Sharlston Rovers, of Wakefield, and Oldham’s Waterhead Warriors will square up on Sunday (10 April) in the 2022 BARLA National Cup Final.
Both sides are in the decider after comfortable victories in the semi-finals. Sharlston, who won 36-4 at West Hull at the penultimate stage, appeared in five finals between 2010 and 2015, winning three, including a late victory over Fryston, a narrow success against Wibsey Warriors and a more comfortable win over Hunslet Old Boys. Waterhead, meanwhile, accounted for Myton Warriors in their semi-final, thereby booking a berth in the spotlight for the first time in the club’s 102-year history.
Rovers, who now operate in the First Division of the Yorkshire Men’s League, are currently undergoing a rebuilding process and, with a strong youth and junior structure in place, have revived previously stated ambitions to gain admittance to the National Conference League. And, in answer to the question “are Sharlston back where they belong through reaching a National Cup Final?” long-serving Rovers mainstay Johnny Brewerton, who – among many other duties – coached the A team for a fair few years and is now Rovers’ secretary, said: “We’re back where we like to be. But in all honesty, where we actually want to be is where Waterhead are right now, in the National Conference League, and we’re working on a five-year plan towards that goal.
“You’ve got to have systems in place that allow for such progression and our juniors are buying into what we are doing and gravitating through the age groups with their mates.”
He continued: “Former player and first team coach Lee Bettison is a key part of the process, having taken on the Under 16s. One of the aims is that those players become used to the same structures and philosophies as the Open Age sides so, when they come through to the first or second teams, they are familiar with the systems.”
For all that, Sharlston have been refreshed by the appointment of new player/coach Ady Mulcahy, who took over at the beginning of the campaign, while Jorge Richardson is captain after several years’ fine service.
Mulcahy, the former Normanton Knights and Eastmoor Dragons halfback, is a player of high quality and vast experience and Brewerton said: “We’d decided to advertise for a first team coach as we felt we were in danger of getting stale.
“Ady really impressed us with what he had to say; he has knowledge and experience earned through playing at a high level in the amateur game and he’s brought in some good ideas.
“He brings a different outlook to the game, a certain mental sharpness, and that’s feeding into the players, including in training, which is fun for the players and who are turning up in good numbers.
“Ady outlined what he expected of the squad at a players’ meeting at the beginning of the season and the lads have bought into it. He said that they would be rewarded and, true to his word, we’re in the National Cup Final. They all played well in our semi-final victory at West Hull – who, to be fair, didn’t play their NCL team, their lads did their club proud.”
Brewerton continued: “We’d previously won at Cumbrian side Aspatria, who were young and competitive, and our victory over HM Prison Service was hard-earned in a game that could have gone either way. They had some good players from around the leagues, what maybe they lacked was a certain cohesion; if their lads played together each week they would be a very impressive side.”
He concluded: “We watched Waterhead at East Leeds. They’re a big side and, given that they are used to the week-in, week-out intensity of the NCL, they will in all likelihood start as favourites.
“However, if we can perform to our best ability on the day, and if we get a bit of luck, we are certainly in with a chance.”
Waterhead’s head coach Jon Perks and his players are preparing for a big week, with an appearance against Saddleworth in the prestigious Oldham ARL’s Standard Cup Final taking place on Good Friday, just five days after the National Cup Final. He admitted: “The Standard Cup final is, for sure, a very big game – back when it was played at Watersheddings there would regularly be crowds of 4-5,000.
“The National Cup Final, though, is the biggest match in our history. We’ve been in the quarter-finals before but we’ve never reached the decider, although we’ve twice won the Lancashire Cup, beating Blackbrook in the mid-1980s and Rose Bridge, in a game in which I played, 12-6 in the late 1990s.”
