Challenge Cup: Warrington Cup tie is ‘great reward’, says Goole CEO

Saturday’s tie reunites two ex-England team-mates as respective head coaches – Goole’s Taylor up against his former national team captain, Warrington boss Sam Burgess.

“I’m good pals with Scott,” said Burgess. “I went on tour with him a couple of times, and he’s one of my favourite England team-mates ever.

“I’m sure he’ll have his team ready to play. He’s doing a great job at Goole.

“We want to win, I’ve made a lot of changes, so there’s going to be a lot of new combinations, so I’m going to be very patient, and I think everyone else needs to be too.

“It’s a good opportunity to get some guys some game-time in a competitive match, but its going to be a fair challenge, so looking forward to it.”

The tie has been switched from the East Riding to Warrington, which Clark says makes sense in their current situation.

“It would have been romantic to bring it to the town, but the situation is we’re in the middle of being away from home for a 10-week period while the final phase of a £7m redevelopment of the ground is underway,” he explained.

“While it is frustrating, there is a pot of gold, if you like, at the end of the rainbow and we’ve got to keep focused on that.

“On top of that, from the perspective of the fans, while its a long journey, Warrington are a great club, and its a fantastic stadium.

“For some of the older players, it could be a last time they get to play an occasion like this, and for our younger pups its obviously a brilliant opportunity to come up against some of the best players in the world, like George Williams – superstar and England captain.”

You can hear full live radio commentary from BBC Radio Merseyside of Goole Viking versus Warrington Wolves on BBC Sounds.