Mayfield take on St. Jude

Paul Brearley, Mayfield

Following their victory at Millom last week, Mayfield make the somewhat shorter journey to Wigan today (25 July) as they face St Jude in this National Conference Division 1 clash.

The Mayfield coaching staff, Matt Calland and Sam Butterworth, are well aware of the pitfalls of this game after beating Millom on their own ground and with a weakened team. They hope to welcome back some key players with Kristian Duffy, Matty Moores, Paul Brearley and Aiden Gleeson all in contention for places.

Over the moon with last week’s win, Calland said: “It wasn’t just the standard of rugby we played but more the way we played. The lads showed a fantastic spirit and, even at 28-6 down, they never gave in and refused to believe they were beaten.

“The lads that stepped in deserve a lot of credit; they weren’t used to playing at that intensity but you’d never have guessed it the way they performed.

"We’ve had some tough decisions to make when picking today’s team but Sam and I, as always, have selected the side that we feel will do best against the opposition.”

St. Jude are one place above Mayfield in the division, but suffered a convincing defeat last week at home to Hunslet.

With players returning to the squad and their success in the last match, Mayfield must travel to St Jude with confidence running high in the camp.

The coach is set to leave at 12.30pm, with spectators welcome.

Lee Durrant takes his Alliance side on the road, also with a trip to Wigan where they face Spring View.

Spring are just one place above Mayfield with three wins compared to Mayfield’s two so far.

Durrant sees this as a big game for his side as he looks for points to begin their climb up the table. 

He said: “We’ve not yet had the luxury of a settled side with injuries and holidays playing havoc with team selection.

"I know we have not yet played to our potential and I also know that we are getting better with each game.”

The Alliance side also has players returning from holiday and injury, and could reap the benefits of the lads who starred in last week’s first team victory returning to the fold brimming with confidence.

Fixtures 28 July 2012
National Conference Division 1 – St. Jude v Mayfield (KO 2.30pm)
NWML Division 2 – Spring View v Mayfield (KO 2.30pm)