WHEN Mitch Walton found out he was selected to play rugby for the NSW Country Colts team, it wasn't a highly regarded selector who gave him the good news.
On the other end of the phone was his clubmate Tim Metcher who had also been selected in the Country squad.
The Coffs Rugby pair both played in the Country Championships last month in Dubbo but Walton said he was a long way out of town when the team was announced.
Tim was playing for Newcastle and they got through to the final but I played for Far North Coast and I left early because we didn't play too well and were knocked out, Walton said.
I didn't know until I got to Tamworth because my phone didn't get any reception until then and it was Tim who told me.
I was pretty stoked when I found out.
For the 17-year-old John Paul College student, his selection is another step in a family tradition.
My brother, Rory, was selected for Country and my Dad (Ian) was picked back in the '70s, Walton said of the family tradition.
I think Dad was probably more happy than me.
For 18-year-old Metcher, his selection is another in a long line of honours that he is starting to accrue.
Named as a member of the MNC Axemen first-grade squad, the prop can't wait to get to Myuna Bay to take on a Newcastle team.
We also play in the City-Country game, we play against the NSW Combined High Schools team, the NSW under 17s and also against a Colts team from Sydney, he said.
There's also an overseas tour that we'll be going on in November.
