Harlow and Old Alleynians will go head-to-head in a mouth-watering Papa Johns Men’s Counties 1 Championship Final at Twickenham.
Both sides had sensational league seasons, with Harlow going unbeaten, while Old Alleynians lost just twice.
That form has translated into the Papa Johns Community Cup, as both sides won on home soil in the semi-finals, Harlow defeating Cockermouth 27-12 and Old Alleynians winning 29-17 against Chobham.
Now attentions have turned to the Papa Johns Community Cup Final at Twickenham, where Harlow will play for the very first time, to the delight of Chair Paul Tucker.
“This match will go down in club history as the first time the senior men’s first team have played at Twickenham,” said Tucker.
“That is obviously amazing and we have also won our league this year, so we are on a bit of a roll, having won all 22 matches in the league and then this cup run.
“We’ve done a bit of research on Old Alleynians and I think it’s going be tough but we’ll see.
“We have five coaches travelling with 250 supporters via coach and we’re expecting another 150 driving so we’ll be about 400 strong. The whole club has brought into the day from under-6s up to the senior side and we are the talk of the town, which is just amazing.”
Over 500 clubs have competed for a place in one of the 29 finals across the women’s and men’s game during the inaugural season of the Papa Johns Community Cup, which was created to provide a crescendo to the end of the grassroots season, keeping players engaged throughout the spring and giving clubs a chance to compete for silverware whatever their final league positions.
As well as lifting a trophy, all 29 teams that win across the Papa Johns Community Cup Finals will be entered in a prize draw to win a visit from a Red Roses’ coach and a free Papa Johns pizza order. Other teams who competed in the Papa Johns Community Cup competitions also have chance to win by submitting their best try from the competition.
Old Alleynians Head Coach James Knox is ready for his side to take to the field, after watching the Papa Johns Community Cup action last weekend at HQ.
He said: “I managed to go down last Sunday to the Havant v Driffield Papa Johns final just to get a taste of the action.
“Seeing the two sides at the heart of each community and all the fans that travelled there – it is such a huge occasion and being able to do it with these boys after the long season we have had is just unbelievable.
“We cannot wait to get out there, we are relatively fortunate that five or six of our squad have already played at Twickenham before, so we will be leaning on them for a bit of their experience.
“I have been at the club since 2014 and was captain before I was coach, so it is pretty special to be able to get there.”
That is one of four finals at the home of rugby that day, as the Papa Johns Community Cup finals come to a thrilling close after action at both Sixways and Twickenham last week and sides flocking to Sixways, the Darlington Arena and StoneX Stadium this weekend.
There is a West Country feel to the Papa Johns Counties 3 & Below Championship Final, as North Bristol and Gloucestershire Old Boys lock horns, before Wensleydale and Teddington face off in the Papa Johns Men’s Counties 2 Championship Final and Horsham and Old Northamptonians are in action in the Papa Johns Men’s Regional 2 Championship Final.
Full fixtures are available to view here
Entry to all of the finals is free to the public. For more Papa Johns Community Cup action follow @RFU Twitter and #PapaJohnsCommunityCup
