Top two get ready for county showdown

By BEN JAYCOCK

PREVIEW…

Lancashire v Kent

Today. Kick-off 4pm, Twickenham Stadium

THE Bill Beaumont County Cup has been overlooked and underfunded by the RFU in recent years, but finalist head coaches Taff Gwilliam and Alex Loney both still see the competition as the ‘lifeblood' of the community game ahead of today's final at Twickenham.

Gwilliam's Kent meet Loney's Lancashire at the home of English rugby with both sides unbeaten so far in this year's competition.

The Division 1 competition was split into two pools of four separated into north and south with the winner of each meeting in the final.

Lancashire topped the North after beating Cheshire 54-19, followed by a 44-39 away triumph over Hertfordshire and a narrow 29-28 win at Yorkshire, with their potent attack scoring 127 points.

“It's a big part of the calendar for everyone involved in our county. So, we feel really fortunate to be involved in this traditional group format,” said Loney.

“We're really excited and that was the message we gave at the end of our tight game against Yorkshire as there were a lot of tired bodies out there. The key message this week was to get excited because it's going to be a good occasion.

“The key is to not get too carried away though with the occasion and celebrating what we've already achieved because we made it to the final. Instead we're focused on being at our best on Sunday to hopefully get that win.”

Kent topped the South with a 20-15 win at home to Hampshire before a 43-7 victory against Somerset and then the club's first ever win at Cornwall in a 34-31 thriller. Gwilliam said: “We've had a great time this year winning all three pool games and to then beat Cornwall for the first time in our history is significant for our current crop of players.

“This is something that has really been in the making for sometime and we're glad that we've made the jump to a Division 1 side and that's tribute to the players and the coaching staff.

“We haven't played them much historically, so we know very little about them but if you look at the team sheet and the clubs they come from, it's mainly Fylde. They like to play an expansive game and on a nice wide pitch like Twickenham why not?”

The County Cup feels undervalued more than ever with multiple counties not involved in this year's competition but with the carrot of a Twickenham final at stake, both Loney and Gwilliam share how much it means to both clubs.

Loney said: “It's really important. For someone who's been involved in National League rugby as a player and the County Championship, moving into coaching and speaking to the players they've all had such a good exrience and look forward to it each season.

“It's not a hardship getting players available after a league season. When we play local counties it's a really good atmosphere with very skilful rugby. You get the opportunity to play at Twickenham if you do well which is hard to replicate at National League level. If they take it away or muck around with it too much it would be a massive shame because the lifeblood of rugby outside professional level is through events and competitions like this. England Counties has been disbanded in recent years, so I hope nothing too drastic happens to this.”

Gwilliam added: “The community game, in both the men's and U20s County Championship, need to be recognised by the RFU as the foundations of the game in this country and they clearly need to rethink their policy. Without grassroots rugby you don't have a professional game.”