By Alexander Fynn
Bridlington RUFC are aiming for a fourth successive home win as they host third-placed Bradford & Bingley at Dukes Park this Saturday.
Bridlington’s home run began with a 35–31 victory over Ossett RUFC. They followed this with a last-minute winner against Baildon. Confidence was high heading into the visit of then-league-leaders Old Otliensians, and although a tough battle ensued, it was Sanderson’s men who ground out an 8–0 win.
Conditions played into the hands of the Dukes Park side, but Callam Sanderson’s squad know that Bradford & Bingley will provide another stern test for the Blue and Golds.
Bradford & Bingley have also been in good form, losing only one of their last four matches. They swept aside Halifax RUFC 39–0 before defeating Halifax Vandals 29–13.
Their only defeat in this spell came against Baildon, where they lost 27–17, but they responded strongly by putting Huddersfield Laund Hill to the sword in a 37–17 victory.
With both teams in strong form, each will be looking to continue in the same vein.
With damp weather expected for Saturday’s match and heavy conditions underfoot, Callam Sanderson offered his thoughts ahead of the clash:
“We’ve had a good week of training coming off last week’s victory against Old Otliensians and we’re full of confidence. There aren’t many changes to the squad, so we’re hoping to replicate last week’s game plan and put that on Bradford & Bingley. We’re expecting a tough test from them. We’ve played them a couple of times over the last few years so we know what to expect: a really big, well-drilled set of lads, so we need to bring our A game.
We’ve had a great week in training, especially Thursday, and we’ve managed to tick off a lot of detail. We’ve got a similar squad to last week. Our hooker, Corban Oakes, has pulled out with a shoulder injury, so Gary Healey will step in. We’ve also got Ben Benson joining the squad at full-back — he’s an exciting player who can attack. Overall, the squad is looking really good.”
