Aberavon Fighting Irish travel to Avery Fields in Birmingham this Sunday to take on RFL Championship side Midlands Hurricanes in the second round of the men’s Betfred Challenge Cup (kick-off 5pm).
It’s a later start than normal due to other events on at Avery Sports Fields earlier in the day.
The Welsh club qualified by beating Banbridge Broncos in Northern Ireland a fortnight ago, which was the first Challenge Cup win in the club’s history in their first-ever match outside of Wales.
But now they have a tougher task as they face a professional club for the first time in their first trip to England, and their coach Dean Scully knows that his side have to prepare well.
He said: “It was a challenging trip to Ireland to say the least, it was uncharted waters for us as a group, we had not travelled further than Torfaen, never mind using flights and coaches.
“I’m really pleased for the club as we overcame the challenge and got the victory we deserved. It could have gone either way late in the second half, but the boys dug in and ground out our first-ever Challenge Cup win, which makes me immensely proud.
“The Challenge Cup win was a missing piece in our club’s history, and now that’s done, the pressure is of,f and we can travel up to the Midlands on Sunday and give a good account of ourselves. We know this game will bring different challenges, and the players themselves are looking forward to testing themselves at the next level.
“My players and staff have shown great commitment considering the Challenge Cup comes in the middle of the rugby union season. It’s a pleasure to be on this journey with our special group and also see the growth over the last few years, reaching four consecutive Welsh Grand Finals.
“We are going from strength to strength whilst trying to promote and build our sport down in South Wales. Hopefully, the win in Northern Ireland will help us gather momentum and support outside of Port Talbot and look to the future of our great club and Rugby League in Wales.
“Lastly, it goes without saying that I would like to personally thank all who support us. None of our efforts would be possible without the help of our sponsors and community, all local companies who support the growth of community sport – Aberavon Harlequins, DW Harris, and in particular J.E.S. Group Ltd and their training arm, The Skills Academy.”
