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Barrow forced to leave four men behind for Toronto trip

Barrow visa problems

Visa problems have resulted in Barrow Raiders having to leave four players behind for their top-of-the-table clash in Toronto this weekend.

Dan Toal, Danny Morrow and Martin Aspinwall missed the deadline in acquiring the obligatory paperwork, while Jamie Dallimore was turned away at check-in leaving the Raiders with a patched-up squad.

Dallimore was originally granted a visa before being turned away, with the other three players sacrificing last night’s training session in a bid to get clearance.

Speaking with the North-West Evening Mail, Barrow coach Paul Crarey has been left frustrated after the club initially thought it would only take two days to obtain visas for the relevant players.

“It’s disappointing for us, as a club, that it’s a top-of-the-table clash and it’s come down to visa issues as to whether we can field the side we want to play them,” he said.

“We’re having to take lads who have got injuries who have put their hands up. We haven’t got the man-power or the administration to worry about these things. These are working-class kids, and we haven’t got the man-power or the resources to do it.”

Barrow, like Toronto, have won all seven of their games in League 1 games this season and were expected to provide the toughest test of the season so far for the Wolfpack.

However, this set-back has angered Crarey and he believes the Rugby Football League should deal with all the relevant paperwork in future for clubs travelling to Canada.

“Personally, I feel this should be done by the governing body. All of the names should be sent to them and they should sort it out – that’s my personal opinion.

“I’m absolutely devastated, really – not for me, but for the club, the fans going over and Toronto as well. We’re going to give everything we’ve got, but we’re a bit mix-and-match.

“We can all run sets, we can all step in – that’s not the issue – but we’re against a team who are high in quality, full-time and it’s on their turf after a long journey and a tough few games.

“There are no excuses from us; we’ll go there and do a job, but we’re doing it with one hand tied behind our back.”

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Ed awaring

    May 18, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    What a whinging coach. All expenses paid trip if it was a family vacation who would he be blaming….. They have had since the fixture list came out to sort all the relevant paper work ……
    What is his ambitions …this is an experience of a lifetime for fans and players alike.
    You know what….. instead of embracing the opportunity to enjoy and sell the game in North America he is acting like a spoilt Brat.
    Will be wake uptime come Saturday……

    • Quibble

      May 19, 2017 at 6:31 am

      All expenses paid trip? Oxford were given accimodation that resembled something from Prisoner Cell Block H and hour away from the ground, even the officials refused to stay there and booked themselves into a hotel (allegedly).
      Barrow had a games on Saturday 6th, Wednesday 10th (away) and Sunday 14th (away) against a Super League top team. They are all then having to take time off work as they are semi-pro, lose pay or use their holiday allowance (which should be for them to use with family) to travel to Toronto (two hour journey to the UK airport, two hours waiting to fly and over seven hours flight before even reaching Toronto). They then have Friday to adjust and train, Saturday to play the match and then fly home Sunday before going back to their full-time jobs on the Monday.
      Crests knows this is a massive ask of his team and to do it without the full squad highers the chance of it being all for nothing.
      Unlike Toronto… Barrow’s coaching team, Chairman and players have full time jobs and many of the staff at Barrow are volunteers. The RFL need to step in with the administration regarding travelling abroad to play the teams they see as expansion, Barrow just don’t have the time or resources.
      Crests is far from a moany coach, he cares about his team and their welfare like any great coach should!

  2. Les

    May 18, 2017 at 11:21 pm

    Whinging coach? Spoilt brat? All expenses paid? Your having a laugh. I live in Barrow and these players are part time. For thick people like yourself that means they have jobs else where. Many players are self employed and there is no compensation for this loss of earning. So it’s not all expenses paid. Crarey has a right to be upset. It’s a complete joke having a full time team with bigger resources in a part time league. Let alone one that needs a plane to get to.

  3. Jason

    May 19, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    All expenses paid trip – get a grip you moron.

    This trip is a massive drain on the resources of the clubs and even more so on the players who for the most part will effectively be paying to play when you take everything into account.

  4. Les

    May 19, 2017 at 9:51 pm

    Anyway. Good luck to Barrow Raiders. Its a long shot but I hope you stuff those Canadian arseholes.

    • Quibble

      May 20, 2017 at 12:24 am

      Most of the team are from the UK Super League, hardly Canadian but still worth a stuffing 🙂

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