Previewing: BSN Series Semi Final 2nd Leg - Pirates Chasing the Monarchs

The newly crowned British U21 Champion, COOPER RUSHEN, will celebrate his weekend success by moving into the main body of the 'Wessex Marine' Pirates team when they seek to cement their place in the 2026 BSN Series Final on Wednesday (10th June, 7.30 p.m.).

The sixteen-year-old is in his debut Championship season and has already made a mockery of his opening two-point average, building it to 6.17, which sees him climb out of the reserve berth.
Poole promoter Dan Ford said;

'I don't think it is a case of being surprised that Cooper has moved into the main body of the side, but maybe at the speed in which he has done so. But it showed at Redcar on Sunday that the "Tassle Kid" has talent and titles in him. With Cooper moving up, it means that Kyle Newman drops into the reserve berth, and that is no indication as to how Kyle has been riding. He maintains an average of over five points and so, more than anything else, it shows the strength in depth that this team has.'
'I truly believe we are going to have to call on all that strength on Wednesday and I certainly do not share the views of some that it is a done deal, in terms of getting to the final. We still have work to do and Edinburgh will be a stern test. So my message to supporters is that we have not achieved our BSN goal yet and we need as much encouragement as possible to ensure that we overturn the two-point deficit from the first leg and keep our proud record of reaching all BSN Finals since the competition was introduced.'
 

The Pirates welcome back Fraser Bowes, who suffered a punctured lung in Poole's last home meeting, which meant he missed the first leg of this semi-final. Bowes has not had the rub of the green since joining Poole at the start of the season, but before his crash he was showing real signs of his potential. Rushen's move is a straight positional switch with Newman.
Edinburgh welcome back their number one, Dan Thompson, from injury, and Dan's brother Joe, a former Pirate, will also be on show as he guests for the Monarchs' captain, Michele 'Paco' Castagna. But it could well be a rider with a similar-sounding name that will be the one to watch. Kye Thomson is enjoying the best British season of his career and will line up at number five. Justin Sedgmen takes on the captain's duties, with Jonatan Grahn, Mitchell Cluff and Jordy Loftus completing the Scottish side's septet.

Teams
POOLE (TM Neil Middleditch)  1 Richard Lawson  2 Fraser Bowes  3 Lewis Kerr  4 Cooper Rushen  5 Zach Cook (Capt)  6 William Cairns  7 Kyle Newman
EDINBURGH (TM Gordon Campbell)  1 Dan Thompson  2 Jonatan Grahn 3 Justin Sedgmen (Capt)  4 Joe Thompson (Guest) 5 Kye Thomson 6 Mitchell Cluff 7 Jordy Loftus
Poole trail 44-46 from the first leg.