York | Archive | 2007 | January | 13

Old boys excited by return to main stage

From the archive, first published Saturday 13th Jan 2007.

DARREN Callaghan and his fellow York Old Boys' are relishing the chance to test themselves against York City Knights' current first-team squad.

A total of 16 former York players will turn out in a Mark Cain Select squad which is to take on the Knights tomorrow in the testimonial for Huntington Stadium favourite Cain, who has had to retire due to injury.

Callaghan is one of the few who still regularly plays - he is a player-coach at local amateurs York Acorn - but he says each and every one of them is looking forward to the chance to shine once again at their old stomping ground.

"We're going out to give the Knights a good game," said Callaghan. "It will be a test but we'll still go out and try to perform as best we can.

"It will be good to play with some of the old colleagues and maybe we can test ourselves again."

Callaghan is one of six veterans in Cain's Select team who, like Cain, played for both the Knights and the old York Wasps club, among other professional outfits. The others are second-row Mick Ramsden, props Craig Forsyth, Rich Hayes and Dan Briggs, and centre Gareth Lloyd.

Three more were favourites at the Knights, namely winger Rob Kama and former Super League stars Lee Jackson, who was capped 17 times by Great Britain, and Chris Smith.

Another six in the squad were Cain's team-mates at the Wasps in the 1990s and early '00s. That sextet comprises props Lea Tichener, Steve Hill, Andy Precious and Craig Booth, loose-forward Paul Darley and hooker Alan Pallister.

Of all these, the only ones still playing are: Callaghan; Kama, who is back with York RUFC after Army duties; Smith and Pallister, who are player-coaches at local amateurs Heworth and New Earswick All Blacks respectively; and Briggs, who is at Heworth. Darley is an Under-21s coach at Doncaster Lakers.

Callaghan added: "Fitness might be an issue but we've got a lot of forwards on the bench and we can interchange a lot and hopefully compete all the way through."

Mike Embleton, the current captain at York Acorn ARLC, also had a trial spell at the Knights in 2003 and is among eight of the city's leading young amateur players who make up the team.

The other seven are: BARLA Great Britain Under-18s hooker Tom Hodgson, BARLA Yorkshire full-back Steve Perks and their New Earswick team-mate Ben Jones, an exciting scrum-half prospect; and Acorn quartet Matt Embleton, Alan Willitts, Danny Liddell - brother of the Knights' Jonny - and James Morrow.

These players will look to make their mark in front of the Knights coaching staff.

Meanwhile, Callaghan, who will be egging the Knights on this season as they look to bounce back up from National League Two, reckons his former Acorn team-mates Liam Gargan, a half-back, and Johnny Waldron, a winger, can make the grade after stepping up to the semi-pro game.

"Liam had a good game against Hunslet on Boxing Day and Johnny has got bags of pace, and I hope they do really well.

"The Knights have signed some good players and there's a few to come back from injury. I reckon they'll go well and good luck to them."