HEAD COACH NOTES A warm welcome to all players, officials, spectators and sponsors to Gorton Street. Today we celebrate the generosity of those who have contributed this season. It is my hope that you enjoy your day and accept our most sincere thanks for your valued and continued support. Today the 1XV welcome Manchester RFC for the return fixture. Back in October at Grove Park it was a close contest for an hour until the hosts secured victory with tries in last 20 mins. The brains of our more seasoned campaigners will need to be picked for the last occasion we welcomed our visitors to Gorton Street, such has been Eccles rise and Manchester’s unfortunate fall in recent seasons. Manchester arrive flying high in the league on good form which will prove to be a real test for us this afternoon. We will be facing this challenge on the back of some positive results in the league with wins in our last two home fixtures. The lads are keen to keep this momentum flowing into the final stages of what has been a difficult season. Best of luck to both teams. We also have the pleasure today of welcoming Bromyard RFC, a touring team from Herefordshire to play our 3XV. It’s always a pleasure to welcome tourists who always bring their own mixture of chaos and fun. It gives our casual and vets a rare opportunity to dust off the box of tricks and the Woolworths boots to run out in the Eccles hoops, something which gives us great pride. I’m sure a game of real quality will be discussed in the bar afterwards and only improve as the night goes on! Best of luck to all players pulling on the Navy and White this weekend, our opponents and match officials. Sam Simpson, DOR / Head Coach, Eccles RFC
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