Four Norfolk County men are travelling to Serbia to represent Canada in an international rugby tournament.

Chuck Curran, Dominik Witschi, Travis DePasquale, and Ethan Lang have been chosen to play with the Canada Wolverines Rugby League team.

The group play together on the Norfolk Harvesters, the Brantford Broncos, and will now be stepping up another level in competition to play for Canada.

The coaching staff for Canada’s team had been watching athletes throughout the season of the domestic league, and kept their eye on the four from Norfolk while they were in Brantford.

“I’m still wrapping my head around it. It’s great playing with guys that you play with locally because you bring that chemistry to the next level,” said Lang.

Witschi had a similar level of enthusiasm.

“I can’t wait for this opportunity,” said Witschi. “I was so ecstatic when I got the email, I couldn’t believe it.”

Curran is looking forward to the adventure along with playing in another country.

“It’s definitely a different experience,” said Curran. “I’ve never been to Eastern Europe but it should be a pretty good experience, especially because we get to play somebody that is similar to us in the rankings as well.”

The four are heading to Europe on Sept. 12 to begin their 10-day tour. While there they will be facing Bosnia once and Serbia twice.

“My understanding is that they’re kind of similar to us in the sense that they’re still growing still. They understand some of the struggles we have in terms of being a niche sport in a country that has other sports that are a little more supported,” Curran added.

This will be the first time that Canada has traveled to Serbia for rugby league, and it is also the first time that Canada’s male and female teams are travelling together. The teams will collectively be playing five matches while in Serbia.

This tour is the “first of its kind for rugby league,” according to the group’s Go Fund Me page.

“It’s a lot of firsts and it’s good to be part of history,” said DePasquale.

The four have been carpooling to Scarborough on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings for a few weeks to practise with the rest of the Canadians.

“I coach my old high school and I tell the kids this game can take you around the world, and it still is for us,” said Lang.

The men have each been training for this tour by attending the practices, and working out on their own time as well.

“For me I’m doing my own training on the side, working out, doing some cardio,” said Witschi. “Getting as much game time in as we can before we go.”

Curran, who is captain of the Brantford Broncos team, has a different approach to international events.

“When it comes to the international team I just try to help out,” said Curran. “Although I’m the captain of our domestic team, once we go to the international side there are some guys that have more experience so I take a backseat and follow their leadership.”

The games will be broadcast on the Canada Rugby League Facebook page.

Each athlete is expected to contribute at least $2,500 to their trip. The team is still trying to raise funds to lower that cost for each person. You can visit their Go Fund Me at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/canada-rugby-league-tour-to-serbia

astaylor@postmedia.com