Hop, hop, hurray

PROUD: Hopwood Hall skipper Liam Whalley shows off the silverware. With him are: assistant coach Miles Greenwood (back, left), Conor Jackson, Stevie Williams, Josh Watson, Jack Ashworth, Sean Mulcahy, Michael Lockwood, Ryan Bradbury, Jacob Nicholson, Ciarran Brogan, Luke Kavanagh, coach Matt Calland (coach). Kieran Harmer (front left), Jordan Riding, Jason Rigby, Jake Boardman, Jack Cooke, Dylan Ault, Terence Houldsworth and Josh Maskew.

RUGBY: HOPWOOD Hall, featuring a clutch of Oldham players, are counting down to the national quarter-finals of the Carnegie Colleges’ Cup.

The students boast home advantage for the last-eight tie, with Cumbria the visitors to the campus on Wednesday, April 25 (kick-off 2pm).

Hopwood, coached by Matt Calland and his assistant Oldham RL full-back Miles Greenwood, are hoping to go one better than 12 months ago when they lost to Wakefield in the final. They won the competition in 2010 with victory over Leeds.

The team is chasing a notable treble after clinching the North-West Colleges title for the third consecutive year and coming out on top in the North-West Colleges’ League Premier Division. Oldhamers Josh Watson, Michael Lockwood, Ryan Bradley, Dylan Ault and Josh Maskew are all team members.