Rugby League: Crusaders aiming to do Halifax double

Apr 5 2008 by Delme Parfitt, South Wales Echo

CELTIC Crusaders will travel to Yorkshire tomorrow for a Northern Rail Cup clash against Halifax which will be the second meeting between the two rugby league clubs in as many weekends.

The Crusaders took first blood last Saturday with an excellent 26-18 win in torrential conditions in Wales, inflicting only the second defeat of the season on the Yorkshire side, giving the visitors a boost for this tough knockout tie.

This match is the first of four gruelling away trips in a row for the Crusaders, a tour that will take them to Whitehaven, Widnes and of course the current Super League and World Champions Leeds Rhinos, who they face in a Challenge Cup match on Friday, April 18, at Headingley.

In this stage of the Northern Rail Cup last year, the Crusaders knocked out Hunslet Hawks before falling to Halifax in the quarter-finals.

The Crusaders have named a very strong squad of 18 for the trip, with Terry Martin the only man missing from last week’s win. Martin broke his leg in the win over Halifax and will now be out for up to three months. Jamie I’Anson replaces him. Luke Dyer is still injured but is expected to return later this month.

Celtic Crusaders (from): T Duggan, P Ballard, J Hannay, M Dalle Cort, M Lennon, A Blackwood, I Webster, J Van Dijk, D Tangata-Toa, N Budworth, J James, C Beasley, D Mapp, D Quinn, N Wyatt, A Summers, J I’Anson, G Dean.