Tom Arscott Signs For Sale Sharks

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks have announced the signing of Tom Arscott from London Welsh. Tom (25) will join Sale Sharks at the end of the current season.

Tom previously played for Worcester,Bristol and Plymouth Albion and has also represented England at U19 and Saxons level.

Director of Rugby Steve Diamond said, “ Tom is an exciting player who can play both Full Back and Wing. He has been a regular for London Welsh this season having played 23 times and scored 4 tries. He played in both the games against us this season and I was very impressed with him and am sure he will be a great asset to us.”

RFU Championship Round 19 preview

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Championship

For the second round in a row, albeit with a week’s grace in between, Championship leaders Newcastle are pitted against their nearest rivals in the league table. Dean Richards’ men will certainly be hoping for an easier ride than the one they encountered against Bedford on March 8th, when they take on second-placed Nottingham at Meadow Lane this Friday evening. The Blues were within a whisker of becoming the first team to beat the Falcons until Noah Cato went over for a last-gasp converted try to ruin their evening.

Nottingham leapfrogged Bedford into second place after winning at Bristol the same evening; a position they cemented with a hard-fought victory at Jersey on Saturday. As well as earning his side four more precious points, skipper Brent Wilson’s brace took him to the top of the division’s try-scoring charts on 12 alongside Matt Evans of Cornish Pirates and Leeds’ Dave Doherty.

Three second-half tries saw Newcastle beat Nottingham 29-9 in the first fixture at Kingston Park. A bonus-point win for Nottingham would guarantee them a play-off spot with three rounds to go.

Saturday is one for the traditionalists with all the remaining games in Round 19 scheduled for a 3.00pm kick off.

The game between Bedford and Doncaster at Goldington Road has a lot riding on it for both teams. The Blues need a win to secure their place in the play-off zone, while bottom-of-the-table Doncaster cannot afford to come away from the Midlands with anything less than four points. Encouragingly for the Knights they held the Blues to an 18-all draw in last season’s corresponding fixture. The Blues secured the narrowest of victories at Castle Park back in November – by 22 points to 21, when winger Josh Bassett went over for a converted try 13 minutes into stoppage time.

Jersey go into their game against Bristol six points clear of the Knights thanks to the losing bonus point they gained last time out against Nottingham at St Peter. Bristol, who won the first-ever clash between these sides (39-16), need a win to keep in the hunt for a place in the top four. Last weekend’s defeat away to Moseley saw them slip three points off the pace.

A win of any sorts at the Athletic Ground against London Scottish would secure Plymouth Albion’s place in the Championship should Doncaster fail to beat Bedford. Albion kept up the recent trend of four-point winning margins in fixtures between the sides when they won the Brickfields clash in Round 9, 24-20. Both the home teams won by an identical margin in 2011/12.

Moseley, too, could retain their Championship status for another year if they beat Leeds at Billesley Common and other results go their way. Last weekend the Birmingham-based club produced a marvellous comeback to down Bristol and complete the league double over the men from the West Country. Moseley are currently 11 points clear of danger. Play-off hopefuls Leeds won 43-32 on their last visit to Billesley Common.

Cornish Pirates need to extend their winning run over Rotherham to eight matches if they are to maintain any hope of reaching the end-of-season play-offs.  The Pirates won twice at Clifton Lane last season: 19-14 in the regular season and 17-14 in the play-offs. A hat-trick of tries from Phil Burgess helped Pirates record a 53-21 when the sides met earlier this season.

Friday March 20
Nottingham v Newcastle Falcons, KO 19.45

Saturday March 21
Bedford Blues v Doncaster Knights, KO 15:00
Jersey v Bristol Rugby, KO 15:00
London Scottish v Plymouth Albion, KO 15:00
Moseley v Leeds Carnegie, KO 15:00
Rotherham Titans v Cornish Pirates, KO 15:00

RFU Championship: Moseley v Leeds Carnegie, Saturday 23rd March

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in Moseley

Following last Friday’s impressive home win over fifth place Bristol, Moseley have the opportunity to go one better this Saturday as they entertain fourth place Leeds.

