EDF Energy Cup - : Sutton Coldfield set for biggest game in history

Sutton Coldfield set for biggest game in history

11 March 2008, 11:49 am

It will be all hands to the pump at Walmley Road on Saturday when Sutton Coldfield play the biggest match in their history, the EDF Energy Senior Vase semi-final against Hartpury College.

The tie is expected to attract a four-figure crowd to Sutton's well-appointed ground and the Midlands Three West (South) club are prepared for the surge in interest.

"There has been a lot of local interest and we are expecting a crowd of around 1,000," said Sutton coach Matt Nevitt.

"We had between 600 and 700 in for our sixth round game against Old Halesonians and we are expecting more for what is the biggest game in our history.

"The committee have been busy preparing for the game and all the other sides in the club have cancelled their fixtures for Saturday so that the players can help out on the day, making sure that everything goes smoothly."

The represents one part of a possible double for Sutton who are currently top of their league. While promotion is their priority, Nevitt set his side the target of winning the Vase before the start of the season.

"For most clubs getting to Twickenham is a faraway dream at the start of the season but I actually targeted the Vase back in the summer," Nevitt said.

"Promotion is the priority but I thought that the Vase would be the icing on the cake and that we had the potential to do very well.

"I think that we have one of the best level seven sides around and if we had a little bit of luck then we could do very well in this competition."

Having beaten a strong Horden side on the Durham coast in the quarter-finals, Sutton now face another stern test in Hartpury who won the EDF Energy Junior Vase last season.

The Gloucestershire side have a close association with the Gloucester Academy and have former Wales assistant coach Allan Lewis as their dircector of rugby. But Lewis is in his final weeks at Hartpury having recently signed a two-year contract to become the new director of rugby at National One strugglers Pertemps Bees.

"We are well aware of their Gloucester links and their pedigree," Nevitt said.

"We will prepare as best we can, focus on our own game and hope that the bounce of the ball goes our way."

The majority of Sutton's players are products of the club's thriving junior section and the average age of the team is 22, though captain Michael Styles, an influential back-row player, is 31.

Scrum-half Luke Ward had a spell playing for Moseley's Colts team and former England Under-18 winger Nathan Burchell is a former Worcester Academy player.

Burchell had a period out of rugby after he left Worcester but he joined Sutton during the summer and has recently returned to action after two months out with a rib injury.

Burchell remains a prolific try-scorer but it is full-back Matt Gillick who has scored most tries for Sutton this season in their attempt to complete a trophy double.

"When you get to this stage of a national cup it is inevitable that people will start thinking about Twickenham," said Nevitt, a former Sutton centre. "That's the talk around the club but not in the squad. All we are concentrating on is Saturday's game and trying to beat Hartpury."