West must believe in the impossible
IT'S like climbing Everest in your T-shirt and trainers. Or racing against Usain Bolt in your wellies. Or your lass ever admitting she's wrong.
Yes, Kelly's talking about mission impossibles here.
I can see you fellas out there nodding at the list of my three opening statements.
At first glance, West Hartlepool's EDF Intermediate Cup quarter-final would fall into those categories.
A tie against a young, vibrant team who have made Twickenham their second home in the last three years has all the makings of home win.
Or can West buck the trend?
Hartpury College's run in cup rugby is something out of the Guinness Book of Records.
* EDF Junior Vase winners 2007, beating Billericay 71-12
* EDF Senior Vase winners 2008, running in 13 tries to hammer Wheatley Hills 83-5
* BUSA Champions 2008, defeating Loughborough in the Universities final.
And that's all been achieved in a whirlwind 25-month period.
True the Gloucestershire club are a big fish in a little pond – they had to start in the bottom league and work their way up.
So they are running away with the Tribute Western Counties North League at an unbelievable pace, they have scored 858 points in 16 matches and lead the division by 11 points.
Hartpury College won by the small matter of 111-20 at Old Centralians on Saturday.
When the draw was made, Kelly must admit there was more chance of me re-marrying the trouble'n'strife than West winning at Hartpury.
But, why shouldn't West win?
West, as they have proved, are a talented side having won three times on the road in the cup already as well as holding down sixth place in their first season back in North Division One.
If Hartpury College sent any spies along to Brinkburn on Saturday, they will have seen some terrific tries in the 32-12 win over Cleckheaton.
West have a core of players with recent National League class and experience – Jamie Connolly, Iain Dixon, Aaron Myers, Iain Robinson, Chris Stewart and Paul Vinnicombe were all in the Mowden Park squad which went so close to promotion to National Division Two last season.
And the likes of Andrew Dixon, Peter Hodgson and Tim Sawyer have also played in the National League so West are not lacking in ability.
It is all about belief.
West must believe and if they do, then perhaps it is not a mission impossible.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Saturday 11 February 2012
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