The Warriors, who have welcomed former players Danny Bridge, Phil Joy and Gareth Owen back from Oldham, are rated as being among the favourites to lift the NCL’s Third Division title. Prior to Saturday’s fixture with Shaw Cross, the Warriors had won two and lost two of their four league fixtures, which wasn’t quite the start that had been anticipated. One of those defeats, though, was on the day of the BARLA National Cup semi-final, when Waterhead were obliged to field their second team against Hensingham. The other, nine days ago, was at title rivals East Leeds. Perks said of that 32-6 result: “You never want to lose, but it may actually have done us good, it could have been what we needed. Although our lads had been saying the right things and we’d been trying to be humble, we might have got too far ahead of ourselves. One or two of the players might have been looking ahead to the National Cup Final too much. But they work hard for each other, and they’ve been training hard since pre-season, in good numbers, which has been gratifying for me and my fellow coach Keith Brennan.”
A 40-14 win at Shaw Cross suggests that the Warriors are back in gear while Sky TV presenter Barrie McDermott – a Waterhead product before starring with Wigan, Leeds and Great Britain – has also popped along to training, offering invaluable advice. “Barrie’s son Billy is in the squad after having been out for twelve months with an Achilles injury,” Perks revealed. “He’s another former Waterhead junior who, having been in the pro ranks – in his case with Leeds – has returned to his roots.
“Those lads, including the Oldham contingent, are having a huge input, on and off the field. They never miss training and they add positively to the environment; they’re always willing and ready to ask questions in the right way. All three have brought something to the club.
“We train alongside our Under 18s and the Open Age players’ approach rubs off on the younger lads, for whom the subsequent transition to adult rugby isn’t then as daunting. It’s a system we’ve had in place for around three years now and it’s already beginning to serve us well.”
He added: “Our youth and junior teams are getting behind us massively for the final. We put it on social medial when we won the semi and cup fever’s really caught hold; we’re taking eight supporters’ coaches to Featherstone. It’s a massive day out for the club, however it goes it’s historic, and it’s a reward for those lads who stuck with Keith and me as players, for those who are on our committee, for the volunteers. Everyone is really looking forward to the occasion.”
Elliot Burrow has been appointed as referee, while the touch-judges are Carl Hughes and Daniel Frederick; Neil Pascall is reserve referee.
The match, at the Millennium Stadium, Post Office Road, Featherstone, kicks off at 2.00pm. Admission is £5 (£3 concessions, Under 16s free).
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PRESIDENT’S CUP
UK Armed Forces, the holders, launched the defence of their trophy, which was last played for three years ago, with a resounding win over Great Britain Police. England Universities, meanwhile, accounted for Great Britain Teachers in the other fixture.
UK ARMED FORCES 52
GREAT BRITAIN POLICE 0
DAVE PARKINSON, Saddleworth, Wednesday
The Armed Forces started well and grabbed the first try when Matty Gaskell found Danny Johnson, who surged over, experienced playmaker Kevin Brown kicking the first of his three goals.
Just a couple of minutes after that opener, Brown found a way to the line from close range and when Oli Toms picked his way through, the combined Forces side led 16-0.
They threatened again when from the restart Oscar Tamani carved through the middle and Police wing Ryan Pickles was sin binned for slowing the big man down. Pete Holmes stretched the Armed forces lead to 20-0, before former professionals Scott Leatherbarrow and Jon O’Donnell linked from a kick. O’Donnell got free in the middle but the supporting Chris Smith was hauled down.
With ten minutes of the first half remaining, Leigh East’s Kieron Prescott entered the game, and by half-time, his never-say-die-attitude brought him two tries with Micky Hoyle nudging over a goal to make it 30-0 at the break.
GB Police were much better in the second half and pushed the Forces side all the way, but crucially it was they who got away in the last fifteen minutes, adding another four tries to the score. Matty Gaskell kicked off the flurry with a scything run to the posts before Hoyle scored the first of two tries. Jack Bartlett dotted down a 50 metre finish with Hoyle adding two more goals before a storming effort from the centre at the death saw him finish with 14 points, Brown crowning a 52-0 success with his third conversion.
UKAF: Jake Boardman, Joey Coupland, Peter Holmes, Micky Hoyle, Jack Bartlett, Matt Gaskell, Declan Baines, James Parry, Kevin Brown, Johnny Griffiths, Oli Toms, Danny Johnson, Ben Taylor. Subs: Ben Mellor, Brodie Lee-Butler, Sam Roberts, George Mosey, Oscar Tamani, Kieron Prescott.
