Modest Bramley prepare to live the dream as Twickenham final awaits

SHOWPIECE finals are supposedly only thought about at the latter stages of competitions, when the whiff of glory gets into the nostrils.

At Bramley Phoenix RUFC at the start of the season they were ignoring everything the sporting cliche manual told them and dreaming of Twickenham as the scent of real ale wafted through their clubhouse at The Warrels.

And tomorrow at headquarters their predictions made with pintpots in hand will come to fruition when the players of Bramley Phoenix walk out at Twickenham to face Teddington in the Junior Vase final.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"You do think about Twickenham when you start the cup competition and you're having a beer with your team-mates in the clubhouse," said head coach Steve Langton, who has guided the club to their first final. "But if you're realistic you know you're up against a lot of top teams, so you don't get carried away."

Bramley Phoenix can be forgiven for dreaming. Theirs has been a modest existence in the Yorkshire leagues.

Founded out of the merger of Bramley Old Boys and Phoenix Park a decade ago, the club have enjoyed a modicum of progress over the last few years thanks to the strength of their youth set-up, a common source of pride and progression for most amateur clubs in the region.

They finished the 2009-10 season in third in Yorkshire Three, and victory tomorrow would provide the clubhouse regulars with plenty of tales to tell in years to come.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It would be great for the players and for the club," said Langton.

"We are a poor club, we have no money and have been trying to secure grants for everything you can imagine.

"This will raise our profile and we can go onwards and upwards from here.

"Everybody has believed in themselves this year, as we have done for a couple of years now, and we played some good rugby to get to the final.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We have always had a strong youth section and this current set of players have grown up with each other.

"Seven or eight years ago they were all playing together in the juniors, and that has been a massive help."

Langton has been in charge for three years after returning to the club he represented as a player following a successful stint in rugby league which led to him being named Cumbria's Man of Steel.

"The players have all seen the statue," joked Langton, "and I've taken plenty of stick for it."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He leads his team out tomorrow as underdogs with opponents Teddington based just a long-range penalty away from Twickenham and one win away from a perfect season.

"They've had three promotions in three years so are a team on the rise," said Langton, whose research into Phoenix's Vase opponents this season has been done on the internet.

Teddington are also coached by Giselle Mather, the former England women's international, and had to play twice as many games to reach the final.

What the internet does not tell you is that they will be wary of the Yorkshire upstarts, who ended another unbeaten record in the semi-final.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Evesham had not lost all season, and hadn't lost on their own ground for two years, so it was superb for us to go there and win 22-5," said Langton.

"The performance of the defence, both backs and forwards, and the team spirit were vital. They just never looked like breaking us.

"In the first 15 minutes they were all over us but could only score one try. We just soaked it up and ground them down."

Danny Allenby was the hero, scoring all four tries.

"He's a footballer usually," Langton continued, "but doesn't know which sport he prefers. Our regular winger was injured and that was Danny's first full game.

"It's fantastic that we've reached Twickenham."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Phoenix will be followed down to south-west London by two coaches and two mini-buses full of fans hoping to enjoy what will be the biggest day in the club's history. Langton said: "We're hoping for about 200 to 250 people there supporting us. And we'll have a great night, win or lose."

With kick-off at 11am, it could be a long afternoon of celebrating.

Related topics: