Coach: Mark Wells Stadium: Falcon Park

13 August: Falcons Go Top 5 By Blanking Admirals

The resurgent Cumberland Falcons moved into the top 5 this Sunday with an emphatic defensive performance over a struggling Amsterdam side at Falcon Park. Paul Sykes and Lee Harland got a brace of tries each and Graham Holroyd kicked 5 goals to leave Amsterdam adrift at the bottom of the table. The Falcons defense was on top throughout keeping Amsterdam's possession and field position down to minimum. As poor as the Admirals were going forwards they were solid in defense. They did well to hold the Falcons to 26 points and must be praised for all of the hard work that they put in.

Holroyd opened the scoring with a penalty after 4 minutes for a high tackle. Harland grabbed his first after 15 minutes and his second after 31 minutes. Holroyd goaled both of these tries. The second half was the Paul Sykes show his first try came just after half time and his second 10 minutes before the end. Between these tries the Admirals were unlucky to have a try disallowed by the video ref. Final Score Cumberland Falcons 26 Amsterdam Admirals 0.

After the game Falcons coach Mark Wells said:
"I am very pleased with the performance today. They did well to hold us to 4 tries. We have moved into the top 5 and now are looking to consolidate the position. I feel sorry for Rob Clarke of the Admirals he is a good hard working coach. I am sure that it will come good for them if he sticks to his guns."

6 August: Cumberland came away with an impressive win at Aberdeen. The Falcons started slowly and quickly came up with a mistake allowing Jamie Rooney to slot over an early penalty. The Animals kept up the pressure without any reward for the next 20 minutes but did have a try disallowed by the video ref. Cumberland then put together a superb back line movement that finished with prop Paul Southern crashing over for a try that was converted by Graham Holroyd.

Aberdeen came back with another Jamie Rooney penalty a couple of minutes later. The Falcons backs then flew back down the pitch in a movement that saw Logan Campbell swoop over for a try that was goaled by Holroyd. Just as the half time hooter was blowing Jamie Rooney jinked over for a try that he converted leaving the score 10-12 at half time.

Cumberland started the second half in fine form with a penalty from Holroyd put the lead up to 4 points. The teams then cancelled each other out for the next 25 minutes. Again the Falcons backs produced something special with Matt Toshack scoring a try that was converted by Holroyd. The Animals came straight back with Rooney converting a Peter Lupton try to set up a hectic finish. As Aberdeen tried to regain the ball they gave away a penalty that Holroyd kicked with no problem. It was ball up the jumper time for the last couple of minutes for the Falcons who clamed the 2 points form Aberdeen with a 16-22 win.

Coach Mark Wells said:
"We came here earlier in the year and got taken to pieces. This shows what sort of team we are. This win should hopefully kick start our rise up the league ladder."

Cumberland Falcons have today rejected a cheeky transfer bid from Aberdeen for 3 Falcons stars.

1 July: Saint-Maur Beavers 12 Cumberland Falcons 24
Cumberland are up there as one of the favourites for promotion following this win over the team they also beat in the Billy Boston Cup Semi Final.  With just an 8 point advantage at half time the game could have gone any of three ways but Cumberland stepped up a gear and secured the win with tries from Sykes, Mather, Gillette and Harland and 4 Graham Holroyd goals.  The only points for the French were tries from Penny and Dunemann with 2 goals for McNamara.

24 June: Congratulations to Cumberland Falcons who are the 2001 Billy Boston Cup winners after a sensational game at Old Trafford.  The game ebbed and flowed and Cumberland eventually emerged as 18-14 victors.

21 June: Holroyd and Wells prepare for Final Showdown
Billy Boston Cup Final preview with Cumberland Falcons Coach Mark Wells And Captain Graham Holroyd.

Coach Mark Wells:
Q. What does getting into the final at Old Trafford mean to the club?
A. It means that we are heading in the right direction. Both the players and the staff have been working hard. Hopefully this early success will spur us on to greater things.

Q. How does it feel being made underdogs?
A. That's just fine by me. We were underdogs last week and we won. We are going to have more fans there than the French and I am sure that the fans of the both Hull and Wales will get behind us. I want to make it a clean sweep of the French teams if I can. Lets bring that cup back to Cumberland.

Captain Graham Holroyd:
Q. How are the players feeling about being in such a big match this early in the season?
A. It feels great. All of the lads have been training well and can't wait to get started.

Q. What sort of game are you expecting from this French side?
A. I don't think that they will be that much different from the others. The French like open rugby there should be plenty of chances.

Milestones (all milestones include trial games):

The club needs to score 12 point to reach 150 for the season so far.
Graham Holroyd need to kick 1 goal to reach 30 for the season so far.

17 June: Cumberland reached the final of the Billy Boston Cup with a superb 16-12 win over Saint-Maur Beavers.  They will play Hervé in the final.

14 June: Coach Mark Wells and Winger Waine Pryce talk about the Falcons Billy Boston Cup Semi Final against Saint-Maur Beavers.

Coach Mark Wells:
Q. What should the fans expect this week in the semi final?
A. Hopefully a strong performance that will lead to a win and an appearance in the cup final. I hope that the lads can respond as they did last week and take us through. We are travelling out early to get used to the conditions. I think it will be a hard game and am sure that if we give it our best we can get to the final.

Winger Waine Pryce:
Q. After last weeks man of the match performance how are you feeling about the semi?
A. I am looking forwards to it. It looks like Lee (Gilmour) will not be fit in time so hopefully the boss will pick me again. If I do play I will be going for it just like last week.
Q. What about the rest of the season?
A. I just want to play as much rugby as I can and show the world that there are 2 Pryce boys that can play on the wing.

The semi final will be broadcast live on big screens in all of the Cumberland Falcons Supporters Clubs.