The team was the NSW Indigenous Under 16s and the squad visited Dubai, Spain, France and the UK. The touring team comprised 35 boys playing double-header games against French and English opposition.
This tour was about more than football. It brought the oldest culture in the world and showcased it to the people of Europe. For the boys it was an eye opener. For many it was their first time out of the country and for them to experience different cultures is something that will last a lifetime.
On the field, the boys won six out of seven games, playing a brand of attacking football not seen in a long time, but it was off the field the boys really made their presence felt. From visiting the Somme on the Western Front and visiting the fields of Fromelles, the boys learnt how people their own age were killed fighting in the Great War and how they died thousands of miles away from home on foreign soil.
There was the usual visiting of the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace but the boys got to experience local flavours by visiting schools and putting on cultural dancing, didgeridoo playing and lessons on how to throw a boomerang.
Rugby league superstar Greg Inglis shouted the entire tour party to visit Euro Disney and he also organised a training session with the Australian Kangaroos competing in the World Cup in England. The team got to do a lap of honour in front of 65,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium.
