16 year old Kaya Stores, Cheadle Hulme High School student and Manchester and Cheshire rugby player, was instrumental in the historic performance of the Turkish Team in the Rugby Europe Tournament in Latvia this weekend.
Kaya was the youngest in this under 18s team, but progressed through two training camps and physical assessments to be selected in the final 12 to represent the Turkish Team.
Featuring in every match, Kaya played along side his teammates as they progressed through the group stages where they overwhelmed Austria, were narrowly defeated by Luxembourg and lost to Switzerland however did enough to secure a quarter final place on day two.
On day two of the competition they beat Hungary and had an easy victory over the Luxembourg side.
These results allow Turkey now qualifying for the Championship next year, for the first time in its history, where the team will next face France, Ireland, Romania and Spain.
The Turkish Rugby Federation said that “Turkey are proud of him” as did the Turkish Consulate in Manchester. While his team at Manchester Rugby Club were sending supportive messages.
Kaya qualifies to play for Turkey through his mother and aspires to one day captain the team.
