Wolves' Sam Masters goes through the pain barrier in pairs meet
Some of the league’s top performers head to Wolverhampton tonight (8pm) as Monmore Green hosts the latest round of the Premiership Pairs.
Three events have already been staged in the new competition introduced for 2022 with Ipswich currently leading the way on 26 points.
It’s been a tricky start to the tournament for the Parrys International Wolves though who have failed to add anything to their tally in the last two rounds and consequently sit bottom of the standings on just four points.
It means making the most of home advantage and claiming victory in front of their own fans is almost essential to give them any hope of clawing themselves back into contention.
The Parrys International Wolves will include No.8 Joe Thompson, who is required to take at least one outing, with heat-leaders Nick Morris and Sam Masters the main duo – despite the skipper having a broken metatarsal and ligament damage confirmed on Friday.
Team manager Peter Adams said: “The news essentially left Sam with two options.
“One is to have an operation and get the bone pinned, but that would rule him out for at least six weeks.
“Or two, he’d need to rest for a similar amount of time, put his feet up, keep the weight off his foot and it would gradually heal.
“But the reality is Sam can’t afford either of those! So he’s going to tolerate the discomfort for as long as his pain threshold allows and as long as it’s not too extreme, then he’ll carry on racing.
“We know we need a big result and hopefully Sam and Nick can continue their recent form around Monmore to get us the result we need.
“With the standings beginning to take shape, it’s fair to say we’re not at all best placed right now and could do with a win; both Sam and Nick been very strong at home for some time now and let’s hope they can deliver the type of performance we need to give us some hope with two rounds to come.”
Tonight’s line-up also features 2017 World Champion Jason Doyle, reigning British Champion Adam Ellis, current Grand Prix star Max Fricke along with British legends Chris Harris and Scott Nicholls.
Supporters should note the slightly later start time of 8pm and the fact that normal admission prices apply with ‘advanced tickets’ and ‘re-admission tickets’ also valid.
A reminder that race points are 4-3-2-0 with the event winners being awarded 12 competition points, the runners-up receive eight points with the losing semi-finalists getting six. It’s then four points for fourth in the standings with two for fifth whilst the bottom placed side leave empty handed.
