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Matson are fired up as they chase place at Twickenham in RFU Intermediate Cup

All Areas > Sport

Author: Roger Jackson, Posted: Friday, 19th April 2019, 09:00

John Hennessy Picture, Shaun Lafferty John Hennessy Picture, Shaun Lafferty

Matson will be roared on by a couple of hundred of their supporters when they take on Old Colfeians in their RFU Intermediate Cup semi-final on Saturday.

The prize for the winners couldn’t be a bigger – a place in the final at Twickenham on Sunday 5th May.

So it’s no wonder that Matson talisman John Hennessy, who has done so much for the club over the years, described it as “the biggest game in the club’s history”.

Matson have reached this stage of the competition before, losing out to Tunbridge Wells three years ago, but second row Hennessy is convinced that they will go one better this time around.

For a start they had a pretty impressive warm-up, beating Coney Hill 41-0 on Tuesday night to book a place in the North Gloucestershire Combination Senior Cup final.

“That was better than any training session,” said Hennessy. “They’re our biggest rivals and we played really well.

“It was a really good physical preparation for Saturday.”

Matson’s players are travelling down on Friday and while Hennessy admits he doesn’t know much about Old Colfeians, their league record suggests that the Gloucester club, who finished third in Western Counties North, have a great opportunity.

They finished fifth in London Two South East – winning 13 of their 22 games – after suffering relegation last season and Hennessy said: “They’ve lost a few games I think we’ve got a chance.”

And Hennessy is also drawing on the experience of that defeat at Tunbridge Wells in 2016 to drive him and his team-mates forward.

“We failed last time but I think we’ve got a better chance this time because we know what to expect,” he said.

And what would it mean to the club, who were founded in 1957, if they were to play at the home of English rugby next month?

“It would mean everything,” said Hennessy. “We’re just a small council estate club in Gloucester, but everyone at the club is buzzing. I’m really looking forward to the game.”

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