Doncaster face down the odds at Worcester

Posted on Sep 21, 2010 in Championship, English Rugby, Rugby News

The fifth round of the RFU Championship, sees the Knights travel to to Sixways stadium to face ex-Premiership team Worcester Warriors.

The expression ‘underdogs’ has never been more appropriate for the Knights for the third week running as they travel to do battle against the Warriors. Bristol were rocked by the Knights performance, Bedford were behind for most of the game and now Lynn Howells men travel to the toughest of the three games.

The Warriors are an unbeaten, Premiership-last-season team that demolished Championship new boys Esher by 6 tries to 0 last Saturday. New boys Esher are no whipping boys either; they managed to beat Moseley and Bristol in the first 2 games of the season. In the game against Esher, the Warriors scored 3 tries within 12 minutes at the start of the 2nd half.

Andy Goode (fly half) and Tom Arscott (wing) scored a brace each, with Marcel Garvey (wing) and Graham Kitchener (lock) adding the other 2. Names familiar to us all, another familiar name, Miles Benjamin (wing) didn’t score in that game but he leads the Championship leading try scorers list. The Warriors have scored over twice as many tries as the Knights and nearly 75% of them have been at Sixways.

Therefore they’ve scored more tries at home than Doncaster have scored home or away, in fact Warrior wingers have scored as many tries as the Knights have collectively. Warrior try scoring is fairly evenly spread throughout the game but their flying wingers are definitely their danger men. The Knights’ back 3 will have to be on their guard, with the main potential for concern being if overlaps are created, so there may be a need for man-on-man marking to prevent overlaps.

Worcester have given away ½ as many tries as Doncaster, having only given away 4 tries over 4 games. The Warriors have conceded 3 of their 4 tries at home (2 home & 2 away games) and 75% of tries have been relinquished in the first half. They are the only team to have not leaked a try in the last quarter. These stats indicate a well-conditioned squad that plays for the full 80 minutes. 3 out of 4 tries conceded by Worcester have been scored by forwards; back row have scored a brace and the front row have probably driven over from short range. Perhaps the Knights have to hit the ground running similar to last Saturday to give themselves a chance to cause an upset.

Former Leeds and Scarlet’s boss Phil Davies has been appointed as forwards coach under Richard Hill. England ace fly half Andy Goode is another summer signing. He said, “”We know we have got to be training and playing at Premiership standards this season. We want to win this league and then be ready to compete at the next level.” Goode is one of most prolific scorers in English club rugby history. He goes on to mention Richard Hill’s season-long game plan, to aim high, hit the ground running but to peak at the end of the season.

Another new signing is former Wales international Andy Williams. The scrum half has a stronger focus on rugby now after recently graduating from Swansea University.

With many Internationally recognised names in the squad, the Warriors are a force to be reckoned with as can already be seen. Four games played, four games won and only an average of over 12 points conceded per game. Without a doubt the ‘tightest’ defence in the Championship.

Knights Championship Director John Lowe stated in the Knights’ Chronicle, “At the end of last season most people were saying that this season’s Championship would be a walkover for Worcester and so it may well be. However, apart from their first match at home to Birmingham and Solihull, they have been given a hard time, firstly away at struggling Plymouth Albion where they only just won late on and then again last Saturday at home to our neighbours Rotherham Titans, the latter by 32 points to 25 after trailing until late on.”

The Knights start as overwhelming under dogs, so they have nothing to lose. Can the Knights get these big-named players and the Warriors unbeaten record off their minds and concentrate on the task in hand by becoming this season’s giant-killers?

Confidence is still high at Esher

Posted on Sep 21, 2010 in Rugby News

Mike Schmid insists Esher’s confidence is still high ahead of Friday’s tough Championship clash at Nottingham despite successive heavy defeats.

Esher lost their unbeaten record in a 31-9 reverse at Bedford before suffering a six-try home drubbing by title favourites Worcester last Saturday.

Esher were without their THREE first-choice fly-halves against the Warriors with skipper Dave Slemen unavailable and Mike Whitehead and Seb Jewell both injured.

But Director of Rugby Schmid is confident his side can learn from their mistakes and called for them to show more patience in attack at Nottingham.

He said: “Worcester are all but a Premiership team but I was pleased with our first half. It was 3-3 after 25 minutes or so but the turning point was when we lost Shawn Renwick to the sin bin.

“We conceded 14 points with a man down and you can’t play with 14 men against a side of Worcester’s quality.

“But we looked full of energy early on and had some good passages of play. But they ran us into the ground a bit towards the end even though at times there was some quality defending.

