RUGBY-MAD youngsters got the chance to train with a Sale Sharks rugby star as the Premiership club hosted its annual summer camp at Wilmslow Rugby Club.

New signing Willgriff John took part in a training session with a group of 50 boys and girls before sitting down to answer some searching questions.

The youngsters quizzed Willgriff about playing professional rugby and the health and nutrition required for maintaining performance as a professional athlete.

And there was even chance for some of the more confident attendees to challenge the 120kg forward to an arm wrestle.

The two-day course in Wilmslow was just one of eleven summer camps run by the award-winning Sale Sharks Community Trust across the north west this year as part of the Premiership Rugby Academies.

Darren Lamon, the lead coach for the Sale Sharks camps, said: “The youngsters loved having Willgriff down at Wilmslow.

“We know how much it means to them to get a glimpse of their heroes so, even though the season is very close, we try to make sure the players play a role in as many of our camps as possible.

“The boys and girls must have been trying to impress Willgriff too because the standard of the rugby on show was fantastic.”

First team players such as winger Josh Charnley, England star Denny Solomona and fly-half AJ MacGinty have attended camps across the region this summer, giving children the chance to get up close with some of rugby’s biggest names.