This relationship will be crystallized in August as we welcome over 50 players and Coaches to Bolton to show them what the North West and our Club has to offer.

The Briganti team are based in an area called Librino. It is in one of the most deprived areas of southern Italy and is situated on the island of Sicily. Librino was built as a new town in the 1960's, with high-rise apartments, the Utopian view was it would house communities with cinema's, shops, schools with plans to build an infrastructure that would enable to area to prosper.

However, Italy's economic hardships during the 70's and 80's meant the schools, cinemas and highways didn't get built. The area was exposed to poverty and in turn organised crime. The local mafia gangs used the residents (especially the children) as runners for drugs and moving stolen goods.

Whilst a school was eventually built the number of children failing to complete their education in Librino was Italy's highest. During the early 2000's a Rugby team was established, the aim to provide a place for children and adults to create a community that offered more opportunities and options to the locals and to take the ethics and values of Rugby to encourage personal growth.

The club was seeing the success of their endeavours, with many children using the club to fill their time and avoid being used by the Mafia for criminal activity. This wasn't looked upon favourably and the club found their team bus had been fire-torched, gun shots fired into the clubhouse and numerous other threats and thefts followed too.

Undeterred the (mainly) volunteers have picked themselves up and continued to move the club forward. They have built a cafe, library and operate a youth group and are open virtually everyday to welcome their members and support them whenever they need it.

Our relationship has sprung from reading about their courage and determination to keep their club going - regardless of the circumstances. They are extremely excited about visiting England - the home of rugby and we can't wait to meet them. It's worth remembering that many have never left Librino, never mind the country, so this is an exciting trip for them all and we want to make sure they have the best time possible.

We have a full agenda planned culminating on 20th August at our 150th anniversary fun day, where our players both senior and children will be playing against our Italian friends.

Get the date in your diary - we can't wait to introduce them to you.