Macc lads looking to drive Cheshire on
Preview Division 2 Final
Saturday June 15. 11am
BACKED by a strong Macclesfield contingent, Cheshire will be looking for their first piece of silverware since 2009 on Saturday when they take on Oxfordshire in the Division 2 final.
Cheshire were relegated from Division 1 last term following three heavy defeats having reached the showpiece final in 2022, 2019 and 2016. They came up short in those finals with their last triumph at Twickenham 15 years ago in the County Championship Shield.
Head coach Gareth Davies, who is director of rugby at Championship side Caldy, is full of admiration for newly promoted National Two West side Macclesfield after getting a taste of their ability from this season’s county campaign.
Davies, right, told The Rugby Paper: “It’s rugby in its purest form, lads playing because they love it not just for pay cheques. It’s one of the best groups we’ve had at Cheshire for some time. Everyone’s really excited, we’ve got a WhatsApp group that hasn’t stopped for the last two to three weeks.
“Macc are the backbone of our side, I understand how they got promoted because they are echoes of what we did at Caldy when we went through the leagues.
Long may it continue but they’ve got a tough year in National Two West.
“The Oliver twins (James and Harry) have been fantastic, one plays 8 and the other at 13. Last weekend John O’Donnell at 15 was the standout last weekend, who’s been a bit of a star for Macc this year and proved yet again how good and elusive he is. We’ve probably used 30 players with loads of lads making their debut which is great and bodes well for the county in the future.”
Cheshire beat Northumberland, Staffordshire and Cumbria before last weekend’s semi-final 41-23 victory away at East Midlands.
Their opponents Oxfordshire beat Eastern Counties 50-23 in the opening round before falling short away at East Midlands 45-36 in round 2.
Greg Goodfellow’s side regained momentum with a 34-27 victory over Warwickshire to close out their pool campaign before a 29-17 triumph away at Gloucestershire in last weekend’s semi-finals.
