Wharfedale take to the skies for cup clash (From Craven Herald)

Wharfedale take to the skies for cup clash

12:12pm Friday 8th December 2006 in Sport By Sportsdesk

Wharfedale will take to the skies tomorrow when they face National League Three South side Canterbury in what promises to be an exciting cup tie by two in-form teams.

The Greens, who haven't flown since a trip to Launceston last season, will fly out of Manchester on Saturday morning and arrive in Gatwick before taking a coach trip to Canterbury for a late kick-off at 2.30pm.

Wharfedale assistant coach Alex Howard said the team was grateful that Canterbury agreed to the later kick-off time, giving the Greens that little extra bit of preparation for the EDF Energy National Trophy fixture.

Howard said that even though Wharfedale's squad have flown before, it will be a novelty for them to fly in and out on the same day.

"It'll be a change for the players, as they should be more refreshed by getting to sleep in their beds the night before."

Howard said that the club took the decision to fly this weekend because next Saturday the Greens have another fixture down south when they clash with Launceston for the second time this season.

"We thought that two full weekends away on the coach before Christmas would be a lot to ask from the players."

The match itself should be a "barn burner" from two sides full of confidence.

Canterbury have won six on the trot after a slow start to their league campaign. That situation, of course, is similar to Wharfedale who have won four out of their last five after a stuttering start.

The well-oiled machine that has been Wharfedale's attacking play was again on display at The Avenue last Saturday in their 30-23 victory over Stourbridge.

The home fans had to be entertained by a 25-20 half-time scoreline.

Howard said: "It was very free flowing. The defences were almost non-existent. But to be fair, it was more of a case of two sides attacking very well."

Whatever the coaches said at half-time must have hit home with the defences as Howard said "they came to the fore" in the second half.

Howard said: "We were confident. There was a lot of organisation and communication that went into it."

Howard also commended Chris Malherbe, playing in his 100th league game, for his defensive prowess on the day.

"He marshaled the defence well in the second half. He organised the younger players and made sure they knew what they were doing."

Howard said Wharfedale will be putting out its strongest side against Canterbury, and looking for even more of a confidence boost going into the Launceston game the following weekend.

"We want to continue our winning run. We got a bit of hiding at home from Launceston earlier this season, so we'll be looking to reverse that."

But newly promoted Canterbury will also be looking to build on their fifth place position in the league with a big cup win.

The Pilgrims are coming off a highly successful 2005/2006 season when they were named Team of the Year by Rugby World magazine.

Wharfedale make one change to the starting line-up from the team that beat Stourbridge. With Hedley Verity on the injured list and Alastair Allen otherwise engaged, Tom Ball will wear the No 7 shirt.

It will be Ball's starting debut with the Greens. Last week, he had a ten-minute runout against Stourbridge and Howard said reports from the Foresters about his progress are good.

This is Ball's first year with Wharfedale. The Leeds University student is a product of Sedbergh School, which is renowned for turning out top players.

Howard said: "He's got his opportunity. In the No 7 shirt, his job will be to keep the attack free flowing and and be a nuisance when the opponents have the ball."

Howard said the change is a necessity as Alastair Allen has another commitment and Hedley Verity could be out for a while with a long-term injury.

Howard said: "Hedley has a knee problem. He's had it for a while but it's been fine up until now. He's going to see a specialist to get a proper diagnosis, so he'll be out for a few weeks."

One player thought to have suffered a more serious injury last week was Adam Thwaites, who had to be helped off the field in the 30th minute when he twisted his knee.

Howard said: "We took a precaution in taking him off. He woke up with a bit of soreness on Sunday morning but on Monday declared himself fit for this weekend's game.

Wharfedale: Adam Whaites, Neil Baggett, Chris Malherbe, Mark Bedworth, Simon Horsfall, Andy Baggett (c), James Doherty, Elton Fynn, Gavin Hindle, Neil Dickinson, David Lister, Antony Capstick, Oliver Renton, Tom Ball, Rob Baldwin. Replacements: Adam Mason, Dave Charnley, Anthony Clements, Simon Hargreaves, Rob Weir, James Hutchinson.