Tykes joy for Rob

A sensational week for the Pocklington RUFC player has seen him named as the captain of the North of England Under 16s side and offered a place at the new Leeds Tykes-RFU Academy.

But if Webber, who is following hot on the heels of his brother Matthew - a former Yorkshire Schools player - thought things could not get any better, this weekend sees him travel to the RFU's centre of excellence at Castlecroft, Birmingham, for the England U16s trials.

The Laytham youngster, whose dad Mike is a former Pocklington player and current junior rugby chairman, was spending today and tomorrow at the trial in a bid to secure one of the berths in the front-row.

His dad told the Evening Press: "If you asked whether he was walking on air at the moment the answer would have to be yes!

"He found out this week about the captaincy and the offer and is absolutely delighted.

"I don't want to say either way whether he will make it into the England side - I don't want to curse him or put any pressure on him - but it would be great if he did."

If the influence of his brother and father was not enough for him, Rob will join his cousin Chris Kendra at Leeds Tykes.

Kendra, a former Pocklington scrum-half, graduated from the Academy at Tykes to earn his place in the Premiership side's first XV.

After spending the first part of the season on-loan at Wakefield, Kendra has replaced the injured Scott Benton in the side - making his debut sandwiched between four internationals, with South African Braam Van Straatam and former All Black Steve Bachop in the backs and Scottish duo Carl Hogg and Cameron Mather.

ONE player who is already on the verge of breaking into the England side is Harrogate back-row Chris Hallam, who is part of U18s Clubs team.

Hallam, has been named as a non-travelling reserve for England's Home Nations Championships, which will be held around the Leeds area at the end of March.

The round-robin tournament - involving England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales - will see games played at Otley, West Park Bramhope, Morley and Headingley.

Hallam is one of four Yorkshire players involved in the side - with Craig Barker (Wheatley Hills), Ben Steel (Otley) and Matthew Challinor (Dinnington) named in the full squad - but unlike his colleagues he will only be called upon if there are any injuries.

Ted Atkinson, chairman of Yorkshire U18 Clubs, said: "Everyone who has been associated with the county squad this season would like to pass on their congratulations to all four lads.

"To represent your country at any sport is the highest accolade and represents long hours of dedication both on the pitch and the practice field.

"We feel very proud that the county has, yet again, been able to provide players capable of reaching the highest standards, they are a credit to themselves and their clubs."

GUY Easterby has moved to the front in the race for the Ireland No9 shirt for the Six Nations Championship opener against Wales on February 3 - albeit by default.

Peter Stringer, the biggest threat to the Tadcaster-born Llanelli scum-half, and Brian O'Meara have both spent the week at Ireland's training camp on the sidelines with heel and knee injuries respectively.

This has left Easterby, 30, to train alongside up-and-coming duo Neil Dukes and Ben Willis to impress new coach Eddie O'Sullivan.

But despite being the senior No9 in the squad, Easterby is taking nothing for granted.

"With the new coaches there has been a lot of reorganisation, so everyone has been getting involved," he told the Evening Press just before flying back to Wales.

"All the scrum-halves in the squad are really good, it is the most competition we've had for the position for years.

"Peter (Stringer) is definitely not out of it yet and could well play for Munster in their Heineken Cup quarter-final."

Easterby also has a Heineken Cup quarter-final to negotiate before the Six Nations kick-off, with Llanelli's shock victory over Leicester seeing them scrape through to earn a tie against Bath.

"Bath will be a massive game for us," he added. "We qualified as the eighth team, while they made it as the number one ranked side so it won't be easy."

The tie will be played at the Rec on January 26.

Guy's brother, and Llanelli team-mate, Simon has also seen his hopes of selection boosted by injury.

Simon, who missed the tie against Wales last season with concussion, has seen back-row rival Kieran Dawson become the latest member of the Ireland squad to pick up an injury.

ST Peter's School, York, will aim to move one step closer to the Daily Mail U15s Schools' Rugby Cup on Wednesday when they face St Ambrose College, Altrincham.

The match kicks off at 2.15pm, with a place in the last eight of the coveted competition up for grabs.

Mike Johnson, director of sport at the school, said: "We're very hopeful we will get through, but the boys must play to the best of their abilities if we are to win."

Updated: 10:55 Saturday, January 19, 2002