides holiday breaks to some of the most disadvantaged children in the north west, since November when he donated toys for their Christmas toy appeal, supported by the Warrington Guardian.

Since then the former England man has auctioned off one of his signed shirts for the charity and has become a fantastic advocate of their work. Along with the Warrington Wolves Foundation, Ryan organised this visit.

Helen Crowther, one of the charity’s fundraisers, visited with the children.

She said: “This was an amazing day, I can’t begin to tell you how much it meant to the children to be invited along to the stadium.

“We began our visit by watching the players train ahead of their match against Leigh the following day, the children knew little about rugby to start with but soon became fascinated.

“It was lovely to see them excited about meeting the players who signed items and posed for photos.

“The best bit of the day however must have been when the children took to the pitch with Ryan and coaches from the foundation for a fun training session.

“They absolutely loved every moment, and I think we’ve definitely discovered a couple of rugby stars of the future – there were some impressive moves.

“We really can’t thank Ryan, the players and everyone from the foundation enough for giving our children this amazing experience. It’s one they’ll never er forget.”

Neil Kelly, director of Warrington Wolves charitable foundation, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the children to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

“It is fantastic to see our great sport of rugby league putting smiles on faces, with everyone getting involved.

“We hope they enjoyed the experience and the goodie bags they took away with them as a little memento; we may have a few new Wire fans too.”