Lancashire Junior Rugby
The ‘Blacksticks Blue’
Junior Challenge Cup
2007/08
Lancashire‟s “Blacksticks Blue” Junior Challenge competition, now under the
new sponsorship of Lancashire‟s award-winning cheese makers, Butler‟s
Farmhouse Cheeses, reaches an exciting finale to its Qualifying Pool stage this
Sunday (3rd Feb). The draw for the knock-out stage follows next Thursday (7th)
The Under 13s stage, with teams involved in county competition for the first time, has
witnessed some epic match since September, but the two catching the eye in Round
Seven are at Widnes and Fylde. Vale of Lune make the furthest journey to Heath Road
in the knowledge that a home win would see the hosts through to the Cup, and the
Lancaster side returning with the Junior Plate to play for.
At Fylde, the home side look to be qualifying for the Challenge Cup and the visitors,
Blackburn, in the Junior Vase but, depending on results elsewhere, both might be in the
hat for the second tier draw, the Junior Plate.
To encourage more balanced fixtures, an innovative seeding system was
adopted this year and the early evidence is that it has worked well.
“The number of conceded matches has greatly reduced, the atmosphere in many of the
game has been more competitive and the standard of rugby has generally been very
high”, said the tournament organisers. “It took some head-scratching before everyone
understood the intention, but we are pleased that the plan appears to have succeeded.”
The Under 14s‟ tie of the round is at Warrington, sharing a similar playing record to
Broughton Park, the winner earning the right to play-off for a Cup place. Fylde could
swap knock-out competitions with Sedgley Park if they pull off an away win in
Manchester, two points behind with five points for a win.
At Under 15s, two Merseyside derby matches dominate the fixture list, Sefton v
Liverpool Collegiate and Waterloo v West Park. Park lie just behind Waterloo and a win
would give them home advantage in the next game. Collegiate travel to Sefton where a
win by „The Gunners‟ on their home patch by more than ten points would see them leap-
frog Collegiate into the Cup, sending them down into the Junior Plate.
Ormskirk Under 16s are looking to April to hold the Lancashire Cup aloft for the fourth
successive year, a unique effort in the competition‟s twenty-year history, but it is the
second-string made out a 55-strong squad that is catching the eye. Their match with
Pool D second place side, Trafford Metrovic will determine who earns the right to play-off
for a place in the knock-out Challenge Cup.
At Preston Grasshoppers, visitors Sedgley park will be hoping that they secure the points
for a quarter-final home draw, whilst at Waterloo, Fylde will be hoping that results go
their way to left them from the Plate competition, depriving neighbours of a Cup berth.
After the preliminary knock out matches on Sunday 17th February, the
“Blacksticks Blue” „Super Sunday‟, i.e. 96 teams in Quarter Finals action across
four age groups and three competitions, is on Sunday, 2nd March, with the Semi
Finals a fortnight later. The Junior Plate and Vase Finals are on Sunday, 6 th
April, followed by the „Blacksticks Blue‟ Junior Challenge Cup Finals on Sunday,
27th April which rounds off the season-long junior rugby campaign.
More information on the Lancashire website: www.rfu.com/clubs/lancashire