Round 8 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition sees the Young Yabbies host the Grenfell Panthers at the home of Young Rugby, Cranfield Oval. Round 8 also sees the Yabbies celebrating their Sponsors & Old Boys Day, which includes over 3 hours of action packed rugby consisting of:
Under 12's Young v Grenfell @ 1.15pm
Old Boys Young v Grenfell @ 2.15pm
First Grade Young v Grenfell @ 3.15pm
In the theme of Old Boys day the Yabbies will take to the field in cotton jerseys which will be sold through a silent auction throughout the day which will be announced after the post-match speeches at the Australian Hotel Young.
There a few changes to the Yabbies First XV this week with a few injuries in the squad after some hard hit-outs in recent weeks.
The Forward Pack
The Front Row sees a slight change this week with Jeshua Smith returning to the First XV as Tighthead Prop to replace the injured Tom Wills. Jesh will be joined in the engine room by Hooker Will Munday and Loosehead Prop Hagon Williams. The Second Row this week is changed with Dan Cormie returning from injury to partner up with Rowan Daley. Again this week the Back Row consists entirely of Dan's with Dan O'Connor and Dan Parker solidifying their starting positions as Flankers with stand-out performances throughout the season and Dan Dowson anchoring the scrum and leading from the back in the No. 8 position.
The Backs
The Backs this week will be commanded, as usual, by the pairing of Brendan Shoard as Flyhalf and Captain Coach Ned Mullany as Scrumhalf. The Centres this week will see the return of Jesse Pittman and Nick Schiller as Inside and Outside Centre, who will be sure to run hard and straight. Some solid performances through the year has cemented Beau O’Connor on one Wing, with Hugh McInerney recently returning to the Yabbies fold to take up his residence on the other Wing. This week will see the return of one of last year's solid imports Angus "Shrek" Crawford as Fullback.
The Bench
This week the Yabbies’ First XV will be complemented by a string of high-calibre substitutes including Ben Fuller, Ed Brand, Tom Hurley, Cooper Green, Ash Byers-Pointer, Hugh Wills and Cam Rosser.
After a 10-10 draw in Round 1, both sides will be out to prove themselves in this weekend's clash, which should prove to be quite the spectacle. Coach Ned Mullany commented "The momentum in this squad is building. Every week we're playing better Rugby, making better tackles and developing our structures. This week will be tough, especially in front of the size crowd that there will be at Cranfield Oval, but if we stick to what we've been discussing and working at training this week, we'll make sure the crowd gets a hell of a show!"
The weather for this weekend is expected to be nice & fresh, with a top of 16°C predicted for this Saturday in Young, but the cooler weather isn’t expected to dampen the festivities planned for this weekend! As always, a Rugby match means that there is a high chance of some delicious cold beers for Supporters on the sidelines and in the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition it means that there is an excellent chance of some highly competitive and entertaining Rugby.
So, come on down to Cranfield Oval to see the Young Yabbies take on the Grenfell Panthers and join in the festivities this Saturday 1st June, with festivities kicking off from 1.15pm.
Always remember - Saturday’s a Rugby Day!
