Giants fly the flag in bid to field the best of British

Jun 13 2009 by Roy Wright, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

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TODAY is a proud day for Huddersfield Rugby League Club.

At 8pm tonight, two Giants players will line up for England – effectively Great Britain – in the Gillette Fusion Test against France in Paris.

It’s the first time since 1967 that two players from the Huddersfield club have represented the nation at this level at the same time. Ken Senior, Don Close and Rob Valentine all earned Test caps 42 years ago.

And tonight, Eorl Crabtree – the first Huddersfield-produced player to play at this level while on the books of his hometown club since Ken Senior in 1967 – and Scott Moore will be part of the full Test team.

Moore is pencilled in to start at hooker, with Crabtree ready to make the sort of impact from the bench that has made him such a big hit for the Giants in Super League XIV.

Both men headed across the Channel on the back of outstanding displays for fourth-placed Huddersfield in last Friday’s excellent 22-6 triumph over second-placed Hull KR at the Galpharm Stadium.

But they weren’t the only British players to perform well that night.

In fact, in what was an excellent all-round team performance, all FIFTEEN English players contributed significantly to the cause.

Yes, against Rovers, coach Nathan Brown fielded just two overseas players in New Zealanders Paul Whatuira and David Fauimu, who in fact only had a short spell on the field before picking up a groin injury that forced his withdrawal.

That effectively meant just one overseas player played a key part in beating the side who are second in Super League.

And in this modern era in British rugby league, that’s an achievement that does deserve considerable recognition.

Because of some of the relaxed rules in regard to the overseas quota, it’s not unheard of for top-flight teams to field at least 10 players who have not been produced in the British system. Hull KR’s side last Friday included seven players not originally from these shores, which is fairly common.