Ipswich boss Paul Hurry hopes the Tru7 Group Witches’ plague of postponements is over as they return to action with an East Anglian derby against King’s Lynn at Foxhall on Thursday.
The Rowe Motor Oil Premiership champions have raced just one fixture in six weeks – a 47-43 win at home to Northampton on May 28.
Hurry’s side has been left frustrated after having four of their past five meetings postponed due to rain.
A full-strength Witches team is chomping at the bit to return to action against King’s Lynn for the third East Anglian derby at Foxhall of 2026, and Hurry is now crossing his fingers for a dry summer.
He said: “I have never known anything like it with postponements, and it’s not just us. You sit down in the evening and think, ‘I’ll watch a bit of speedway tonight’, and there is nothing on. Other teams have probably found it a little bit strange too. I am just thankful that our boys have had meetings with other clubs.
“We have Jason Edwards riding for Redcar, Scott Nicholls and Danny King riding for Plymouth, Tobi Musielak and Tom Brennan have rides abroad, Philip Hellstrom-Bangs is racing in Sweden again now and Richard Lawson rides for Poole.
“We have a WhatsApp group, and we speak on that and have a bit of banter every now and then, so we are in contact. Being the team manager, I do try and watch as much as I can and keep tabs on what’s going on. But it has been a frustrating time.
“It will be good to get back into things and get into a routine of racing on Mondays and Thursdays. All the boys will get back in the groove, and it will be good to touch base with everyone again and build that team spirit.”
Hurry is also pleased to have Hellstrom-Bangs back at Foxhall as he races his first Witches meeting since April 30, having served a two-week ban in early May, before being sidelined by a period of illness.
He said: “It will be good to have him back. Hopefully he can show us what he is capable of doing and he can pick up where he left off.”
Advance tickets for the Stars showdown are available online HERE, with cash accepted at turnstiles and card payments available at the entrance to the right, where fans with pre-paid tickets can enter.
For fans who cannot make it to Foxhall, the East Anglian derby will also be streamed live on WitchesTV. For more information and to tune in, CLICK HERE.
STARTING LINE-UPS
IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES: 1. Tom Brennan, 2. Danny King (captain), 3. Richard Lawson, 4. Scott Nicholls, 5. Tobiasz Musielak, 6. Philip Hellstrom-Bangs, 7. Jason Edwards.
KING’S LYNN STARS: 1. Max Fricke, 2. Jordan Jenkins (guest), 3. Chris Harris (captain), 4. Ben Cook, 5. Jan Kvech, 6. Cooper Rushen, 7. Sam Hagon (guest).