Wakefield whip up a heady brew

Michael Harrison's unsung heroes are ready to spring a rugby union cup upset on Harlequins. Paul Stephens reports

The spirit of adventure was Wakefield's favourite tipple well before Michael Harrison first appeared on the Yorkshire club's right wing in 1979. Yet it was while the former England captain was poaching tries in his most electrifying "Burglar Bill" fashion that unfashionable Wakefield enjoyed a reputation for intoxicating rugby.

Much of the time since Harrison retired from regular first-team action two years ago, and Wakefield's other contemporary international, Bryan Barley, moved across the city to Sandal, has been a period of comparative abstinence at College Grove.

But recently there have been unmistakable signs that the freedom of expression which was Harrison's hallmark, has begun to make an impression on the current Wakefield side, who attempt to gain a semi-final place in the Pilkington Cup when they meet Harlequins at the Stoop Memorial Ground on Saturday.

Wakefield have been this way only once before. In their first appearance in the competition, in 1975-76, they virtually ended the Midlands' challenge on their own by knocking out Moseley and Northampton, before going down 12-6 in the semi-final to Rosslyn Park.

Without a big-money sponsor, Wakefield are the poor relations of the Second Division. They have no ground to call their own, sharing a sports complex with hockey, bowls and archery clubs.

Under-resourced the Yorkshire men may be but, unlike Saturday's opponents, they have consistently over-achieved, despite the predatory attentions of the First Division clubs, who relieved them of Diccon Edwards, Robert Liley and Jonathan Sleightholme last summer.

In the first year of league rugby Wakefield topped the Third Division, only to be denied promotion by the regulations. Since stepping up into the Second in 1990, they have never finished lower than fifth and this season are the only side to have beaten the leaders, Saracens.

Harlequins will be mightily relieved not to have to play what will be an awkward tie on Wakefield's sloping pitch, where they only went through as the away side after a 3-3 third-round draw in 1987. Having so narrowly missed a big scalp then, Wakefield inexplicably fell to Gloucester at College Grove, two seasons later in the quarter-finals.

"We were still in the Third Division that year," Wakefield's coach, Jim Kilfoyle, reflected, "and we gave Gloucester too much respect. But we learned from that defeat, and when they came here in December we outscored them two tries to nil and fully deserved our 19-9 win."

However, as Kilfoyle knows only too well, playing at home is one thing. Travelling to Harlequins will present problems of a quite different kind, just as they did two seasons ago, when Wakefield lost 47-18 in the fourth round. "That was my fault," Kilfoyle said. "I chose the wrong game plan, we got buried at the line-out and allowed Paul Challinor to drive us back with his kicking, and Peter Winterbottom to dominate round the fringes.

"Defensively, we've improved dramatically since then, we have greater variety at half-back and our front five are technically much better. Harlequins will have noted how we struggled in the fifth round at Lydney. But so would they. It was ankle-deep in mud, and the wide open spaces of The Stoop will definitely suit us."

Harrison, now preaching his free-running axioms as the manager of England Emerging Players while still turning out for Wakefield's second team and helping out with one-to-one coaching, agrees with Kilfoyle. "With the league gone this is our big chance," he said.

"First we have to meet the challenge up front, and move on from there. In the past we've thought that if the breaks go our way, we might win. Now we're in a more positive frame of mind and believe we will."

Only five of the side who lost to Quins two seasons ago survive. Of those, Richard Thompson on the wing and the scrum-half Dave Scully are an obvious threat. Terry Garnett, Paul Stewart and Mark Sowerby are the cornerstones of a mobile pack.

If the goalkicking of Mike Jackson and the pace of two first-rate centres in Phil Maynard and Andrew Metcalfe can contribute to Harlequins' downfall, the drinks will be on Harrison.