England call for riders

Two young members of the Hethersett Hawks Swinton & Co cycle-speedway club have been selected for the England U18 team to take on Wales in Newport on Saturday and Bristol on April 10.

Two young members of the Hethersett Hawks Swinton & Co cycle-speedway club have been selected for the England U18 team to take on Wales in Newport on Saturday and Bristol on April 10.

This is a big achievement for the small village club. Dan Chambers and Leon Wild have impressed in pre-season British Academy weekends to earn their caps.

The two new internationals were paired together in the Hawks' opening South-East League match at Ipswich and rode well together. Both teams were down on full strength but it was a well-contested opener in which Ipswich had most of the breaks. Hethersett competed well and the final score slightly flattered the home side. Ex-British Champion Phil Howells made a tentative start but reeled off three good wins but it was Chambers and Wild who won the only race for the Hawks - a 6-4.

Scores: Ipswich 103 Hethersett 77.

(P.Howells 17 Dan Chambers 14 P.Adams 13 L.Wild 10 B.Collins 7 Dave Chambers 6 D.Adams 5 S.Wilcox 5).

In the Combination League match the Hawks were eight points down after five races but a rousing 7-3 orchestrated by Ben Collins with Mel Perkins gave them hope.

But a nagging injury and general fitness told as the younger home side took advantage. There were some encouraging signs from the female pairing of Tiffany Collins and Carly Grimes while Ben Collins remained unbeaten.

Scores: Ipswich B 99 Hethersett B 76

(B.Collins 23 D.Adams 19 C.Grimes 9 T.Grimes 8 M.Perkins 8 T.Collins 6).