John Young’s second team welcome their counterparts from Sandbach to Lightfoot Green this weekend in the semi-final of the knock out cup.
They are fresh from their 53-0 victory over Caldy, a performance which doubtless restored a lot of confidence following their defeat to title rivals Sedgley Tigers. Young’s men scored eight tries with a penalty try added for good measure. Moon, Wardell, Marshall (2), Browne (2), Gargett & Bevan all crossed the whitewash with Moon & Browne the stand out performers.
The match also had a spoonful of controversy with the Caldy skipper leaving the field voluntarily for five minutes after disagreeing with the referee. Several of the watching crowd admitted that they’d never witnessed such a thing in all their years coming to the Green.
The focus is now fully on Saturday’s match with the Vice-Presidents holding their annual luncheon before the game. Everybody involved is hoping for a healthy crowd for the match which kicks off at 2.30 and precedes the Calcutta Cup showdown.
Sandbach enter the fixture having suffered a heavy defeat against Rochdale and hoping for their first ever victory at Lightfoot Green. As a result they have declared themselves as huge underdogs for the tie. However a wise sage has pointed out that their first team have the weekend off so the smart money is on an entertaining and competitive fixture.
Hoppers will delay naming their side until Thursday or Friday as the injuries are rising again, whilst there are others with pre-arranged commitments. Please keep an eye in the website and the Hoppers twitter feed for further news.
Team News
Coach John Young has selected the following side to face Sandbach.
1) Oga Mabaya 2) Brad Tuff 3) Danny Burns 4) Richard Wardell 5) Matt Lambert 6) Jack Walker 7) Luke Clitheroe 8) Jamie Gage 9) Andy Hulme 10) Tom Hurst 11) Matt Gargett 12) Sam Kendall 13) Jacob Browne 14) Tom Boyes 15) Ryan Marshall
16) John Young 17) Marcus Mollinga 18) Harry Moulding
@Jebbster1975
