Schmid hails stay-up Esher after turning over Plymouth

Posted on Apr 12, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

MIKE SCHMID hailed his Esher side after they secured their Championship status with a stunning triumph at Plymouth.

The Surrey side bounced back from their shocker at home to Moseley to claim their third play-off success with a magnificent 27-14 bonus-point victory.

It sent Esher top of the relegation play-off group and ensures the pressure is off in Saturday’s final home game against Birmingham, who were relegated last Sunday following their defeat at Moseley.

Schmid was delighted with the display at Plymouth as tries from Ricky Nebbett, Tim Tunnicliff, Mike Blakeburn and Sam Ulph ensured survival.

Schmid said: “The performance was as good as we produced all season and I’m proud of the lads and the way they handled the pressure.

“It’s a big relief because we didn’t want to take things down to the final game against Birmingham.

“I’m also very proud of what we have accomplished this season as a semi- professional side. We have had some exceptional wins against the likes of London Welsh and Cornish Pirates.

“The foundation of the win at Plymouth was solid defence and I think we only made a couple of defensive mistakes all game. We also matched their physicality.”

Schmid now wants his side to finish the season in a high by beating Birmingham on Saturday and finishing the campaign on top of their relegation group.

He said: “I know it’s mentally tough for both teams because it’s a dead rubber but it’s a chance for us to go out and play the kind of rugby we can.

“Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd down and we can put on a good performance for them.”

Esher were dragged into the relegation play-offs despite finishing ninth and 16 points clear of bottom-side Birmingham in the regular season and Schmid believes the RFU need to adjust the system for next season.

Each side took points into the play-offs for wins in the regular season so Esher started with seven points, Plymouth six, Moseley five and the Bees four.

But Schmid feels the system flawed. He said: “In my opinion the side who finishes bottom after 22 games should go down.

“You have 22 games so stay up and then you get another chance in six play-off games and I’m not sure that’s particularly fair.

“But if we do have the play-offs I think sides should be more rewarded more for their league performances and not given just one point per win.”

Schmid has already started planning for next season and will be holding contracts talks with players over the next few weeks.

But Esher will be without New Zealander Richard Mayhew, who joined the club in January on a short-term deal but who has just signed a contract with Premiership strugglers Newcastle.

Schmid said: “I’ll be looking to retain the core of the guys and hopefully they will be keen to stay with us. I hope we can sort things out fairly quickly and make a couple of new additions to give us more strength in depth.”

No panic says Schmid

Posted on Apr 5, 2011 in Championship, Latest Rugby News

Mike Schmid insists there is no panic in the Esher camp despite blowing a chance to ensure Championship survival.

The Surrey side produced an error-strewn display to slip to a 27-22 home defeat by Moseley last weekend.

They now visit Plymouth on Saturday chasing the victory that will keep them up with a final home game against bottom -side Birmingham still to come.

Plymouth top the relegation group on 20 points with Esher on 17 and Moseley on 16 but the issue will be decided if Birmingham lose at Moseley on Sunday, which will see the Bees go through the trapdoor.

Schmid was bitterly disappointed with Esher’s display against Moseley, as they suffered back-to-back defeats against a side they had beaten home and away in the regular season.

Director of Rugby Schmid said: “We gave the game away. We made far too many errors and we have got to be better than that.

“Our error count – scrum, lineout, around the park – was huge, astronomical. Both teams were nervy because it was a big game but we’ve got to make sure we do more of the right things at the right time.

“But it’s not panic time. We have just got to relax now, re-focus and get back to playing the rugby we are capable of. It’s inside us.

“We have got two to play. We win at Plymouth and we are safe or Moseley beat Birmingham next week and we are safe.

“Plymouth are now safe so hopefully they might not have the same mental edge. But we have got to make sure we are hungry and doing everything we possibly can to make sure we play to our potential.

“Plymouth is always a tough game. We know their strengths and we have got to match their pack first and foremost. We can’t give them driving lineout opportunities and we have got to retain the ball and play with some good tempo.”

Skipper Dave Slemen admitted Esher wasted a great chance to ensure their Championship status against Moseley. He said: “We couldn’t get any continuity and kept dropping the ball. You can’t make that many mistakes and win games.

“But we can beat Plymouth. Let’s just hope that they are partying already because they are safe. We played well against them at home and if we keep playing rugby, we have a good chance.

“There’ll be some despondency for a couple of days but that will get turned around pretty quickly. It has to. If we’ve got to go to Plymouth and get a result and so be it.

“The fact is we are eight points above Birmingham with two games to do so we’re still in a pretty good place. “
Esher’s display against Moseley was littered with basic errors. Their lineout was a mess, knock-ons rife while their passing lacked precision.

Moseley’s gameplan was limited to their driving maul but Esher played into their hands with poor decision-making and conceding penalties to allow the visitors to establish field position.

Moseley took advantage to score an early try through Chevvy Pennycook only for Esher to edge into a 13-10 half-time lead with a Bob Baker try and the boot of Sam Ulph.

David Lyons burst over from a driving maul to put Moseley back in front after 48 minutes after referee Martin Fox somehow missed a blatant Moseley knock-on and then penalised Esher.

Ulph’s boot kept nervy Esher in touch and his fifth penalty after 67 minutes put them 22-20 ahead.

But with Championship safety in sight for Esher, Pennycook burst over for his second try after the scrum underneath the posts had been controversially reset by referee Fox.

Esher could justifiably claim they had been harshly dealt with by the official, but the truth is, they had only themselves to blame for keeping the bubbly on ice.

