HUDDERSFIELD officials are plumping for a 7.00pm kick-off for tonight’s Yorkshire Cup first round clash with Leeds Carnegie at Lockwood Park.
Academy coach Paul Sharrock, who takes charge in the absence of director of rugby Mark Sowerby, is planning on using a composite side, involving seven regular first teamers, supplemented by a number of Falcons and young players.
Huddersfield have a trip to Westoe on Saturday for their penultimate North I League game of the season, and a massive play-off encounter guaranteed for the fortnight after, which obviously is the club’s main priority, so the bulk of the first team squad are being rested.
However, leading scorer Chris Johnson – who was instrumental in Field beating Leeds at the same stage last year – has requested to play and will assume his normal fly-half role.
First team lock Nick Sharpe was also keen to play and has been installed as skipper, playing at No8, while other first teamers include centres James Mortimore and Lee Paxman, winger Tim Collins, second rower George Hinchliff and prop Jack McPhail.
Up-and-coming Academy player Tom Ainsworth will play at scrum half, with Tom Sharrock at wing forward alongside Gavin Jones, a first team regular last season who has returned from University, and who has recently been playing with Yorkshire’s Under 21s.
Other promising young players, include Frances Entressengle (hooker) and Danny Ramsden (flanker) who both had cracking games for the Falcons.
The Cup is always a good opportunity to give some of the first team fringe players a run, which is what Leeds are also doing, with most of their team made up from the Development squad, although one of their players will be no stranger to Huddersfield as Luther Burrell is included in the line-up.
Huddersfield (from): Sutcliffe; Collins, Paxman (L), Mortimore, Parry; Johnson, Ainsworth; Carter, Gough, McPhail, Nield, Hinchliff, Sharrock, Jones, Sharpe, Entressengle, Ramsden, Bodsworth, Chirwa.
Leeds: Wackett, Armstrong, Grey, Hughes, Burrell, Whittaker, White, Steele, Frear, Swainston, Denton, Craig, Paul, Stitcher, Boyd, Clarke, York, Lewis, Beak, DePledge, Bottomley, Denton.
Referee Tall (East Yorkshire).
