YORK is bracing itself for a mega day of rugby league tomorrow.

While amateur sides Heworth and New Earswick All Blacks and their supporters head out of the city in search of giant-killing glory in the Silk Cup Challenge Cup, professional outfit York Wasps will be hoping to avoid embarrassment at the hands of little Oulton.

For once the Wasps, yet to win this season, find themselves cast in the role of giants as they entertain an amateur side who will have the backing of around 500 followers.

Wasps' coach Lee Crooks is sure that his side will go through to a potentially money-spinning fourth round tie against a Super League club.

"Everybody is looking at this game as a potential banana skin, apart from us," said an upbeat Crooks.

Oulton secretary Les Wigglesworth was circumspect about his side's prospects.

He said: "I'm not going to say we will win.

"York have some tidy players in their side and I know Lee Crooks and (assistant) Frank Punchard will have them keyed up for this game,"

"But I would say we are in with a reasonable chance. We took (professional outfit) Doncaster down to a point a few seasons ago and the fact we've moved up from mid-table in National Conference League division one to third in the premier division is a measure of how much we've improved.

"But York are playing the likes of Leigh, Keighley and Widnes every week and they know what it's like to play at this level. But you never know.

"We're confident of going out with the right attitude, right fitness and right commitment, though whether we've got the skill factor to beat a professional club remains to be seen."

New Earswick, who play in the second division of the National Conference League, are in the third round for the first time in their history - but most pundits have given them little chance of pulling off an upset at Swinton Lions.

One unlucky player set to miss out on the All Blacks' big day is second row forward John Leech.

He received a six-match ban in New Earswick's NCL defeat by Cottingham last month and should have served the final game of his suspension in last week's National Cup tie against Birkenshaw. But that game was postponed and the ban has been carried over.

However, Heworth have a proud record as doughty cup fighters and have gone close to claiming professional scalps throughout the 1990s.

Coach Harold Box, who played for Featherstone in the 1974 final against Warrington at Wembley, faces an enormous task if his side are to win at Batley Bulldogs.

All three games involving the York sides kick off at 3pm.

The fourth round draw is at Headingley on Monday.

Updated: 11:11 Saturday, January 27, 2001