March 11, 2008
The EDF Energy Junior Vase semi-finals contain two clubs from Yorkshire Division Three, Doncaster Phoenix and Castleford, and nothing would please them more than to meet at Twickenham.
Before that dream can be fulfilled, however, they have the ambitions of Chiswick and Tewksbury to deal with, Castleford going on the road to Gloucestershire and Phoenix entertaining the men from the South East.
“We’re looking forward to it obviously,” says skipper Chris Willett: “We will have our strongest squad available, which is always a positive. We had a very good 57-17 win against fourth-placed Barnsley in the league on Saturday that helped our promotion drive.
“We are second in Yorkshire Three and one of three teams with 17 league wins from 19 matches, but two of the three have yet to play each other, so if we keep winning we should get promotion.
“Obviously we have to keep winning in the league, but there’s no question of us taking our eye off the ball with EDF Energy competition. We’re also still involved in the Yorkshire Silver Trophy, so we’re looking for a possible hat trick of successes.
“The atmosphere in the club at the moment is fantastic and there are people who have been part of the club for a long time who believe that the rugby, the camaraderie and the atmosphere is the best they’ve ever seen.”
Willett, who had a spell with Cleckheaton, has not only contributed 21 tries this season, but also helped to get the senior rugby side functioning to its optimum.
“I try to run the team like a business and that means being as thoroughly prepared as possible before every game,” he says: “We had one of our players watching Tewksbury last weekend, so we have an idea what we can expect. Obviously there are reasons why they have reached the semi-finals and we’ll be paying them every ounce of respect.
“But being away from home doesn’t worry me because it helps in getting the preparations right. We’re travelling on Friday and we’ll be together which helps to create a special mood. We’ll also have some time in the morning of the game just to throw a ball around and get ourselves ready.
“It will be either the elation of a trip to Twickenham or a long, depressing trip back to Yorkshire. All I want is to make sure that we are in a position to give it our all, as we have done all season. There will be no excuses.”
The prospect of an all-Yorkshire Three final is still very much alive, with Doncaster Phoenix having home advantage against Chiswick in the other Junior Vase semi-final.
The Castle Park side were keen to avoid their Yorkshire rivals at the semi-final stage with a view to making the final a White Rose derby and Lady Luck answered their wishes.
While Phoenix are four places below their West Yorkshire rivals in the Yorkshire Three League table and have been beaten by them twice this term, there was only a seven-point margin on each occasion.
The chance to make amends at Twickenham may be a potent incentive for the Doncaster team, but they face stiff opposition from a Chiswick team that will be putting a proud record of 22 wins out of 22 in league and cup matches this season on the line at Castle Park.
The statistics add up to a wonderful 50th golden anniversary season for the west London club and they are keen to top it off with a final appearance at nearby Twickenham on April 12. |
