By Alexander Fynn
Bridlington RUFC return to home turf at Dukes Park this weekend (Saturday 22 November) as they welcome table-toppers Old Otliensians on Saturday, with kick-off at 2:15pm.
Bridlington’s last home game was on 18 October against Baildon, when Callam Sanderson snatched a late team try to keep their league home winning streak intact. They will be keen to keep it going, but face a tough opponent.
Bridlington suffered their first defeat of the season to Huddersfield Laund Hill, losing 42–13. If the home side are to get back to winning ways, they face a stern test: Old Otliensians currently sit top of the Counties 2 Yorkshire Northern Division, unbeaten and five points clear.
Old Otliensians have been in strong form recently, beating Huddersfield Laund Hill 36–28 and then hammering Northallerton at home by a whopping 91–5. They will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Callam Sanderson had this to say ahead of Saturday’s test:
“Old Otliensians got promoted last year and they’ve had a really good start to the season. They’re the only team that haven’t lost in the league, so obviously they’ll come in full of confidence.
“Looking at the league table, they look like a team that score a lot of points, so we need to tighten our defence up and put them under a lot of pressure. I think the weather is going to favour us with the snow we’ve had, so hopefully we can make it an abrasive fight. From what we’ve heard, they’ve got some really quick players, especially in the back three. I think on the pitch it’s going to be wet and muddy, which will work for our scrums and line-outs.”
Sanderson also reflected about their first defeat against Huddersfield Laund Hill:
“It was a disappointing way to lose our first game of the season, with myself unable to play due to having my first child. Nick Brown was ill the day before the match, and with the injuries we had to Jamie Martin and Will Davies, we did struggle a bit as well. We looked back at the footage and we didn’t play badly; we just deviated from our game plan and didn’t play rugby in the right areas, and we got punished ultimately. I think a defeat like that is good because we can refocus and rebuild, and we can get better and better.”