“We didn’t retain the ball for long and when you spend long periods defending against good sides, something has to give.

“We now have Nottingham away so it doesn’t get any easier but what I am looking for is quality of performance and if we can produce that, we can come away with something.

“We knew it was going to be tough stepping up a league but I don’t think our confidence has taken a knock despite these defeats.

“What we must show is more patience when we have the ball. The new rules make it difficult for defending teams to get the ball back to we must be more patient and look after the ball, especially when we are near their line.”

Esher expect to have skipper Slemen back for the trip to Nottingham while Whitehead and Jewell also hope to have shrugged off hamstring problems.

Schmid also knows discipline will be key with Nottingham boasting the Championship’s top points scorer in their ranks in James Arlidge, who has rattled up 65 points in just four games.

Schmid is also close to finalising a deal for former Gloucester and Leeds full-back Jon Goodridge, who has moved to London after being released by Leeds last summer.

Goodridge, 29, played in the matches against Bedford and Worcester and Schmid believes he will be a vital addition to his squad as Esher target a place in the top eight.

Schmid said: “He’s an intelligent player with loads of pace and we will try hard to sort out a contract for him this week.

“He is not yet fully match-fit after four months off in the summer but he is getting better and better and we certainly hope he joins.”

Monye out for 12 weeks

Posted on Sep 20, 2010 in Rugby News

Ugo Monye underwent successful surgery on Friday evening and will be out for up to 12 weeks.

The extent and duration of the injury will be known more clearly after further consultation with the surgeon, and further updates will be given.

Magners League Tops 5 Million Fans

Posted on Sep 20, 2010 in Rugby News

As Ulster marched to the top of the Magners League table with their third successive win of the 2010/11 campaign, Ravenhill welcomed the 5 millionth fan through the gates at a Celtic Rugby match.

Celtic Rugby is currently celebrating its 10th season of competitive rugby since bringing together the top professional teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This season has seen the welcome addition of two new super-franchises from Italy.
The 7,461 crowd saw Ulster win 29-21 to maintain their winning run and the landmark 5 millionth customer for the Magners League enjoyed another trademark close encounter.
“It is fantastic to think we have now broken through the 5 million mark in terms of fans through the gate and the signs are that our gates are rising across the board this season. The Scarlets have opened with two 6,000+ crowds and Glasgow have continued their upward trend after showing a 26% increase on their gates last season,” said the new Celtic Rugby chairman Andy Irvine.
“We have come a long way since the first Celtic League game was played at the Brewery Field, Bridgend, between Bridgend and Pontypridd on 17 August, 2001. Ulster also played on that night, beating Swansea 30-13 at Ravenhill in front of a 6,000 crowd.
“There have been many changes to the format of our competitions since then, but the introduction last season of the Play-Offs and Grand Final to determine the Magners League champions was hugely significant and successful.
“With the introduction of the two Italian teams we now boast more than 280 international players playing within our 12 teams and the quality of the competition is now a match for any league in the world.
“Having just reached the 5 million landmark with our fans, everyone is now looking forward to a record breaking gate at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 2 October, when Leinster host Munster in what is likely to be the biggest club game in Europe that weekend.
“With more than 40,000 tickets already sold for that fixture, a full-house of 50,000 is being anticipated. It is onwards and upwards for the Magners League.”

England’s Commonwealth Games captain targets another medal in Delhi

Posted on Sep 17, 2010 in Rugby News

Ben Gollings believes England have the right balance to their side to challenge for medals at next month’s Commonwealth Games Sevens.

The 30-year-old world record Sevens points scorer is the only survivor in the squad from Melbourne 2006, when England finished as silver medallists after a “sensational tournament”.

Now he wants to add a gold in New Delhi, where he captains the side in the Sevens event on October 11-12.

England have a squad of Sevens specialists this season who have been training since July for the Games and the IRB Sevens World Series that kicks off in Dubai in December.

They won’t go to Delhi as favourites – New Zealand have won the three gold medals since the sport was introduced in 1998 – but the blend of talent in the squad makes Bournemouth-based Gollings optimistic.

Seven of the 12 named by head coach Ben Ryan this week beat the Kiwis to clinch the Emirates Airlines London Sevens title in 2009, and won in New Zealand at the Wellington Sevens earlier that year.

“When we went to the Commonwealth Games in 2006 we were probably more of a top dog side,” said Gollings.

“No means I’d say we’re underdogs but I think it’s nice that we’re going in a bit under the radar and we can just go out and do our business.

