The Shoguns United team face Gloucester tonight

Chance to shine
By Duncan Wood
January 27 2003

The United team get an outing against their Gloucester counterparts this evening. It's the usual mix of youth and experience and most players on display will have a real point to prove.

The big talking point over the weekend, of course, has been the inclusion of Manuel Contepomi at outside centre.

Manu is the twin brother of Felipe although further outings for the Shoguns look unlikely as his heart looks set on returning to Argentina to fight for a place in Argentina's World Cup squad and his stay in England is mostly about seeing his brother.

However, there is also the usual mix of youngsters looking to make an impression and regular first team squad members getting vital match practice and/ or returning from injury.

The likes of Jon Clarke, Duncan Hayward, Richard Hunt and Richard Martin-Redman will all be seeking to prove that they have a future beyond Academy level and putting in a good performance at this level will help their claims.

On the comeback trail after absences from injury are Shane Drahm, Jamie Williams, Emi Bergamaschi and Michael Lipman who will all benefit from the run out.

They're up against quite a tasty looking Gloucester team who feature a very experienced front row, first team regulars in Ed Pearcer and Daren O'Leary and a former Shoguns Academy scrum half in Matt Britten.

Teams as follows:

15. Shane Drahm, 14. Jon Clarke, 13. Manuel Contepomi, 12. Duncan Hayward. 11.Jamie Williams, 10. Matt Carrington, 9. Peter Richards, 1. Emi Bergamaschi, 2. Saul Nelson, 3. Darren Crompton, 4. Richard Hunt, 5. Scott Morgan, 6. Chris Morgan, 7. Michael Lipman, 8. Richard Martin-Redman.

Replacements to be confirmed.

15. Stu Roberts, 14. Daren O’Leary, 13. Chris Wilkes, 12. Duncan Murray, 11. Mark Foster, 10. Brad Davis, 9. Matt Britten, 1. Darren Molloy, 2. Chris Fortey, 3. Andy Deacon, 4. Ed Pearce, 5. Mark Rimmer, 6. Pete Knight, 7. Ben Durham, 8. Nick Southern

Replacements

16. Cameron Mitchell, 17. Dan Parr, 18. Luke Narroway, 19. Ben Hughes, 20. Nick Wood, 21. Chris Collins, 22. Mark Irish