DURFC confident ahead of charity match

On November the 25th the annual Durham University charity rugby match will be taking place at the Durham city stadium, with all proceeds going to ‘Sport Zambia’.
Last year 5000 people came down to watch Durham play against league rivals Nottingham, and this year is going to be a very interesting spectacle too; a large and boisterous crowd must put added pressure on the game? A wry smile comes across the 1st XV captain Paul Louden’s face.
“It most certainly does. It puts an extra pressure on every pass and every kick, knowing that thousands are watching you, even worse when you know all your friends are in the crowd.
How then does Loudon keep the occasion from suffocating his relatively young teams performance?
“I tell them to use it our advantage, make it spur them on. For the majority it is the largest crowd they will ever play in front of, so I just tell them to enjoy it.”
It cannot be forgotten that this is a league match and after a below par start to the campaign, a win is crucial. What threat do Nottingham pose?
“Well we’ve already lost to them this season, but we know that we have the measure of this team. We are all completely confident that this time round we can and will beat them.”
What then can supporters expect for their money?
With an even wider smile on his face Loudon replied: “We’ll be running the ball from our twenty two. That’s what we’ve done all season, we don’t care about the result as long as we look good!”
Under that jovial persona you could see that Loudon was determined for the 1st XV’s fortunes to change. This match is seen as a chance to right their wrongs in building a platform for their season to be propelled.
Tables can be turned in rugby, fortunes can be reversed. In the rugby world cup 2007, England came from a 36-0 humiliation against South Africa in the group stages to reach the final four weeks later. Loudon and his men will need a similar backs to the wall mentality if they want to find themselves playing in front of thousands again at Twickenham come April. Nottingham’s defeat on Wednesday is a must if this team are to realise their dream.