World Footy News

NOTE - We've received confirmation that the game has been called off due to all flights from Britain being cancelled after the volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

This weekend will see the first full-scale test match of the year, with the Great Britain Bulldogs traveling to Scandinavia to take on the Denmark Vikings.

Denmark coach Jim Campion is expecting a hard and physical match, with his squad looking to counter the height advantage the Bulldogs have over the Vikings. The Brits are fielding a squad with ten first-time Bulldogs representatives, including a large contingent from the England Dragonslayers squad that won the 2009 EU Cup in Croatia last October.

The rivalry between Great Britain and Denmark (or earlier Denmark-Sweden) is one of the oldest in international footy, with ten tests played between them, dating back to their first clash in 1994. The Danes hold the upper hand, with seven victories to the Bulldogs' three, although the Bulldogs defeated the Vikings in their last encounter, in London during 2009.

Denmark Vikings

Coach Jim Campion is expecting a hard and physical match, played in the right spirit, as seen in past encounters. "They had a few standouts last time who did most of the damage. We'll look to shut them down early. They are a taller team but with the inclusions to the team this won't be a factor," Campion says.

The DAFL Premier League comprises 4 teams in Denmark, with the three clubs in Zealand - the Farum Cats, Copenhagen Crocs and North Copenhagen Barracudas - supported by a seven-team 9-a-side local league. The fourth Danish premier league side are the Jutland Shinboners, who draw their players from the three-team Jutland local league contested by the Århus Bombers, Aalborg Kangaroos and Randers Dockers.

The final squad will be announced after Thursday's final training sessions, but as it stands Farum are supplying the bulk of the squad, with 14 Cats in the current list, including national captain Troels Ottesen. Århus, Randers and North Copenhagen have two players each in the squad and Aalborg one.

Campion says, "those players in Zealand are selected based on DAFL matches and training. The Jutland players are selected on feedback and recommendation from Jens Djernes and Morten Engsbye as to who has been training and their DAFL form."

Although their side is fairly young, the Vikings won't have any first-gamers this time around. Experienced ruckman Mogens Hansen from North Copenhagen has returned, and veterans Mikkel Norlander and Morten Rindom will also give the young side more strength and experience. Campion is expecting Nicholai Secher, Mathias Biron and Eliud Scmidt to be the players to watch for the Vikings, although Schmidt is currently under an injury cloud and it's not certain that he will play.

Great Britain

The Bulldogs are taking a squad of 21 across to Denmark, chosen after a series of trials in London and Huddersfield. Great Britain national team coach Mark Pitura says his squad has a good mixture of experience and youth. "A number of these new players represented England in the winning EU Cup team from last year in Croatia. This game gives them the opportunity to step up and play at a higher level, in an 18-a-side match against a quality opposition," Pitura says.

"Two younger players I'm looking forward to seeing play are Martyn Hinchey from Southampton and Ben O'Brien from the West London Wildcats. Both have impressed in the past 18 months, with Martyn displaying excellent stamina and agility for a person of his size, while Ben O'Brien was part of the West London Wildcats Premiership team from last year."

"Rob Harmeston from the Putney Magpies and Jason Battye from Huddersfield will also provide plenty of run and attacking options during the match. Both of these players are new to the sport and come from a background of high level soccer."

The squad features 12 players from the London clubs and 9 from regional England. The Putney Magpies have 5 representatives in the squad, power club West London Wilcats 4, Huddersfield, Chippenham and Nottingham 2 apiece, and one each from Wandsworth, North London, Reading, Southampton and Leeds Met.

No players from the WARFL or SARFL were selected, with a large number of the Welsh players unavailable this weekend. However, the side does include Welshman Tom Case from English club Chippenham, who is also current captain of the Cymru (Wales) Red Dragons national side.