“The experience is there of going out and playing big games. Last year we missed a few guys because of injury but there’s players that are capable of performing in big games and they don’t get any bigger than representing your country at a Commonwealth Games.

“If everybody stays fit and we put it together our chances are fairly high. We’re not going just to compete, we want to come back with a gold. We got silver last time and I know I’d like to have a gold.”

England Under 20 wing Christian Wade was the only major casualty before selection with a broken wrist sustained in a pre-season friendly for London Wasps that won’t heal in time to make the flight to India.

But another major influence is back in the shape of Fijian-born Isoa Damudamu, who has recovered from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the final stages of last season.

“He’s got that bit of Fijian magic about him – he’s a great handler, a big guy and can be very destructive,” is the Gollings verdict.

“Chris Cracknell coming back offers us something different, he’s really physical. Kevin Barrett at nine is a great player, a great leader and it’ll be exciting to see him too after injury last year.

“In all there’s a good balance to the squad of ball players, physicality and speed and it’s nice that we’ve had the training time together to make the most of it. We haven’t had that in the past.”

The Sevens universe will expand rapidly over the next six years, with Delhi followed by the expansion of the Sevens World Series in 2011, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 and then the sport’s first appearance in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Just how exciting that future is was hinted at in 2006 when England – with Mathew Tait their try-scoring cutting edge – were at the centre of the action.

“It’s a sensational tournament,” said Gollings. “In Melbourne there were 150,000 fans in over the three days, the ground was packed and there was a great atmosphere.

“To win a gold at the Commonwealths you’ve got to beat the best teams and our run was Australia, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand.

“We slipped up against New Zealand in the final which was bitterly disappointing. To go all the way and get so close does hurt.”

Australia are in England’s pool again this time with the key Day 1 game in Delhi following clashes with Sri Lanka and Uganda.

“It’s going to be a big game against Australia, who are a massively improved side, so that’s exciting,” added Gollings.

“The other teams in our pool will cause us problems but hopefully we’ll be in the second day in a quarter final and pushing for the medal spots.”

Wasps name side for first Adams Park outing

Posted on Sep 17, 2010 in Rugby News

Director of Rugby, Tony Hanks, has today named his side to face Leicester Tigers for Wasps’ first run out at Adams Park of the season. Making four changes and one positional switch to the starting line up that travelled to Kingston Park last Friday, Wasps welcome Dominic Waldouck, David Lemi, Ben Broster and Joe Worsley back into the 1XV.

England centre Waldouck, who has recovered from a hand laceration, takes the place of Ben Jacobs who is ruled out with a tight hamstring. Samoan international Lemi, who featured as a replacement at Kingston Park and put out a strong display in Wasps’ Aviva A League opener on Monday night, collects his first start of the season on the left wing, with Tom Varndell moving to right and Richard Haughton named on the bench. Ben Broster comes in for the injured Zak Taulafo, who sustained a moderate ankle sprain in the clash with Newcastle Falcons, whilst Worsley trades places with Dan Ward-Smith who is named on the bench.

Also amongst the replacements are Joe Ward and Tom French. Both receive the nod after an impressive A League run out on Monday. Richard Birkett also comes back into the side, replacing Serge Betsen after recovery from an elbow injury sustained in Wasps opening clash with Harlequins.

Looking ahead to the game, Hanks said, “After a good preseason there is obvious disappointment with results in the first two weeks of the Premiership, so in true Wasps style we’ve worked hard in training and have focused on ensuring we are more clinical at key moments. In terms of the game this week, it is our first at Adams Park, it’s Wasps v Leicester and we don’t really need to say much more than that.

“We are confident that our supporters will come out in their numbers and get behind a fixture of this calibre. No one is more critical on the way we perform than the team themselves and everyone is determined to get the right result this week and deliver a performance that the supporters can really be excited by.”

London Wasps team to face Leicester Tigers at Adams Park, Saturday 18^th September, KO 3.05pm:

15 Mark Van Gisbergen
14 Tom Varndell
13 Dominic Waldouck
12 Riki Flutey
11 David Lemi
10 Dave Walder
9 Nic Berry  
1 Tim Payne  
2 Rob Webber
3 Ben Broster
4 Simon Shaw  
5 James Cannon
6 Joe Worsley
7 Tom Rees (c) 
8 Andy Powell 

Replacements:
16 Joe Ward
17 Charlie Beech
18 Tom French  
19 Richard Birkett
20 Dan Ward-Smith
21 Charlie Davies  
22 Steve Kefu
23 Richard Haughton