M. Winters

Friday night rugby at Brickfields

Posted on Mar 25, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Plymouth Albion entertain Birmingham & Solihull tonight in their penultimate home match of the season (7.45pm).

Graham Dawe’s side will be hoping to bounce back following their disappointing defeat at Esher last Saturday and move a step closer to Championship safety.

However, chairman of rugby Dawe knows that will not be easy to do against a Birmingham side who will arrive in Devon in confident mood after their away win over Moseley last week.

"Birmingham will go into the game with a lot of confidence, so it is going to be a challenge," said Dawe.

Albion, who are hoping for another good Friday night atmosphere at Brickfields, are still without fly-half Kieran Hallett and lock Dan Collier. Fellow lock Tom Skelding has also joined their injury list after fracturing a bone in his hand against Esher.

Albion (from): M Lee, M Venables, F McLoughlin, S Johns, C Mitchell, B Mercer, S Tu’ipulotu, K Fisilau, A Davies, R Cushion, T Kessell, G Porter, R Hopkins, D Morton, G Evans, G O’Meara, R Copeland, T Hotson, J Tripcony, S-M Stephen, W Sprangle, R Watts-Jones, A Carpenter, S Hocking.

Slemen warning to Esher

Posted on Mar 21, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Skipper Dave Slemen expects a Moseley backlash on Friday as Esher hunt back-to-back wins over the Midlands side that would clinch Championship safety.

Esher are riding high at the top of their relegation group after a Seb Jewell try double inspired them to a superb 38-15 victory over Plymouth last weekend.

The Surrey club are now nine points clear of bottom side Moseley on 16 points following their opening win at Birmingham.
Esher visit Moseley on Friday with the home return the following weekend knowing back-to-back wins will ensure a second successive season in the second tier of English rugby.

Esher claimed the double over Moseley in the regular season but Slemen insists they will not be taking them lightly as they scrap for their Championship lives.

Moseley were edged out 38-34 at home to local rivals Birmingham at the weekend following a defeat at Plymouth in their opening match.

Slemen said: “I’d imagine there will be desperation to their play and we certainly will be very wary of them.

“They’re a good side, especially at home, so we will be taking nothing for granted. If we don’t show the right attitude, we will lose.

“We are two games from being safe but we will continue to keep playing rugby. We feel we have a lot to prove in this league and want to make a statement by finishing top of the group.

“We are on a roll and it’s important to keep it going and take it into next season.”

Esher have now won five of their last season Championship matches after finishing ninth out of 12 in the regular season.

But the 38-15 victory over Plymouth last Saturday was one of their most impressive as Albion suffered their biggest league defeat since last October.

It was also Esher’s first win over the Devon side this season after a narrow 16-12 defeat at Brickfields in January and a 10-10 draw at Molesey Road in October.

Jewell capped a super display with his double and there were also scores for Tom Loizides, Phil Mackenzie and Tim Tunnicliff as Esher notched a try bonus point.

Slemen, son of former England star Mike, added: “It’s been a great start. It was a very good performance and we really kicked on after winning that opening game at Birmingham.

“It was one of those days where everything went well. We scored a couple of early tries and I think their heads dropped a bit.

“The forwards did really well and for most of the game our discipline and defence was very good.

“Plymouth’s game is very forward orientated and when they fell behind early on, I think they struggled to change their approach.”

Moseley visit Esher for the return fixture on April 2 and the Surrey side finish the play-off campaign with a trip to Plymouth followed by a home match against Birmingham.

Slemen aims for the top

Posted on Mar 14, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Skipper Dave Slemen has called for Esher to make a statement by finishing top of their relegation play-off group.

The Surrey side took a huge step towards Championship survival with a vital 30-22 victory in the opening play-off clash at Birmingham and Solihull on Sunday.

Esher won with tries from Tim Tunnicliff, Luke Wallace and Sam Ulph to lift them seven points clear of the Bees after taking seven points into the play-offs thanks to their seven wins in the regular season.

They now face Plymouth at home on Saturday and Slemen has called for his side to keep their foot on the gas following a fourth league win from five.

Slemen said: “We were delighted with the win. In the play-offs it’s all about results and to get an away win in your first game is massively important.

“There were a fair bit of nerves because it was such a big game but we played some good stuff at times and looked dangerous when we played with a high tempo.

“Now we have got to keep playing the same way against Plymouth on Saturday and carry on the momentum.

“We are already seven points clear of Birmingham and the only important thing is not to finish bottom and be relegated.

“But having said that, we finished ninth in the league and would like to win all our games and finish top of this group.”

Slemen, son of former England star Mike, concedes Esher have unfinished business against Graham Dawe’s Plymouth side after a narrow 16-12 away defeat in January and a 10-10 draw at Molesey Road in October.

He said: “We feel we owe them one as we have not beaten them this season but we are playing better rugby now.

“But Plymouth are a good team. They are a physical side, are strong up front and have a good driving maul so we know it’s going to be another tough game.

“But we can improve on our performance at Birmingham. Our discipline has got to be better and we also have to show more patience when we are in their 22 and be more clinical.

“We know we should have scored more tries at Birmingham as we wasted a couple of chances

“But the main thing was the win and we want to wrap up our place in the Championship as soon as possible. If we win our next two games we will be very close to ensuring we stay up.

“We have three home games to come in the play-offs and our recent home form has been good so we are all confident.”

Esher, who finished ninth in the 12-team Championship, are fighting for survival alongside Birmingham, Plymouth and Moseley with the bottom side relegated into National One.

Plymouth are joint top with Esher on 11 points following their impressive 37-17 win over Moseley at Brickfields last Friday.