Halifax star hoping for hometown glory

Local hero Sean Penkywicz is aiming to become the villain of the piece this Sunday by helping steer Halifax through to the last eight of the 2012 Carnegie Challenge Cup at the expense of his home-town club Leigh Centurions.

The Leigh-born hooker, a former Centurions junior, knows Halifax can take nothing for granted and has some painful memories from recent matches against Leigh, including defeats in last year’s Northern Rail Cup final and a Co-operative Championship fixture only last week.

“We disappointed ourselves against them last week,” said Penkywicz. “We didn’t really show up and our performance wasn’t great. But that’s given this weekend a little bit of extra spice and we’ll be determined to put things right on Sunday.

“The Challenge Cup is the best competition to be involved in and it’s got that special element to it. It’s great for the players to be involved at this stage and it’s an opportunity for both teams to keep going.

“As a player you know if you get through you’ll probably be up against some of the best players from Super League and that’s a huge incentive for us and it’s always a big attraction for the club with the off-field benefits.

“We lost the NRC final to them last year and when it comes to the big games they seem to have had one over us recently, but that’s something we need to rectify and there’s no better time to do that than Sunday.

“I can’t wait for the game. There are few things better than going up against your hometown club and I still have a lot of friends involved there so it would be great on a personal level to leave with a smile on my face and a win in the bag on Sunday.”

Tickets for the Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth round tie Leigh Centurions v Halifax at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday April 29 (2.00pm) cost from £13 adults, £8 concessions and £5 juniors and can be purchased by visiting www.leighsportsvillage.co.uk/tickets

Tickets for the 2012 Carnegie Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday August 25 cost from just £21 and are now on sale. Family tickets giving access to one of British sport’s most historic fixtures to two adults and two children are also available, priced £55 or £79.

To purchase tickets please call the RFL Ticket Office on 0844 856 1113 or visit www.carnegiechallengecup.co.uk