LEICESTER will be represented by three of their 2023 riders when they travel to Poole for the much-delayed Championship Jubilee League Final on Wednesday.
The event was held over from the end of last season with the Watling JCB Lions and the Pirates both winning their respective groups, and it will now take place as a one-off event at Wimborne Road.
Naturally that means there are extensive changes to the line-ups which actually got the clubs to the Final in the first place, and additionally the Lions have had to build a side to a 40-point Championship limit whereas they have of course been racing in the Premiership this year.
However, they retain some continuity from their 2023 action with the inclusion of Chris Harris to captain the team at No.1, along with Jake Allen and Drew Kemp.
Harris skippered the Lions for the first four months of the season before the club took the difficult decision to part company with him due to their attempts to strengthen elsewhere following the suspension of Nick Morris.
Allen raced the full season with the Lions whilst Kemp had a successful spell as Rising Star when he came in to replace Dan Thompson.
And all three have enjoyed recent victories over Poole in big Finals with Harris leading Glasgow to the Championship title whilst Kemp and Allen were part of the Scunthorpe team who clinched the KO Cup at Wimborne Road last weekend.
The Lions team also features ex-Poole rider Danyon Hume, who captained the Lion Cubs to the NDL title in 2019.
They also bring in two of the best British talents in the sport in Leon Flint and Jason Edwards, with the line-up completed by Mildenhall’s Arran Butcher at reserve.
Poole operate rider replacement for former Lions rider Anders Rowe, who has been struggling since a heavy crash at Scunthorpe last month, whilst captain Steve Worrall makes his farewell appearance having announced at the weekend that he is leaving the club this winter.
POOLE: Richard Lawson, Anders Rowe r/r, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Steve Worrall, Kyle Newman, Lee Complin.
LEICESTER: Chris Harris, Drew Kemp, Danyon Hume, Jake Allen, Leon Flint, Arran Butcher, Jason Edwards.
