April 7, 2008

Despite the size of the county, Cheshire are no strangers to Twickenham, with both the Senior County XV and the Under 20s having tasted victory on the biggest stage in world rugby.

On the club front, Sale Sharks have also flown the flag at ‘headquarters’ in recent times, but never has the profile been as high as it will be on Saturday (April 12, 2008), when two Cheshire club sides will meet in the final of the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup.

This season’s Cheshire Cup winners Birkenhead Park travel as favourites simply on the basis of their league status. They are currently fourth in North Division One, whereas Chester last weekend clinched the North West One title and will be competing against Park next season in North One.

With all his players reporting fit and an historic JW Lees Cheshire Cup final win over Macclesfield a fortnight ago to boost morale still further, Director of Rugby John McNally has every reason to be confident about the outcome, but he is far too worldly-wise to fall into the complacency trap – or allow his team to do so.

"We’re clued up about Chester and many of the lads who play for them," he says. "We are also aware of lower-ranked teams upsetting the odds at Twickenham. We won’t be mugged. If we lose, it will be because they were the better side – simple as that. "

Not that Park are short of confidence. "Our win over Macclesfield in the Cup final was absolutely superb. We were behind at half-time, but the lads’ fighting spirit brought us back into it. Our fitness was good and we just came alive." says McNally. "Although we lost to Kendal last Saturday, they are unbeaten in our league this season, and we played well in appalling conditions.

"Overall, our build-up to the final has been really good and the lads are on fire for this game. They really are desperate to win it. The general atmosphere at the club is superb and there’s a great spirit in the squad with all the players from Merseyside."

Special preparations for the Twickenham run-in have involved working with national league referee Ian Robinson on eliminating needless and potentially ruinous penalty concessions and stepping up the fitness regime.

"Twickenham is a huge pitch and the atmosphere surrounding the final will also take a lot out of the players. They’ll be shedding calories galore in the hour before the game."

And the opposition – what are Park expecting? "We’ve watched them and we expect them to play a fairly open style of game. They are an adventurous ‘tap and go’ side who will run penalties and free kicks from anywhere and have an influential, experienced figure in Simon Verbickas at centre. I think they’ll avoid taking us on up front."

Which offers a clear vision of how Park are thinking. Says McNally: "They’ll be delighted with a broken field game, but we’re aware of the trap. We’ll be looking to keep the ball, play for position and put them under pressure. It’s not the most exciting style of play in the world, but it has been effective. We’ll try to starve them of ball and try to smother them."

"Having two clubs from the same county and close neighbours is a bit special and I’m sure it will contribute to the occasion. It won’t be good fun on the pitch obviously, but in the crowd and in the bar afterwards it will be. It’s a massive day for all of us – something most of us have never done before or will do again - and the hairs on my hands stand up just talking about it."

Chester coach Rob Foden, father of Sale Sharks player Ben and Chester fly-half Tom, is also heading for Twickenham with no injury worries and the mood in his camp as buoyant as it could possibly be.

Chester were overruled by the RFU in their bid to have a crucial rearranged league game against Stockport held over until after Saturday’s final, but they came through last Saturday’s match with promotion to North One in the bag and no problems on the injury front.

"I was moaning like mad about the decision beforehand, but now we’ve played the game and come through without problems, we’re in a better frame of mind." Says coach Foden. "The league and promotion is now a done deal and we can focus entirely on Twickenham.

"We’ll have a team run at Richmond on Friday afternoon after a visit to Twickenham. That way we can get some of the ‘wow factor’ out of the way. We’re playing so early (10am kick-off) and can’t get into the ground until 8.30am that the whole thing can be a bit surreal and I don’t want the lads to freeze because of where they are. I don’t want us to be in dreamland."

And the challenge he expects from Park once the whistle blows? "Our style of play is completely different to theirs." he says. "Our game is expansive. We want to play top-of-the-ground rugby and not be over-committed to breakdowns. It should be an interesting contradiction in styles. It will come down to who gets in first and stamps their style of play on the match. I think if we play to our potential, Park will struggle. Where we are in the league doesn’t hold water with me, although the game will be a useful gauge for us because Park are sitting fourth in North One having had a good run.

"It will tell us whether we’ve come on as much as we think we have and whether our game can be effective against a team from the top end of the division. But at this level it’s not all about size – it’s about cutting down mistakes.

"We haven’t lost since October and that kind of run develops confidence and the ability to respond to setbacks. But at the end of the day, we’re going there to win it, but above all, we’re going there to enjoy it."