Saturday
The weekend of the 2nd-3rd March 2013 turned out to be a wonderful one for Preston Grasshoppers.
Things got off to a great start on Saturday morning with over 50 cyclists taking part in the ‘Hoppers Rollers’ ‘Tour de Trough’. The lads then enjoyed a 3 course meal at Lightfoot Green before taking in the 1st XV game at 3pm.
Congratulations to Ross Malpass who claimed both the sprint title and the King of the Mountains crown.
Hoppers Rollers at Dunsop Bridge (Photo courtesy of Chris Glynn, via Twitter)
The afternoon’s rugby games saw 5 out of a possible 6 wins for the men’s sides. The 1st XV saw off Stockport with a fine 36-10 victory whilst the 2nd XV recorded a very significant 36-27 win at league leaders Stockport to leap frog them and move to the top of the league.
Gavin McQueen’s mighty 3rd XV ran out 35-15 winners against Fylde to extend their lead at the top of the league. Promotion now looks a certainty for the 3rd XV. Fylde were also the visitors for Simon Walmsley’s 4th XV but Hoppers proved too strong with a 32-5 win which consolidates the team’s position near the top of the league.
The 3rd XV after their 35-15 win over Fylde
The 5th XV, led by captain Kevin Wrenn, had a decent 17-5 win against Garstang which set things up for the 6th XV to complete the clean sweep. Unfortunately Ian Gaskell and his band of warriors were away at table toppers Leigh who have not lost a game all season. Things went true to form and the 6th XV ended up on the wrong side of a 50-5 defeat.
Sunday
Sunday was Lancashire Cup Day for Hoppers junior sides (U13-16) with the competition having reached quarter-final stage. All 4 sides had made it through to this stage and when the day was over 3 of the sides had progressed through to the semi-finals.
The Under 13’s saw off Manchester 37-14 but unfortunately the Under 14’s were edged out 3-0 at home to Warrington.
The Under 15’s travelled to Vale of Lune and returned 27-7 victors to see them through. Bury were the opposition for the Under 16’s and Hoppers advanced with a resounding 30*-0 win.
The last fixture of the weekend saw Hoppers Women take on Leigh and despite some players having to visit A+E the ladies managed to rack up an impressive 62 points as they emerged as 62-5 winners.
All in all a very good weekend to be a Preston Grasshopper!
