Coley Scores Again as England Reach Final
October 31, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
England scored eight tries to one in their 42-4 win over France which sets up a European Nations Cup final showdown with Ireland in Warrington next Sunday.
Leeds winger Mark Calderwood and club-mate Rob Burrow each scored a hat-trick of tries and others came from Hull winger Gareth Raynor and Salford forward Andy Coley.
Wigan hooker Wayne Godwin kicked five goals and Warrington centre Ben Westwood was named man of the match.
France’s try came from centre Arnaud Dulac while Wakefield forward Olivier Elima was named as their man of the match.
THe win means Salford and England Head Coach Karl Harrison will come up against Karl Fitzpatrick and Stuart Littller at the Halliwell Jones in the final. Fitzpatrick inspired Ireland to their win over Scotland to reach their first ever international final.
Reds help GB with Aussie Preparations
October 30, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Great Britain continued their preparations for the Gillette Tri Nations Series with a full work out at The Willows on Wednesday.
Under the watchful eye of Head Coach, Brian Noble and Team Manager, Phil Clarke, the GB squad, including many of the Grand Finalists from Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls, undertook a testing training session in some bitingly cold, but clear weather.
Salford born forward, Adrian Morley, told us “I’m really looking forward to this test series. It’s going to be a corker.”
“I’m enjoying being back home, seeing all my family and friends and I can’t wait to play in these games. We stand a really good chance of winning matches.”
“Playing in the City of Manchester Stadium will be something special. It’s pretty much my home territory and I think there’ll be a lively crowd in to enjoy the game.”
Fans who have not yet bought tickets for the event are advised that they are now on sale direct from the Stadium ticket office as well as the usual Rugby League Events hotline and website.
The telephone number for the City Of Manchester Stadium is 0870 0621894.
Supporters can also book 24 hours a day by calling 0870 9901313 or visiting www.superleague.co.uk
Over 30,000 tickets have been sold at the 48,000 capacity stadium and demand for tickets is high with many supporters experiencing difficulties in getting through on the hotline number. Advice from the Rugby League Events team is that although the wait may be frustrating, callers should persevere and the call will be dealt with as soon as possible. Alternatively, try the City of Manchester stadium direct or log on to the events website.
Fitzy Helps Ireland to Victory
October 30, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Halifax hooker Phil Cantillon led an incredible second half comeback by Ireland in Navan as they bounced back from 10-3 down at half-time to thrash Scotland and earn a place in the European Nations Cup final.
The Ireland skipper scored four of their seven second half tries as Scotland crumbled.
But man of the match was Karl Fitzpatrick, the Salford scrum-half, who scored two tries, kicked two goals and tormented Scotland throughout a torrid second half.
The visitors, who had controlled much of the first half, were down to 12 men shortly after the break when Salford prop Neil Lowe was sin-binned for blocking Fitzpatrick off the ball.
In his absence Fitzpatrick and then Cantillon both crossed the try line to put Ireland ahead for the first time.
Scotland were struggling but seemed to be holding on until Fitzpatrick intercepted an Andrew Henderson pass and sprinted half the length of the field to open up a nine point lead.
Scotland collapsed in the final quarter with Cantillon taking advantage of a loose ball to score from close range, then Fitzpatrick sending Ged Corcoran in the clear to put Ireland out of reach.
In the final two minutes Cantillon completed his hat-trick and then raced clear for his fourth try of an exhilarating evening.
Reds Present Lottery Cheque to Bone Marrow Appeal
October 25, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Representatives of Salford City Reds “Golden Bond Lottery”, Robin Taylor and Jeff Hockin made a special visit to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to present a cheque for £500.00 to the Bone Marrow Unit Appeal.
Local celebrity DJ Mike Sweeney was on hand to accept the cheque on behalf of the charity.
“This donation is to be the first of many that the Bone Marrow Unit Appeal will be receiving from the Golden Bond Lottery” said Lottery Manager, Lee Cummins.
“The idea came to us several months ago, when we were looking at furthering our existing relationship with the charity. We decided that we would make donations to the charity in line with the increased number of players taking part in our weekly lottery draw. The more people we have that play – the more money we can donate to this very special cause.”
“We were delighted to be making our first donation before Christmas and look forward to presenting further donations during the next Super League season.”
Anyone wishing to join the Golden Bond Lottery should telephone 0161-925-0394 or visit the Lottery section on RedPlanet.
Coley Scores Hat-Trick in England Romp
October 24, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Russia 4 – England 98 (HT 0-48)
England overpowered Russia with a 17-try victory in their opening European Nations Cup match in Moscow.
England romped to a 48-0 lead at half-time and were 98-0 up when Russia finally scored in the 79th minute. Hull’s Gareth Raynor and Salford’s Andy Coley both notched hat-tricks, and Lee Greenwood, Luke Robinson and Ben Westwood all touched down twice. The other tries came from Wayne Godwin, Kirk Yeaman, Eorl Crabtree, Richard Whiting and Stuart Jones.
Godwin finished with a personal haul of 34 points after kicking 15 of his 17 conversion attempts. Karl Harrison’s team also had four tries disallowed as they missed out on beating their record 102-0 victory over the Russians at Bradford a year ago.
