Women’s RL Champions and reigning Women’s Challenge Cup holders Thatto Heath St Helens take on the French Champions Biganos at Thatto Heath’s Crusader Park on Sunday 15th May 2016 kick off at 4pm.
Thatto Heath St Helens
Thatto Heath are in good shape after coming off the back of a cup win against Normanton Knights but they encounter a Biganos side also in rich form after a resounding 92 – 0 win at the weekend and who are on a 10 game winning run, The French champions are littered with quality players with around 7 French internationals making the trip over for the mouth-watering clash.
Mark Brennan Thatto Heath Head Coach said ‘This is a great challenge for the players, playing against a touring team is always a huge honour for any player but to host and play against the French champions is great and is a credit to the hard work the players put in winning the championship last year’
‘To get the 2 best teams in France and England playing against each other can only be good for the international game and player development as a whole.
The Biganos coach Jacques Sarramona added ‘For us, competing with an English rugby team means assessing the rugby skills of our players and trying to improve them through international games. Our nations are fond of rugby and the girls are very involved in it. We must attempt to fill the gap between the North and the South hemispheres to be competitive face to Australia and New Zealand and to show them that Europe is a great rugby nation.’
The day will start at 2pm when Thatto Heath St Helens Ladies Reserves take on Wigan St Pats in the Round 5 of the Women’s RL with the Hanstock Timber European Challenge kicking off at 4.00pm.
The Thatto Heath Coach has stressed the importance of both games ‘Both these games are really important to us, Wigan St Pats are unbeaten this season so this will be a very tough game but it’s one we are going out to win as we are aiming to finish this first part of the season in 2nd place. The French game is important for very different reasons as it’s an international fixture with a trophy on the line, and we will be working hard to be crowned the best Women’s team in Europe.’
Women’s RL Competition Officer Lindsay Crompton added: “This is a welcome development for Women’s Rugby League in this country and is a great reflection on both clubs for making it happen. On behalf of the League I would like to wish all involved on the day the very best of luck for what should be a great occasion”
Entrance to the game is free while there will be raffles on the day to help raise funds to support Thatto Heath in raising money for a return fixture in France in February 2017 as part of their pre-season preparations.
Report courtesy of Thatto Heath.
