Preview : Scorpions v Hove Sunday 4th December

Record numbers at training on Wednesday do not alter the fact that Ipswich Scorpions travel to Hove with a makeshift XV on Sunday.

The team management is desperately trying to find players to provide substitute cover in case of injury as only 15 regular players are available for the first return match of the season, following Hove’s 32-17 victory in Ipswich’s first match of the season at Humber Doucy Lane.

LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Inspirational Ipswich number eight Mary Hickey steps up the take the captaincy against Hove on Sunday. Photo: Dave Lintott

Ipswich’s captain, Emily-Jane Stearn, has retired for the season and former captain Suzanne Norton has had to cut her comeback short due to a recurrence of an old leg injury. Flyhalf Vicky Archer has work commitments which she is trying to rearrange but in these three players’ absence the squad is shorn of anyone with experience at flyhalf.

Number Eight Mary Hickey is promoted to captain for the 2pm match and will lead the team for the first time. Squad captain Paula Donnelly-Downs is still recovering from a calf operation.

“I’m more concerned about the lack of cover in the case of injury than of players having to play out of position,” said coach Dave Lintott. “Hove are infamous in this league for their ‘no-prisoners’ approach and I don’t want any of the players feeling they have to play on with injury as that is not our policy.”

“I’ve been involved in matches in the past where the strong team sense of loyalty has resulted in some players refuse to come off because they know there isn’t cover. As a team we have to place high importance on team safety and this is why we’ve tried to build such a big squad.”

A late twist of luck has seen several new players become involved in the Scorpions development squad this week, with the arrival of nineteen-year-old Cassandra Julin, a Swedish student at the University of Essex who is an experienced winger but recovering from a broken collarbone.

Winger Eleri Williams, 27, also joins the team but may not be available on Sunday. Army helicopter technician Michelle Giggs, 27, has joined the development squad and has shown talent in the backline at training.

The team’s new physio, 21-year-old Charlotte Miller, has been another welcome addition to the Scorpions’ setup but is unavailable this Sunday. Miller joined the team during the successful Boudicca cup tournament and the squad have benefited from her presence at trainings and against Blackheath two weeks ago.

Of the twenty-three players at training on Wednesday night, fourteen are not available to play on Sunday, although seven of these are either under 17 at the cut-off date, September 1, or part of the development squad and not ready to play.

Last week’s player-of-the-match, flanker Zoe March, is unavailable to play on Sunday alongside lock Amanda Brooks-Sellers, centre Jo Calver and two development players, Kat Ludwig and Lorraine Oldale, who have work commitments.

Former player-of-the-season Vicky Bradshaw has been called up for the match but lacks match fitness which means that flyhalf will be covered by centre Jessica Fletcher. Georgina Whitfield and Gudrun Wright are both thrust back into action upon their return from injury.

Lock Louise Blundell is the only reserve cover for Sunday’s match but for health reasons but has only played twenty minutes of this season and lacks the required fitness to provide full forward cover.

THE MAGIC TOUCH: New Ipswich Scorpions physio Charlotte Miller is a welcome addition to the team but has family commitments on Sunday so the team travel to Brighton without medical support. Photo: Dave Lintott.

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