Gilmore: Magic Weekend the highlight of the season

Widnes scrum-half Tom Gilmore says the special bond between the club and Newcastle makes the Magic Weekend the highlight of the season.

The Vikings have teamed up with the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation for a third successive year, and will again turn out in traditional Newcastle United black-and-white stripes.

That has captured the imagination of the local fans, and this year there will be added interest with the match ball featuring the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation logo.

Gilmore said: “Widnes have created a bond with Newcastle and raised a lot of money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

“It’s good to go out there in the kit as it looks like we’re Newcastle, so we’ve got a few extra fans up this end of the world.

“Everyone wants to play in front of big crowds and in as big of a stadium as they can, so this is a highlight especially for his team. We want to play in front of big crowds and put in a big performance.”

Widnes, who take on Wakefield in the weekend’s first game, are rooted to the bottom of the Super League table with just two wins all year, but have suffered from a tough injury list throughout the campaign.

A patched up side pushed Warrington all the way in the Challenge Cup last weekend, before going down 34-20.

Gilmore added: “We had a big game at the weekend and unfortunately got beat. But hopefully we’ll get a couple of lads back from injury and kick on.

“We’re not too far off at the moment. I know the table says different, but we’re not too far off and we’re all backing each other and our young lads are going really well.”

One of those youngsters, 17-year-old hooker Danny Walker, caught the headlines by standing up to England international prop Chris Hill.

Walker had already lit up the second half of the match with a blistering break to set up a try for Patrick Ah Van, before cheekily asking Hill for the ball back and sparking a brawl started by a flick of the elbow from the former Leigh forward.

Gilmore said: “I think I’d have given him a mouthful like Danny did, I don’t think I’d have got that close though!”