University to host regional rugby finals

Edge Hill University is to host the finals of a major regional rugby event.

In the University's continuing support of community sport, it is sponsoring the North West Counties Cup which will see the climax of the rugby league competition taking place on Sunday 28 March at Sporting Edge on the Ormskirk Campus.

Six teams are involved - Under 18s, Leigh Miners Rangers and Wigan St Judes, Under 17s, Crosfields (Warrington) and Halton Farnworth Hornets (Widnes), and the under 16s finalists are due to be confirmed imminently. The League's teams are based across the region, from Cheshire in the South, to Cumbria in the North.

Paul Greenwood, Head of Sport and Leisure Facilities, said: "The University has a strong commitment to community sport and we are delighted to host this great rugby competition.

"We have some excellent facilities here at Sporting Edge and we hope these young rugby stars will enjoy playing here. A number of local sport clubs are already based on the University campus and we hope that if our recently announced proposals to expand our facilities are given the go-ahead, we will be able to significantly expand Sporting Edge's community links in the future."

The recent snow and cold weather has proved a challenge for the young players with many games being postponed - though last year the competition was cancelled altogether due to bad weather. The North West Counties League has an agreement with the Rugby Football League that games will not be played after March 31 so that the players are able to have a break, which leads to a tight schedule of fixtures at the end of the season.

North West Counties League Chairman Hilary Steel said: "When plans began for this competition last year, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. However, we never thought that we would lose around 10 weekends due to the extraordinary bad weather!

"Luckily, we started the first rounds quite early on in the season so we managed to get to the finals before the March 31 deadline.

"We are very much looking forward to playing at Edge Hill and hope the teams enjoy the experience."

The finals start at 11am on Sunday 28 March at Sporting Edge. Spectators are welcome.