East faces West on Saturday in Vrchlabi to signal the start of the representative rugby league season in the Czech Republic. The CZRLA East team is made up of players from those clubs located principally in Bohemia encompassing Pardubice Jets, Vrchlabi Mad Squirrels and Chrudim. Last week, in preparation, the Jets defeated the novice Red Squirrels in a league match in front of over 400 fans.
Captain/Coach of the Squirrels David Lahr, a former Jets player, is keenly looking forward to hosting the Origin clash. “The other great thing about last Sunday’s game was the amount of not just of public support we had but also the interest it has raised from the corporate sector who are now very keen to boost our sponsorship,” he said. “I think we will have another great crowd for the game this weekend and with so many Vrchlabi players named in the squad it will make us very hard to beat in front of a vocal, partisan crowd.”
The CZRLA West team, centering on Beroun and Prague, reflects the dominance of the Beroun Black Panthers so far in the 2011 Czech rugby league season as they provide three quarters of the selected players. CZRLA Treasurer Iain Sellers, reflected that the longevity of Beroun – Czech Rugby League’s oldest domestic club, having been established in 2007 – accounted for their pre-eminence.
“Beroun is, and always has been, solely a rugby league club, with all players playing the game as their chosen sport over a full season,” he commented. “That has ensured that the players have developed steadily and is our model for all our other clubs. This year’s CZRLA State of Origin match should be an absolute corker and is the best possible advertisement for domestic rugby league development.”
The Czech representative season also includes a Czech v Exiles match and the European Bowl clash with Hungary in Budapest.
CZRLA East
MatÄ›j Pecina, Marek PluhaÅ™ (Chrudim); Darek BlaÅ¥ák, John Chicambwi, Vic Leeuw, Mike Masia, Roman Nedomlel, TomᚠŘiÄica (Pardubice); JiÅ™í Blažek, Libor HanzlíÄek, Gabriel Klimenta, Standa KosaÅ™, Josef Kuh, Tomáš Kynský, David Lahr, Radek Mejznar, Marcel Novak, Aleš Peška, Tomáš Pohl, Aleš TrÄka (Vrchlabi)
CZRLA West
Jan Buben, Martin ÄŒernohorský, Petr DobÅ™emysl, David Dolak, Jakub Havránek, Michal Hora, Patrik Nekut , Josef PiskáÄek, Tomáš Patera, Michal Plesko, Vladimír Sapar, OndÅ™ej Šilhavý, Jakub Smíšek, Lukáš Vašek, Richard Wiesner (Beroun), Ben Grimwade, Rhys Latham, Richard Oldroyde,Jamie Sherrington, Jakob Westberg (Praha)