Frustration for Walsham

THE postponement of North Walsham's scheduled game against Old Albanians means that if this Saturday's rearranged game at Haywards Heath goes ahead it will be a full four weeks since the players enjoyed competitive rugby.

During the break and again on Saturday afternoon the North Walsham coaches put the players through their drills, but no amount of training can make up for the competitive atmosphere of a league game.

Due to waterlogged and unplayable surfaces in late November and mid-December this will be the third attempt to get this league game out of the way.

With the relative positions of the sides, the West Sussex side currently occupy bottom place, just below Walsham and those above, Sutton and Epsom and Tring, one point to the good, having played one game more and not in action this weekend a win for Walsham would move them two places up the table.

There was genuine disappointment that Saturday's game could not go ahead as there was a positive feeling in the Scottow camp that despite the fact that Old Albanians had won the two previous meetings the tables could be turned.

Unless players have picked up injuries in training it would seem likely that the team selected for last week will be the starting line-up this time around.

That would mean that the pack will be unchanged for the third game in a row and Adam Couzens, a pre-season signing from Wymondham, will at last make his debut in the league side.

It will also mean a rare start for stalwart Karl Rumsby who came off the bench at Luton and, as usual, put in a whole-hearted performance.

The Raiders have also

been starved of action and scheduled opponents Fakenham have called off

due to cup commitments so efforts are being made to bring the visit of Southend forward to fill the void.

The Warriors are due to travel to play Lowestoft and Yarmouth.