RISING rugby star Sean Croston is heading down under with St Helens’ academy team, and is hoping to help fund a successful tour of duty.

The Super League giants’ youths will head for Australia in October for a four-match tour in which they will take on stern opposition including Penrith and Sydney.

Players in the squad, which will included 26 of the best young players in the country, must help to fund the trip and Westhoughton’s Croston, who has already earned England youth honours and toured France with the country’s youngsters, is hoping to secure the help of local sponsors.

“I’ve been with the team for two years now,” said Croston. “As a team we have to secure a total of £100,000, so we are currently doing bag-packs, going round with buckets and holding race and comedy nights to raise money.

“In April I went to France with the England youth team. We won both games so that went really well, for me and the team. I have also played against Wales, last year.

“Generally you only get called up annually for these type of matches, they don’t come around that often.”

Croston, now aged 17, took up the game while recovering from an horrific attack by a German Shepherd dog which left him nursing scratches across his chest, arm and back, some of which required stitches.

In the wake of that terrifying experience the youngster was reluctant to leave the house but has gone from strength to strength since trying his hand on the rugby field, where he spent some of his formative years playing with and against older players.

“I took up rugby at the age of about nine, I needed something to do to keep exercising after I was attacked by a dog,” he said. “I needed to be doing something and I didn’t think anything was going to come of it when I was playing open-age rugby.

“It was only when I dropped down into my own age group – I had been playing in the under-11s and just stayed there – that I found I had a talent for rugby.”

And what talent he has showed – the former Westhoughton Lion and Wigan St Jude player won three North West Counties titles with the latter and was in demand by two of the English game’s biggest names, Wigan and St Helens.

A ballboy at Saints’ games, Croston opted to sign with them and joined the academy, juggling his rugby exertions with the exercising of his mind as he studies law, psychology, sociology and French, with twin aims of captaining England and becoming a criminal psychologist.

“I train four times a week with Saints, right now we’re doing mostly fitness and conditioning during pre-season,” added Croston, who plays at full-back or centre. “I see this work as giving yourself the best chance to improve. I like to think I’m encouraging to my team-mates, giving my all when I play.”

And now that Croston’s progress requires a cash injection he is hoping rugby fans around the town can aid the Saints’ crusade.

He already has one sponsor, in the form of local firm Eco Boilers North West, but would like to hear from other companies who can give local talent a boost.

Those who would like to support Sean should get in touch at sean.croston@yahoo.co.uk