This is match 3 of a busy 4 match March programme at home for Moseley who are starting to enjoy home advantage in their quest to move away from the relegation zone.

Home support will be aware though that they face a tough challenge from visitors on track for a playoff berth and Leeds will be looking for maximum points from this encounter to put some space between Bristol and themselves.

2012/13 has so far seen some mixed results for Leeds. Fine home wins over London Scottish and Cornish Pirates in recent weeks have been tempered by away losses to bottom placed Doncaster and Jersey.

Indeed it is Leeds away form that will be most concerning them having only won two out of nine games on the road this campaign, to Scottish and Rotherham, and they must look back to November for the last of them.

Since Moseley have been in the Championship they have not yet registered a win over Leeds in league rugby – though success at Twickenham in the 2009 EDF Energy Trophy final went some way to consoling the ‘Red and Blacks’!

For Moseley to succeed in breaking this record they will need to nullify the threat of winger David Doherty who has already claimed twelve this season. Moseley will be well aware of the threat he presents as he scored two tries in their 38 – 12 defeat in November. Further threats will come from the likes of club captain and back row forward Jacob Rowan who has helped himself to seven tries so far this season.

Moseley will have one advantage going into this game having been able to work out Leeds lineout plays following their appearance on TV’s Question of Sport. Unfortunately we probably cannot count on them selecting Phil Tufnell in their second row!

Moseley’s advance ticket offers remain in place for both this game and the Easter Saturday fixture against London Scottish (Sat 30th ko 3.00pm). Simply call the club on or by the Wednesday before the game, pay by card and enjoy up to 30% reduction against standard gate entry.

Moseley Seek Rare Double against Bristol

Posted on Mar 14, 2013 in Moseley

For this rearranged home game with Bristol the Moseley side shows three changes to that which lost narrowly at The Mennaye against Cornish Pirates on Sunday. In the pack Ben Pons switches at open-side with Ollie Robinson and Mike Powell returns in place of Addison Lockley, in the backs Glynn Hughes is expected to start at fly-half ahead of Brad Davies, who goes to the bench.

In the Autumn the Birmingham side gained a late victory at The Memorial Ground, coming from behind with a searing try from under the shadow of their own posts. They will be seeking something from this game in order to move further clear of the bottom of the table, and a win would give them a rare double over the south-westerners. With their opponents needing the same to get into the top four play-off positions the match is bound to be fast and furious.

With both Moseley coaches being former Bristol players an extra edge is attached to the proceedings. “This will be a tough contest” said Kevin Maggs. “They have a strong squad of players and we will have to be on top form to get any reward”

Starting 15: 01.Ethan WALLER; 02. Sam WILKES; 03. Ben EVANS; 04. Mike POWELL; 05. Buster LAWRENCE; 06. Neil MASON; 07. Oliver ROBINSON; 08. Ben PIENAAR;; 09.Ryan GLYNN; 10. Glynn HUGHES; 11 Billy ROBINSON.; 12. Anthony CARTER; 13. Greg KING; 14. Simon HUNT; 15. Oliver THOMAS
Replacements:16. Tom WARREN; 17. Matt WILLIAMS;18. Addison LOCKLEY;19.Sam DICKINSON; 20 Ben PONS.; 21 Sam BROWN; 22. Brad DAVIES

Skirving to leave Bath Rugby

Posted on Mar 12, 2013 in Bath

Bath Rugby can today confirm that back-row player Ben Skirving will be leaving the Club at the end of the season to join Bristol Rugby.

Skirving, who joined Bath from Saracens in 2009, has been a very reliable figure at the base of the scrum since he arrived, and often proving very effective on the break. He has made some 98 appearances for the Club to date.

Speaking of the move, the back-row said: “I’m sad to leave Bath, but am very much looking forward to my new challenge with Bristol. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my four years here, and have worked and played with a great bunch of players and coaches. My thanks go to all of them, and to all the Bath supporters, who have made playing for the Club such a good time for me.”

Head Coach Gary Gold added: “Ben’s contribution to the Club cannot be underestimated, both in his on-field performances and his character and work ethic off it, and I’m sure he’ll have a similar level of impact and success at his new club. We will miss his experience and reliability, but wish him all the very best at Bristol.”