That Friday Feeling – 29th September 2023

A 4 try bonus point away to Bedford Blues last week could be considered a reasonable result for the Ravers in the 3rd round of the Premiership Cup. The competition steps up a level this week with the visit of Sale Sharks to Paton Field. This will be the first competitive fixture between Caldy and Sale Sharks and Head Coach Matt Cairns knows just how big a step up this will be.

“We were really pleased with elements of our game last week against Bedford and there were also clear areas we need to work on before the start of the league season. Tomorrow, we have a truly momentous match up against one of the very best sides in the country in Sale Sharks.  Last year the Sharks played a pre-season friendly warm up game at Paton Field, but this time it is for real!”

Sale Sharks are one of three Premiership sides in Caldy’s pool in the Premiership Cup and having already faced a strong Leicester Tigers side at Welford Road Matt Cairns knows the challenge that Sale Sharks will pose.

“We competed well for 60 minutes against Tigers at Welford Rd, but these full-time sides have the conditioning and fitness to play full throttle for the full 80 minutes and that is our challenge tomorrow. It will be a great occasion at Paton Field and the whole squad is excited to be playing against such a top, top side”.

It is likely that the Sale Sharks side will contain some familiar faces with Nye Thomas, Ethan Caine and Reuben Birch featuring for the Sharks in recent weeks. It promises to be a great occasion for Northwest Rugby

Matt Cairns has selected the following squad for Saturday’s 1st XV Premiership Cup fixture against Sale Sharks at Paton Field which kicks off at 3 pm.

7. N Davidson 8. JJ Dickinson 9. C Pilgrim 10. L Barker 11.J Mitchell 12. M Barlow 13. C Wilkinson

14. W Robinson 15. R Hayes 16. R Higginson 17. M Gallagher 18. W Sanderson 19. M Gerrard

20. D Jones 21. J Murray 22. M Cartmill 23 S Rogers

Ahead of the Premiership Cup match Caldy’s 2nd xv have a Halbro Premier league fixture against newly promoted Macclesfield 2nd xv. The match kicks off at 12.15 pm on the main pitch. Coach Andy Soutar explained just how important the 2nd xv is as part of the Senior squad.

“We have a lot of talented young players at Caldy, and we need this strength in depth to compete at Championship level. The 2nd xv players playing against Macclesfield are all pushing for a spot in the 1st xv squad for the first Championship game of the season against Nottingham on 21 October. It is that important.”

There were a number of notable performances in last week’s 2nd xv victory away at Fylde. Efan Edwards and Jacob Ainscough showed prominently in the backs and in the pack, Stuart Cross showed power and skill in abundance.

Andy Soutar has selected the following squad for the match against Macclesfield which kicks off at Paton Field at 12.15

1.Ellam 2. Hughes 3. Darlington 4. Kelly 5. Stevenson 6. Olyott 7. Lowndes 8. Cross 9. Ainscough 10. Kilcourse 11. Edwards 12. Williams 13. Elkerton 14. Jones B 15. Deva 16. Raph 17. Soupani 18. Owen 19. McNamee 20. Deehan 21. Holmes 22. Molloy 23. Dale 24. Jones M 25. Gaughan

There is strong competition for places across the senior Caldy squad. Tomorrow’s double header will be an Autumnal showcase of talented Ravers.