Jones respectful of Pirates threat

Posted on May 16, 2012 in London Welsh

If London Welsh are to win the Championship they’ll have to do something they haven’t managed all season, beat the Cornish Pirates.

The two games between the sides in the regular season produced a comfortable win for the Pirates at Mennaye Field, while three late Alex Davies penalties salvaged a 17-17 draw for Welsh at Old Deer Park.

Of course, the Pirates also came out on top, 18-10, in last year’s one-off semi-final at Mennaye Field.

“The Cornish Pirates are a very good side,” said Jones. “They don’t rely on any particular type of rugby or strength, they’ve got the ability to play all types of rugby and I would be very respectful of that.

“That’s what you’ve got to have. To have a sniff of going up you’ve got to be able to pay all types of rugby.

“They’ve got a good kicking full back, they’ve a very sound organised pack of forwards and they finished third and we finished fourth in the regular season.

“But throughout the season both teams have grown and we’re really looking forward to an opportunity to show ourselves at the highest level in this league.

“From where we were in September to where we are now is chalk and cheese. We’re a confident side with the ability to play a bit of football, and just like the Cornish Pirates we can also play all types of games as and when it suits.”

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Exiles confirm Oxford as the venue for the final

Posted on May 15, 2012 in London Welsh

London Welsh RFC have announced that the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, will be the venue for the ‘Home’ leg of their Championship Final against Cornish Pirates on May 30th.

Pirates will host the first leg – venue to be confirmed – on May 23rd. Both games will be televised on Sky Sports and both will kick-off at 7.45pm.

London Welsh have taken this opportunity to showcase the Kassam Stadium because it is one of the grounds where the club could play next season if they are promoted to the Aviva Premiership.

It is the home of Oxford United F.C. but the stadium was always designed for rugby as well as football. It offers high quality playing and spectator facilities plus excellent floodlighting which was a factor in the club’s decision.

London Welsh will be making special travel arrangements for its loyal band of supporters – full details will be announced in due course

Semi-final Attention Turns From the ‘Mennaye’ To The ‘Mem’

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Bristol, Cornish Pirates

Following last Monday’s RFU Championship first leg semi-final match played at the Mennaye Field, Penzance, which saw the Cornish Pirates defeat Bristol Rugby 45-24, the attention now turns to the second leg, scheduled for Sunday at the Memorial Stadium, Bristol (ko 12.45pm).

The Pirates will carry a healthy 21 points lead into this return encounter, but they will be mindful that their job is not yet complete. This is, in effect, only half-time, and in the knowledge that Bristol have an unbeaten record at home in the Championship this season, it will also be noted that they have also registered some hefty victories along the way.

Recording such an emphatic result in the first leg certainly drew extra attention to the Pirates, and to the Championship competition in general, as nobody but nobody would have predicted a 45-24 outcome. Besides ‘Sky’ television, who had their best ever ratings for the Championship for this game, national press coverage was also unprecedented, not forgetting also that supporters of Newcastle Falcons quite understandably followed the match with added interest, as they will again this coming weekend.

For Sunday’s game Kyle Marriott continues at No. 8 for the Cornish Pirates, having been a second half replacement on Monday for the injured Ben Maidment, and lock Matt Smith is named on the bench. The full selection is as follows:-

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, G. Pointer, S. Hill, A. Suniula, D. Doherty, C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), K. Marriott, P. Burgess, C. Morgan, I. Nimmo, L. McGlone, A. Paver, D. Ward, C. Rimmer.

Replacements: R. Storer, R. Elloway, R. Brits, M. Smith, D. Ewers, T. Kessell, M. Evans.

Championship semi-final review–round 1

Posted on May 8, 2012 in Championship

Bedford Blues 3 – London Welsh 13

Cornish Pirates 45 – Bristol Rugby 24

Bristol will have to overturn a 21-point deficit in the second leg of the Championship semi-finals on Sunday if they are to keep their promotion hopes alive. Liam Middleton’s men crashed to a 45-24 defeat to the Cornish Pirates in the first leg at the Mennaye Field, meaning they have conceded 95 points in two visits there this season following an earlier setback in the British & Irish Cup.

Bristol scored two early tries to get off to a fantastic start, but they now have it all to do against a Pirates side on the verge of a second successive final appearance. Pirates scored five second-half tries, Rob Cook getting one as well as kicking twenty points, with further tries coming from Carl Rimmer (2), Dave Doherty and Grant Pointer.

London Welsh took their fine away form from Stages 1 & 2 into the first leg of the Championship semi-finals, sealing a 13-3 win over Bedford at Goldington Road with a try from Hudson Tonga’uiha and eight points from Alex Davies.

Welsh won more away games (7) than any other side during the regular season and were unbeaten in three away play-off games, and Lyn Jones’ side now has one foot planted firmly in the Championship final following another fine performance on the road.

But the Blues have chalked up some noticeable scalps of their own away from home this season, including a 33-30 win against Welsh at Sunbury in the B&I Cup back in October, and they will not go down without a fight.

RFU Championship

semi-finals – second leg

• Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Sunday May 13, KO 1245 – LIVE on Sky Sports
• London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Sunday May 13, KO 1500 – LIVE on RFU.com

RFU to stream London Welsh v Bedford Blues LIVE

Posted on May 3, 2012 in Bedford, Championship, London Welsh

The RFU Championship, now in its third year, enters the most exciting knock-out stages to date as the four semi-finalists battle it out to claim the title in England’s second tier of professional rugby.

Following the closest league stage in the competition’s history, Bristol Rugby, Bedford Blues, Cornish Pirates and London Welsh pushed through to the knock-out stages and will now play a two-legged semi-final, with the highest aggregate score securing a place in the final on May 23 & 30.

Sky Sports HD will broadcast both legs of Bristol Rugby and Cornish Pirates encounter at The Memorial Stadium and The Mennaye, respectively, while RFU.com will show London Welsh vs Bedford Blues LIVE on Sunday May 13, KO 1500.

Adrian Battersby, Head of Technical Services at www.247.tv, who will broadcast the fixture, commented:

“We are delighted to have been asked to stream the semi-final at Old Deer Park. We have streamed a few games for RFU.com now, including England Women and England U20, but I have a feeling this could be one of the most exciting encounters we’ve been involved in! Unfortunately, due to a prior booking, we were not available to film the first leg at Goldington Road on Friday night, but I’m confident the streaming from Old Deer Park will satisfy supporters of both sides."

Joe Pecchia, Digital Project Manager for RFU.com, commented

“This is another fantastic step forward for our digital channels, and particularly for the RFU Championship. The competition has really gone from strength to strength over the past 18 months and we’ve seen a real rise in interest, particularly on Twitter. With the Bristol game kicking-off at 1245 and London Welsh available on line from 3pm, supporters can look forward to a RFU Championship marathon on May 13!”

RFU Championship semi-finals

• Bedford Blues v London Welsh, Friday May 4, KO 1945 – Updates via @RFUChampionship
• Cornish Pirates v Bristol Rugby, Monday May 7, KO 1205 – Sky Sports HD
• Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Sunday May 13, KO 1245 – Sky Sports HD
• London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Sunday May 13, KO 1500 – www.rfu.com/ChampionshipLive

RFU Championship Final