Trip to Chester for 1st XV

Date: 24 February 2020

Chester vs. Preston Grasshoppers

Preston Grasshoppers next opponents are Cheshire County Town club Chester RUFC at their Hare Lane ground where success won’t be any easier to accomplish than in any other of Hoppers recent games.

Added to Hoppers woes, their recent record in games against Chester won’t instil much confidence for their trip into Cheshire. A dismal run of eleven successive defeats since the home side’s promotion to National 2 North in 2013 tells the full story.

Although Hoppers fell to another defeat last Saturday against a strong and promotion hunting Hinckley side, there were definite signs of improvement which haven’t been evident recently.

Also on the plus side there’s news of first team stalwarts making a comeback this Saturday to strengthen the ranks along with fringe players being given their chance. The club has been nurturing their home grown youths this season and you may well be seeing evidence of this at first team level before the end of April. So for those intending to travel, watch out for the team news later this week.

Onwards, and hopefully upwards!

Before Chester’s promotion to National 2 North, the two teams last met in competitive action during Hoppers short stay in North 1 back on the 5th of February 2005 when a relatively comfortable away victory was achieved by twenty points to five completing the double that season for Hoppers. Since then a couple of pre-season ‘training’ fixtures have taken place, both at Chester’s ground with honours shared until the current series of League games.

Fixtures between the two clubs go back over fifty years when the inaugural game took place at our Lea ground on the 23rdof October 1965 where Hoppers won by a single point in a game of thirty three. All told there have been thirty four meetings between the two clubs with our opponents winning twenty three to Hoppers eleven. The figures for League games has Chester winning eleven to Hoppers two. Add to this a cancelled game from Good Friday 1989 plus a couple of pre-season games and you have the full picture.

Match Day Programme

Chester have made the decision to stop publishing a physical copy of their programme so please click below for a digital version.

Chester vs Preston Grasshoppers Match Day Programme

Team News

1. Oga MABAYA
2. Chris TAYLOR (C)
3. John BLANCHARD
4. Sam WALLBANK
5. Ally MURRAY
6. Ryan CARLSON
7. Ben DORRINGTON
8. Matt LAMPREY
9. Jake SQUIRRELL
10. Joe PRIOR
11. Tyler SPENCE
12. Sam STOTT (C)
13. Nick GREGSON
14. Jordan DORRINGTON
15. Scott JORDAN

16. R. PURCELL
17. O. TRIPPIER
18. R. MEADOWS
19. T. HARRISON
20. J. BROWNE

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