RUGBY-MAD youngsters in Chester received a surprise visit from a Sale Sharks star player who dropped in to help run an action-packed training session.

Club captain Jono Ross joined 30 aspiring players at Chester RUFC, with the flanker sharing some tips and tricks with the youngsters, posing for photographs and signing autographs.

Organised by technology company Connectus – a Sale Sharks club partner – the session at Chester Rugby Club gave the young players a chance to learn from one of Premiership Rugby’s top players and find out more about life as a professional player.

Mark Cueto, ex-England international and commercial director at Sale Sharks, said: “Jono was more than happy to pay a visit to Chester RUFC and really enjoyed offering the young players some expert advice on how to develop their game.

“Our relationship with local rugby clubs is really important to us and as the only Premiership side in the North West, we work hard to reach all parts of the region, supporting grassroots clubs and trying to inspire young and amateur players for the future.”

Roy Shelton, CEO from Connectus, added: “We are so pleased to be able to give back to the local community and working with grassroots clubs like Chester RUFC gives us the opportunity to use our partnership with Sale Sharks to support and encourage young players.

“It was great to see the reaction from the group when Jono Ross arrived for training and you can see how much they enjoyed the session. We hope we can do more events like this in the future to get even more people involved.”