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NEWS: Lancashire's Senior squad selectors have kept more or less an unchanged team for Saturday's clash with Cheshire at New Brighton.
Seb Moss, who had an outstanding debut against Warwickshire is away with Manchester on his Club tour to Spain, so Waterloo's David York comes in as a straight replacement at No. 8, leaving the rest of the team as started last weekend.
However, they have rung the changes on the bench in an effort to involve as many players as possible from the original 30 man squad, so Craig Aikman, Alex Loney and Alistair Davidson come in as Lancashire strive to keep their momentum in their push to reach Twickenham once more.
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Lancashire's County Championship matches for The Bill Beaumont Cup:
| Date |
Opposition |
Venue |
Kick Off |
Score |
Click... |
| 03-May |
Warwickshire |
Preston Grasshoppers |
3.00pm |
35 - 25 |
Report... |
| 10-May |
Cheshire |
New Brighton (changed venue) |
3.00pm |
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Team... |
| 17-May |
Yorkshire |
Harrogate |
3.00pm |
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Lancashire announce new skipper for the
2008 County Championship campaign
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Life has gone full circle for Jason Duffy, the newly appointed captain of Lancashire for the forthcoming County Championship matches.
Duffy, 22, began his representative career with the County as skipper of the Lancashire Under 13s against Oxfordshire at Chipping Norton and now, ten years on, he aims to take his side to Twickenham and lift 'The Bill Beaumont Cup' at the end of May.
Influenced first by Ian McClaire in the Mini section at Broughton Park, Kevin O'Brien added further to his development as an aggressive, determined inside centre and he rose through both club and county ranks until Phil Leck, previously his county coach at Under 13s, brought him into the the Sale Sharks Premiership club.
At Edgeley Park for two seasons, guided by their Backs coach, Mark Nelson, Jason's top-level career suffered from a broken ankle sustained when playing for the county against Yorkshire, and he spent 2006/07 with Sedgley Park. This season he moved on to Waterloo and, having missed just one match in their league campaign, captained the club, which included a recent defeat against Sedgley Park in the Lancashire Cup Final.
Jason Duffy, Lancashire's Young Player of the Year for 2007, receiving his award from Maurice Parker
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Looking back on recent seasons, Jason - an ever-present wearer of '12' in the red and white hooped age grade shirts - recalls an excellent tour to Canada last summer, "The ten days spent with Lancashire's senior squad last June were the best days of my life". He played in all three matches in Newfoundland and Toronto.
Currently, Jason is one of the growing band of Community Rugby Coaches. Based at Trafford Metrovic he covers the local clubs and schools, managing local festivals and community based rugby camps, all helping to expand the game in the area.
The new skipper will notch up his sixth County Championship appearance when Lancashire, with Mark Nelson as lead coach, meet Warwickshire at Preston Grasshoppers on Saturday, 3rd May (kick off 3.00pm).
Thereafter, the following Saturday (10th) the side is away, against Cheshire at New Brighton, and a week later at Harrogate (17th) for what could be a crucial encounter on the road to Twickenham, a meeting with the old enemy, Yorkshire.
Senior squad to meet at Sale v Newcastle match
A new team has taken over the management of the Lancashire Senior XV, aiming to regain the County Championship at Twickenham at the end of May next year.
David Hodgson, who is well known around the County after his work with the Under 20s, has taken over from Maurice Parker as Chairman of Selectors, and there is a new man in charge of team affairs.
Steve Rigby, after arranging the Canada Tour, has agreed to take on the role.
The 48-year-old has a a rugby background that took him from Hutton Grammar School, to Riyadh Rugby Club and then on to Fylde where after playing he managed the First XV from 2002 to 2005. Steve also represented Lancashire.
Believe it or not from the image, Steve is a Prop. Not only that, the dark arts of the front row are deeply ingrained, he's a Tight Head Prop and still playing for Fylde’s 5th XV, ‘The Vandals’
A travel agent, married with with two children, he has a host of tours to his name: Bahrain, Benidorm, Marbella, Barcelona, Dublin (x3), Ostend/Leuven, Prague, Brussells and Canada (with Lancashire in June 2007).
To read about the Canada Tour, Click here...
The Senior XV's season is short, falling at the end of the League programme and consequently the fixtures all fall at the end of the season, in May. However, already both Dave Hodgson and Steve Rigby have been on scouting missions inside and out ot the county boundaries in pursuit of the best possible Lancashire team.
Steve will be contacting players in the next few weeks who are eligible for the Senior Squad, and would welcome any contact from players, or coaches with suggestions of players, with regard to possible positions in the 2008 County set-up. You can contact Steve on 07831 403400.
