Sport Today

Many thanks in anticipation

Malc
_______________________________________________________________________
 Malc Brookes, St Helens, England

PS. In your case, Malc, See the back pages of the star. :-)

John Lancaster
St Helens, Merseyside, UK


http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/john_lancaster

Saints army on the march

SAINTS' fans will converge in their thousands on the McAlpine Stadium,
Huddersfield, on Saturday, for the
mouth-watering Regal Trophy Final showdown with deadly rivals Wigan,
kick-off 3pm.

No tickets remain unsold at Knowsley Road for a clash which looks
certain to attract a capacity 19,000 crowd at the
all-seater enclosure, at which the Saints have made only one previous
appearance.

On the way to the final Saints won 42-14 at Keighley and 38-26 at Hull,
while Halifax were defeated 46-18 and
Warrington by a record 80-0 at Knowsley Road.

Saturday's match will be televised on the BBC 'Grandstand' programme
from 2.45pm, with a preview featuring Saints'
skipper Bobbie Goulding and Wigan leader Shaun Edwards due to be
screened at 1.15pm.

Police have suggested the following route for Saints' fans: Leave M62 at
junction 25. At roundabout take third exit
towards Huddersfield. Proceed for a mile to small roundabout. Head left
along Leeds Road for 2 miles. Turn left at St.
Andrew's Road. Turn left at first set of traffic lights into Stadium
Way.

The referee is Mr. Russell Smith of Castleford.

Saints' only previous appearance in the final - when the competition was
dubbed the John Player Special Trophy - was in
1988, when they defeated Leeds by 15-14 at Central Park, Wigan.

The Saints' line-up was: Veivers; Tanner, Loughlin, Elia, Quirk; Cooper
(captain), Holding; Burke, Groves, Souto,
Forber, Haggerty, Platt. Substitutes Ledger, Evans. Saints will play
London Broncos at Knowsley Road on Wednesday,
January 17, kick-off 7.30pm.

Saints' table-topping Alliance team travel to Dewsbury tonight,
Thursday, kick-off 7.30pm.

The Academy side defeated Bradford Bulls 34-10 at Knowsley Road on
Monday night. Tries were scored by Capewell
(2), Cross (2), Murphy, Briers and Paul Haigh, while Capewell (2) and
Briers kicked the goals.

The Rugby League board of directors imposed a fine of 10,000 on Saints
last week for failing to field their strongest
possible side at Wigan on Boxing Day. Payment of 5,000 of the fine was
suspended until December 31, 1996.

Club chief executive David Howes has announced that his next
'meet-the-fans' forum will be held at Knowsley in
February on a date yet to be finalised.

Forthcoming events in the Phil Veivers testimonial include: Race nights
at the Anfield Arms tomorrow , Friday, and at Parr
Labour Club, Tuesday, January 23. Sporting forum at St. Helens Cricket
Club, Friday, January 19. Guests Vila Matautia,
Chris Joynt, Scott Gibbs. Tickets 3. Bavarian Foot-stompers, Birchley
St. Mary's Club, Friday, January 26, 5. Further
details St. Helens 737917. Oops! Several readers, including Brian
Williams, Eric Lawton and 'Bruk lad' have pointed out
that I was wrong in stating in last week's edition that Saints have
never played in the Second Division. Further study of the
Rothman's Rugby League Yearbook revealed that the Knowsley Road team
appeared in the lower division in season
1903-04 and won promotion at the end of that campaign. They then
finished bottom in 1905-06 but fortunately for Saints
the Second Division was abolished.

Back to the news and sport index.

        I've only been from London.  First you get on the M1 and
        follow the signs for "The North".  Once you get to Derby
        you start seeing signs for "The Grim North".  At Sheffield
        that changes to "Yes, It Does Get Grimmer Than This",
        then when you see the sign that says "Are You Quite Sure
        About This?" bung a left.  Just head for anywhere beginning
        with a silent "H" (as in "Alifax" "Uddersfield" "Olmfirth")
        and you can't go far wrong after that:-)

David Williams - Hull, England