Leigh’s Penkywicz hoping for huge cup upset
Leigh Centurions hooker Sean Penkywicz is hoping he can play in big part in causing a huge Tetley’s Challenge Cup upset when Leigh travel to the DW Stadium to face local rivals Wigan Warriors on Friday night (8.00).
Penkywicz was knocked out of the competition at this stage 12 months ago when his current club Leigh defeated his former side Halifax and having missed out on that occasion, he is hoping for some Cup magic this weekend.
“I’m really enjoying being at Leigh,” said Penkywicz. “I had been at Halifax for a good few years and had a brilliant time there but I had always wanted to play for my home town club and I felt that the time was right.
“I think facing Wigan was the draw that everyone wanted from the directors of the club right through to the players and the fans, there will be a great buzz around the club in the build-up to the game.
“My first thought when the balls were pulled out was ‘Oh no!’ It will be a daunting task but it is bound to be a great experience and will give the club a bit of money as well as giving the fans a great day out.”
Penkywicz enjoyed more than a fair share of success during his time with Halifax with Championship and Northern Rail Cup titles to his name, but the prospect of pulling on the Leigh jersey in a derby game in front of a large travelling support is one he is relishing.
“It’s not every day you get to play one of the world’s best teams,” he said. “It doesn’t get much bigger than this so we will make sure we savour every minute.
“They have some great players and it’s an opportunity for us to really test ourselves and put ourselves in a position to pull off a big upset.
“Featherstone had a good crack at Wigan in the Challenge Cup last year and showed that shocks can happen – we know we will be big underdogs on the day but we have nothing to lose and will give it our all.
“The Leigh fans are great and I’m sure there will be a few thousand there to cheer us on and create a fantastic atmosphere and hopefully we will have made them proud when the full-time whistle blows.”
Tickets for the 2013 Tetley’s Challenge Cup final which takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday August 24 are now on sale. Visit www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk or call 0844 856 1113 for full details.
Fans also have until the end of April to take advantage of a special upgraded ticket offer, which means fans who purchase a ticket for the final throughout the month will automatically receive a free upgrade to the next ticket pricing band. To take advantage of this great offer, please quote the promotion code UPGRADE01 when booking.