by Paul Abraham
Cup fever engulfs the Bramley Buffaloes this week as they host Keighley Albion Academy in the semi-final of the Yorkshire Mens League Shield on Saturday 24 June with a 2.30pm kick off.
Bramley are hoping Bramley fans of old will head to the Blue Hill Lane ground in numbers to help cheer the Buffaloes on to the final.
The cup run started on 1 April with the 68-12 demolition of the Scarborough Pirates, with outstanding full-back Jamie Donnelly scoring three of the “Buffs” thirteen tries.
Cottingham Tigers from Humberside were due to visit West Leeds Rugby Union’s Blue Hill Lane ground in the second round of the shield but decided to forfeit the tie and so Bramley were awarded a 24-0 victory.
By now the Buffaloes were playing some exhilarating rugby and had won five consecutive matches which had brought an amazing 192 points in the plus column and only 26 points being scored against a mean-looking defence.
The quarter-final visitors were the Pontefract-based Upton, a well-respected team which travelled to Bramley in confident mood. But they met a Buffaloes side running hot and on the rampage and destroyed the Upton side’s confidence with a performance as good as any from a Bramley side for quite some time.
The Buffaloes led by 26-0 at the break and with Daniel Booth completing a hat-trick of tries, Upton were happy the referee ended the match after 65 minutes at the request of the visitors with the scoring standing at 42-0.
Batley Boys’ result
Last Saturday’s match at Batley Boys was called off at short notice and with the league rules applied this results in the match being awarded to Bramley by the score of 24-0.
While the Buffs would have preferred to have played to have kept the momentum going, the other side of the coin is that the Buffs go in to the weekend’s semi-final without any injuries and can pick from strength.
If you would like to sponsor your favourite player, become a club member or join the club’s lottery then please email the club at info@bramleybuffs.com
Meet the team: Bradley Wilson | Sponsored by Lynda Cheney
Bramley born-and-bred Bradley is now in his eighth season with the Buffaloes and is an inspiring leader on and off the pitch.
The former stand-off and scrum-half is now having an exceptional season playing at hooker and with six tries already this season, looks set to beat his previous highest tally of tries for the season which stands at eight which he achieved in the 2017 season.
His career totals before this week’s cup semi-final stands at 66 first team starts and one substitute appearance which have brought him a total of 19 tries.
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