THE wait is finally over for the North Wales Crusaders.

A week after other clubs opened their League One campaigns, Crusaders will finally get the chance to do the same on Sunday with their lengthy trek south to tackle Cornwall.

Sunday will mark 38 days since North Wales Crusaders played a competitive game, when Carl Forster’s charges put in a spirited performance against Championship outfit Widnes Vikings in a 30-14 reverse.

Forster said: “After the Widnes game we did a long review of that game, looked at the good things and the bad things and then we had a real good down week and forgot about rugby then I gave them a bit of time off.

“We came back in the following three weeks and hit the ground running, concentrated on a lot of defensive work and focused on our fitness. The boys really ripped in to be ready for Sunday.”

The 1895 Cup and Challenge Cup fixtures were treated as pre-season contests and during that time, it was an opportunity for the coaches to learn about the class of 2024.

Foster added “We have a good group of people, we had our training camp which gave us the chance to spend a bit more time with each other, we are a tight knit bunch, a lot tighter than we were this time last year, we have a young team and all the lads have gelled

“We are working on shape and different combinations and I’m really excited to see what we can do this year.”

As well as Widnes, Crusaders had competitive outings versus Swinton Lions and Bradford Bulls in the cups.

Forster will be hoping there’s less drama than the last meeting between the sides.

This came last July when Cornwall claimed a stunning a 40-38 success during their trip to North Wales.

Trailing 40-4 at the interval, Crusaders forged an epic comeback that just came up short, with tries being scored by Alex Eckley, Owain Abel, Connor Wrench and Jack Holmes.

Early season leaders Keighley Cougars host Workington Town on Sunday while Rochdale Hornets and Hunslet, who also both opened up with wins last weekend, clash at Spotland.

Midlands Hurricanes welcome Newcastle Thunder in Sunday’s other game.