Tries: Johnson, Brown, Toms, Holmes, Prescott 2, Gaskell, Bartlett, Hoyle 2
Goals: Brown 3, Hoyle 3
POLICE: Jay Panter, Mark Kitchingham, Jon O’Donnell, Sam Ogden, Ryan Pickles, Scott Leatherbarrow, Chris Smith; Adam Coopman, Ben Marsden, Will Martin, Sam Wood, Ste Tagg, Ben Dawson. Subs: Callum Sampson, Joe Bownass, Tom Gallagher, Lewis Peet, Rob Froggatt, Josh Tate, Alex Clemie.
Referee: James Collier; Half-time: 30-0
ENGLAND UNIVERSITIES 32
GREAT BRITAIN TEACHERS 12
DAVID BUTLER, Saddleworth, Wednesday
England Universities got their campaign off to a flying start in a tense encounter.
Playing their first game since the 2019 Student Four Nations win over Scotland, the Universities side showed strength in depth as they ground out a win against a determined and rejuvenated Teachers team.
It took just three minutes for captain Tyler Hepple to fly out of dummy half to put the Students ahead, Matty Rudd adding the easy conversion, but both sides locked into an arm wrestle and five minutes later it was Lewis Fairhurst, an England Universities graduate, who opened the Teachers account, slicing through the white shirts to set up an easy kick for Rob Marsh to level the scores.
Cameron Brown collected Joe Riley’s inch perfection kick to the in-goal area to push the Teachers further ahead, Rudd again being on target with the boot, before Rudd himself dived in for a try under the posts on the half hour mark, landing the easy conversion.
England’s half concluded with halfback Joe Riley scampering in through the line out wide, but this time Rudd was unable to add the extras and, with the snow falling, England were ahead at half-time 22-6.
The Teachers started the second half with renewed vigour, pressuring the Students’ line, and it wasn’t long before Eliot Liku barged his way over to bring his side back into contention, Marsh keeping the scoreboard ticking over with the conversion.
But the Universities rallied and, with 15 minutes to go, rangy centre Jack Cherry stretched out to score on the left hand side, Rudd slotting a seemingly impossible goal with the wind swirling. Michael Holden continued the pressure on the left edge, collecting Nathan Taylor’s flick pass to beat the corner flag, but this time Rudd was off-target.
The game ended on a bad tempered note with the Student’s Adam Lavin being dispatched to the sin-bin for an off the ball challenge, but England’s defence held firm to round out the win.
UNIVERSITIES: Nathan Taylor, Michael Holden, Ted Davidson, Sean Croston, Cameron Brown, Matty Rudd, Joe Riley, Adam Lavin, Tyler Hepple, Nathan Newbound, Jordan Bull, Charlie McCurrie, Harry Trulson. Subs: Jack Cherry, Kellen Wood, Elliott Jones, Delaine Bedward-Gittens.
Tries: Hepple, Brown, Rudd, Riley, Cherry, Holden
Goals: Rudd 4
Sin bin: Lavin (74) – late challenge
TEACHERS: Lewis Fairhurst, Ethan Cross, Andrew Lokman, Ben Pulleyn, Phil Lister, Jay Boyd, Rob Marsh, Chris Lane, Luke Johnson, Elliott Liku, James Jackson, Kev Marshall, Jack Walton. Subs: Rob Pritchard, Jack Tocks, Phil Rice, Phil Heath, Nathan Lyon, Harry Hayes.
Tries: Fairhurst, Liku
Goals: Marsh 2
Referee: Sam Houghton; Half-time: 22-6
Results
Wednesday 30 March 2022
England Universities 32 GB Teachers 12; GB Police 0 UK Armed Forces 52 (both at Saddleworth Rangers).
Fixtures
Wednesday 27 April 2022
England Universities v GB Police (6.00pm); GB Teachers v UK Armed Forces (8.00pm). Both at Lock Lane.
Wednesday 25 May 2022
GB Police v GB Teachers (6.00pm); England Universities v UK Armed Forces (8.00pm). Both at Leigh Miners Rangers.
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