England, who fly to Paris on Monday to prepare for Saturday’s group decider with France in Avignon, emerged injury free from a match played on artificial grass.
Reds Make England Squad
October 18, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Salford and England Head Coach Karl Harrison has selected two City Reds players in his squad for the European Nations Cup. Salford already have three in the Irish squad but now Andy Coley and new boy Luke Robinson will report for international duty in Moscow to face the Russians this weekend.
City Reds skipper Malcolm Alker had earlier ruled himself out of the competition to allow his ligament injury to fully heal before Super League X. England will be captained by Bradford Bulls’ Rob Parker.
England squad:-
1. Sean Briscoe (Hull FC)
2. Rob Burrow (Leeds Rhinos)
3. Mark Calderwood (Leeds Rhinos)
4. Andy Coley (Salford City Reds)
5. Eorl Crabtree (Huddersfield Giants)
6. Ewan Dowes (Hull FC)
7. Wayne Godwin (Wigan Warriors)
8. Lee Greenwood (London Broncos)
9. Stuart Jones (Huddersfield Giants)
10. Jamie Langley (Bradford Bulls)
11. Andy Lynch (Castleford Tigers)
12. Richard Mathers (Leeds Rhinos)
13. Rob Parker (Bradford Bulls and captain)
14. Gareth Raynor (Hull FC)
15. Luke Robinson (Salford City Reds)
16. Nick Scruton (Leeds Rhinos)
17. Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves)
18. Richard Whiting (Hull FC)
19. Jon Wilkin (St Helens)
20. Kirk Yeaman (Hull FC
Harrison Lures Lowes to The Willows
October 16, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Salford City Reds continue their impressive rebuilding program with the recruitment of James Lowes, Assistant Coach of the World Champions – the Bradford Bulls.
Anybody who has watched rugby league for the past 16 years will be aware of the fearsome reputation the 1997 Man of Steel held on the pitch and now after a year second in command to GB coach Brian Noble, Jimmy joins his old pal Karl Harrison in charge at The Willows.
Lowes 16-year career spans Hunslet, Leeds and Bradford and he has won every major honour in the game. His departure from Odsal will surprise many as he joins the team already in place at Salford.
It is another major coup for the Reds who are making people sit up in the wake of their recent signings and progression of their new stadium.
The Reds have also been linked in the press with several high-profile NRL stars for the 2006 season.
It’s still only 12 months since pundits made the Reds cast-iron certainties for the drop at the end of the 2004 season but after an impressive return to the big-league it seems as though one of the former giants of the game is finally starting to stir from its slumber.
Reds Set to Star for Ireland
October 16, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Three City Reds stars are set to play in the European Nations Cup campaign starting in Wales tomorrow.
The Wolfhounds include Stuart Littler, Karl Fitzpatrick and Anthony Stewart in the squad for the game at Aberavon RU.
Fitzpatrick said: “We’ve been training hard in Leeds for the last fortnight, we’ve got a good bunch of lads and I think we’ll go alright.”
The Irish have already recorded a historic first win over England this season and will be looking forward to the competition. Their second game is against Scotland on October 29.
We’ll be catching up with Karl early next week to find out about his Irish experiences in his latest column.
Ireland Squad:
D Bates (Halifax), P Cantillon (Halifax), M Cassidy (Wigan), C De Chenu (Sheffield Eagles), L Doran (Oldham), I Dowling (Kilkenny Wildcats), T Gallagher (Leeds), K Fitzpatrick (Salford), D Foy (Kerry Kings), S Littler (Salford), S Manuel (Kilkenny Wildcats), R Marshall (Leigh), C Maye (Swinton), M McConnell (Barrow), P Purdue (Clontarf Bulls), R Smyth (Leigh), P Southern (Rochdale), A Stewart (Salford), P Weisner (Halifax).
Australian Uni Champs Head for Salford
October 13, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Salford University v UTS Jets (University champions of Australia)
Friday October 15
The Willows
Kickoff 7:30pm
Admission: £3 / £1 (conc)
The Jets are touring Britain and France during October and Salford University is the only club side on their agenda.
Their schedule will see them playing South London Storm, North East universities, Salford Uni and Great Britain students before going onto France. Come along to the Willows and see the future stars of the Kangaroos on this very special night for student rugby league.
Reds Land Highly Rated Dickens
October 9, 2004 by Paul Mc · Comments Off
Salford City Reds have swooped to hold off a number of other Super League clubs and have landed the signature of Featherstone Rovers highly-rated forward Stuart Dickens.
24-year-old Dickens has been turning Super League heads with his impressive performances in NL1 and attracted the attention of Steve Simms and Karl Harrison who have signed him on a one year deal.
Simms said today: “Stuart is a very talented forward. He has had a fine season at Featherstone and we see him as a very useful asset to our squad for next season.”
Dickens will join ex-Parramatta centre Junior Langi, Wigan duo David Hodgson and Luke Robinson and Warrington centre or second rower Ian Sibbit at the Willows next year.
