Courtesy of Peter Elliott, Lancashire RFU Press Officer

County selectors have named the side to face Cornwall in this Sunday’s Bill Beaumont Cup County Championship Final.

A mixture of youth and experience run throughout the squad, which has been a feature of this year’s campaign so far. After a successful tour to Georgia with England Counties Under 20s, Jon Matthews returns to the front row, having made his senior county debut in the opening day win at Hartlepool against Durham. Joining him from that tour is winger Ben Rath, who is in line to make his own senior county debut on the biggest stage in English rugby. Rath was an ever-present in the Lancashire Under 20 squad which reached the semi-finals of this season’s Under 20 County Championship. Liverpudlian Matthews meanwhile, represented Yorkshire Under 20s against Lancashire at Broughton Park in February.

Head Coach Mark Nelson discussed the team selection: “Matthews impressed in the first game up at Durham, and we’ve discussed it long and hard. It’s tough on Mark Rylance, but we had to make a decision, and on balance this was the right one. With Ben Rath we have got a massive threat of pace, as he is very unpredictable on the wing, which is what I’m looking for out wide. Andy Riley has done very well and will feature. He has scored a couple of good tries and as the game progresses he will get involved,” he said.

Further changes from the side which played Cheshire last week are the inclusion of Chris Briers at outside centre, Steve Collins at scrum half and Paul Arnold in the second row. Nelson discussed their inclusion: “Chris Briers didn’t start last week because of a knock, but he is fine this week. He brings that experience in the backs. At scrum half, we need a bit of an old head in Steve Collins, who fits that bill. I felt we needed some experience in there. James Smith did well, and Tom Webb has come on and made an impact. We thought long and hard about it.”

“We are going to have a look at Gareth Gore to come on and make an impact. It will be a very very physical encounter, so we have gone for Paul Arnold to start in the second row.

“This is going to be a big challenge, certainly with the atmosphere that is going to be generated by a big travelling support. They are a very physical, forward oriented side, it’s going to be a full-blooded affair.”

Cornwall are playing in their first County Championship final since 1999, while Lancashire are looking to regain the title they lost to Hertfordshire last year, after a three year winning streak.

15 Sean Taylor (Preston Grasshoppers) 14 Nick Royle (Vale of Lune) 13 Chris Briers (Fylde) 12 Jack Ward (Preston Grasshoppers) 11 Ben Rath (Fylde) 10 Chris Johnson (Fylde) 9 Steve Collins (Sedgley Park); 1 Dan Birchall (Fylde) 2 Jon Matthews (Otley) 3 Simon Griffiths (Fylde) 4 Paul Arnold (Fylde) 5 Louis McGowan (Sedgley Park) (Captain) 6 Jon Nugent (Stade Dijon) 7 Steve McGinnis (Fylde) 8 Dominic Moon (Preston Grasshoppers)

Replacements – 16 Pete Altham (Fylde) 17 Gareth Gore (Preston Grasshoppers) 18 Phil Mills (Preston Grasshoppers) 19 Evan Stewart (Fylde) 20 Philip Baines (Preston Grasshoppers) 21 Tom Webb (Fylde) 22 Andrew Riley (Sedgley Park)

PGRFC will once again be represented in the end of season England Counties tour with the news that full back Sean Taylor has been picked for the tour to Belgium. The week long tour in the middle of June will include two games against a Belgium Presidents XV and the full Belgium National XV. An excellent sideline to all Counties tours is that the players will again be involved in a number of development projects during the week to help progress the Belgian game.

Sean has enjoyed yet another fine season in Hoppers colours. He joined the club for the start of the 2009/10 season and has since gone on to make 109 appearances scoring 484 points (including 44 tries) in the process. This season he scooped both the Players Player and Player of the Year awards at the clubs annual dinner and has been a regular in the Lancashire side for this season’s County Championship. This season has seen him takeover as regular goal kicker for the 1st XV and he has immediately set a new points scoring record for the season with a 334 point haul. This broke Steve Kerry’s 15 year old record. Sean has previously represented Lancashire U20’s and North U20’s and was expected to make the England Counties U20 Squad two seasons ago before an untimely injury robbed him of a place in the squad.

Speaking on his selection Hoppers Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer said “This is just reward for Sean after an excellent season for the club. He has continued to work hard at his game and what he has achieved this season speaks for itself. A couple of years ago Sean was a shoe in for the England Counties U20 but an unfortunate injury robbed him of his chance. We were very disappointed for him at that time and what made it even more unfortunate was that Sean very rarely misses any games. He has been an ever present for us over the last couple of seasons so this call up is doubly sweet. I was aware the selectors were watching him earlier in the year but I felt it best to leave Sean to focus on his game and I am delighted that they have followed up on their interest by watching him star for Lancashire. I am also delighted that Sean has committed his future to the club and will continue in his dual role as our Community Rugby Coach where he is making a real impression”.

Sean kicking the points which broke the club league points record

Speaking on his selection for the tour Sean said “I am very happy to be selected and very proud to have the chance to pull on an England shirt. I’ve had a good season with Hops and that has given me the platform to show the selectors what I can do. I’ve enjoyed being part of the Lancashire side and I thank them for nominating me for the tour”.

Asked on how he has improved his game, he continued “I think by not going out midweek has helped! But in seriousness I have kept my head down and worked hard at my skills, something the coaches at Hoppers have been very focused on”.

Taylor becomes the third Hopper to be selected for a full England Counties tour following in the footsteps of Olly Viney and Tom Hughes. This will be the clubs second Counties tourist this season following on from Eddie Webster who has recently returned from the U20’s successful tour to Georgia where he appeared in both games (a further article about this will appear in due course).

PGRFC are delighted to announce the reappointment of Dominic Moon as 1st XV captain for the 2013/14 season. The current Lancashire No. 8 has been an integral part of the Hoppers squad since joining the club from Halifax RFC at the start of the 2009/10 season. Since then he has gone on to make 79 appearances in all competitions scoring a remarkable 50 tries in the process. He holds the national league record for tries scored in a game by a forward having bagged seven against Otley in April 2012. He has started the last seven Lancashire County Championship games and is expected to be named in the side when they face Cornwall in this weekend’s County Championship Final at Twickenham.

1st XV captain Dominic Moon on the charge against Luctonians

Speaking on his decision to reappoint Moon for a second season with the armband, Head Coach Michael Lough said “Dominic showed this season that he is a natural leader, commanding the respect of his peers as well as the coaching and management staff. He was therefore a natural choice to continue as captain and I am personally looking forward to working with him again in the coming season.”

Commenting on his reappointment Dominic said “I learnt a lot last season about combining the demands of being a player with those of captaining a team and I am delighted to be able to continue in the role. I’ll be looking for more consistency from both myself and the squad in terms of positive performances all the way through the season. On a personal note I really enjoy leading what is a great squad to be a part of but I’m determined that we all learn the lessons of this season and ensure we continue to improve in the 2013/14 campaign”.

Director of Rugby Gareth Dyer said “I agree with Michael’s assessment of Dominic and I’m delighted that he is to continue in the role. I have been able to see Dominic develop as a player from a young age and he is maturing as both a player and captain. A club like ours thrives on stability and having the captain and coaching team in place will ensure we retain the leadership structure that served us well last season. Dominic has committed himself to Hoppers and I’m delighted that the majority of last season’s squad has done likewise. This will allow us to build upon the progress of recent seasons without the need for wholesale changes in personnel”.