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| A leek yesterday |
Hornets travel to the Valleys on Sunday looking to build a bit of momentum in the chase for the top four. But while Hornets were busy chipping away at a stubborn Gateshead defence last week, the Scorpions found themselves with a weekend off at very short notice, under very peculiar circumstances.
Their game against London Skolars was postponed less than half an hour before kick-off because the Skolars' pitch was so poor a standard that the match officials and match commissioner considered it a health & safety risk. Ridiculously, Skolars did offer to host it on two adjacent school fields, but neither was suitable. Rumours that they also offered to play it as a game of touch on a nearby Costco car-park have proven untrue.
So, with his squad suitably rested after a pointless 8-hour round trip, Scorpions coach Dave Clark has a full strength complement of players to choose from on Sunday - including their big signing from Neath RFC, winger Kevin James (who made his Rugby League debut at Spotland two weeks ago). Also back in contention is club captain Neil Dallimore, missing for the last three months through injury and a shoulder operation.
Clark is pumped-up for Sunday: "I'm expecting a good level of intensity from our players, and if we do that then we'll compete. A win isn't far off."
However, in our case, it's about 260 miles off, so with Hornets travelling the day before to prepare thoroughly Clark knows Stanky's taking this one very seriously indeed: "They've a very aggressive pack and ambitions to be in the top four, so it's a big challenge. We're progressing as a team, and that's important for us. We can see improvements."
Let's hope his optimism is misplaced on Sunday.
