A TEENAGE rugby union player is looking forward to lighting up the Twickenham turf when he turns out for Lancashire.
Zac Baker, from Grasscroft, is among the Red Rose’s 25-player squad for the clash with Devon in the final of the Jason Leonard Under 20s County Championship on Saturday, June 21.
After being selected for the team in January, Zac and the county side won all four of their group matches before facing reigning champions East Midlands in the semi-finals at Tyldesley RUFC on June 8.
“It was a really tough, physical game,” the 19-year-old scrum half said. “But I enjoyed it.”
So did the crowd.
A ding-dong 35-24 win propelled Lancashire into the Twickenham final, where they will face a free-scoring Devon side that steamrollered Essex 40-15 away from home.
“It’ll be my first time playing there,” Zac added. “I’ve been as a fan, but you usually only get one chance at doing this, so I’m going to go out and really take it all in.”
The final will be a warm-up for the senior England team’s international against France, which takes place later in the day at the same venue.
After starting out in rugby league with Saddleworth Rangers Under-8s, Zac eventually switched codes when looking for a new challenge, finding himself in a talented youth team at Rochdale RUFC before his current club, Regional One North West side Blackburn, came knocking.
“We were top of our league and ended up playing a game at a beer festival for a bit of a laugh,” he told Saddleworth Independent. “That’s when Blackburn’s director of rugby, Dino Radice, saw me.
“We had a chat and I ended up making the move.
“We didn’t really do ourselves justice this past year, but we’re already looking good for next season, and we want to push for promotion into National Two.”
Zac will have fellow Lancashire Under-20 teammate Ollie Mills alongside him for the hoped-for title charge.
Before that, though, the pair can count on the support of the players and staff at Blackburn, who have followed their county matches since a 77-5 beating of Durham in their first pool game back in March.
As well as excelling at the sport, Zac is also a full-time coach at Crossley Heath School in Halifax, saying: “I want to take playing as far as I can, but it’s the same with coaching.
“I want to inspire as many youngsters as I can to get into the sport.”
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