DURHAM’S county team will attempt to secure some national glory on Sunday when they grace the hallowed turf of Twickenham in the Division Two final of the Bill Beaumont Senior Men’s County Championship.

The county side, which features players from Darlington Mowden Park, Barnard Castle, Harrogate, Hartlepool Rovers, Middlesbrough, Billingham, Carlisle, West Hartlepool and South Shields Westoe, will take on Warwickshire in Sunday’s final, which kicks off at 5.15pm.

Durham booked their place at Twickenham with three impressive victories that resulted in them topping their qualifying pool. A 64-5 win over Cumbria was followed by a 99-7 thrashing of Staffordshire, before last weekend’s 32-10 success over Leicestershire cemented their final spot.

Chris Wood, Sean Moloney, Conner Foley, Daniel Dixon and Peter Evans scored Durham’s tries in last weekend’s win, and senior men’s manager, Gus Miller, is hoping his side can produce an equally effective display this weekend.

Miller said: “We have had three tough games, but we have gone out and stuck to our game plan and the results have followed.

“The Leicestershire game was a great end to the pool fixtures, it was hard fought and a great note to end on heading into Twickenham.

“The players have come through the set up at all levels and their hard work has paid off. We would like to thank all the players, clubs and volunteers within the County that have contributed along the way.

“We would love as many supporters to come along and share this rare opportunity with us and see us step out at Twickenham Stadium.”

Durham held their final training session at Billingham RFC on Thursday night, and the squad will travel to London tomorrow. Their final will follow England’s game against the Barbarians, which kicks off at 3pm, with a bumper crowd expected to stay in place to watch them.


Durham County (vs Warwickshire): M Connon (Carlisle), M Hopley (Billingham), J McPhillips (Middlesbrough), P Youll (West Hartlepool), S Moloney (Middlesbrough), J Bragman (Darlington Mowden Park), C Foley (Middlesbrough); M Hughes (Barnard Castle), T Larder (Harrogate), R Appleby (Darlington Mowden Park), C Wearmouth (Barnard Castle), T Vaioleti (Darlington Mowden Park), C Whitehead (Hartlepool Rovers), E Tremlett (Middlesbrough), D Dixon (Billingham).

Replacements: K Clarke (Middlesbrough), C Purkiss McEndoo (Harrogate), A Kirton (South Shields Westoe), R Stanwix (Barnard Castle), C Burke (Darlington Mowden Park), P Homan (Middlesbrough), L Wilson (Billingham).

Travelling reserves: T Johnson (Hartlepool), R Foreman (Hartlepool Rovers)