Sheriden trains charity marathon runner

Posted on Oct 8, 2010 in Rugby News

Sale Sharks’ and England prop Andrew Sheridan took some time out of training this week to do some personal training for James Kight, managing director of Altrincham based Printerland.co.uk  who are official sponsors of Sale Sharks.  James is training to run the London Marathon next April in a bid to raise over £25,000 for the Breast Cancer Campaign.

Andrew put James through his paces including the dreaded squat rack, one of the exercises where Sheridan, arguably the strongest man in world rugby, particularly excels.  He says, "It’s an honour to be helping James in his bid to raise money for this fantastic cause.  Everyone knows someone who has been touched by Breast Cancer and by supporting James you will really make a difference.  He is training hard and as long as he keeps it up he has a great chance of hitting the sub 4hr target I have set him."

James Kight’s company Printerland.co.uk have recently signed up for a sixth season as official sponsors of Sale Sharks.  Sharks’ supporters are now well and truly familiar with the passionate atmosphere of the Printerland.co.uk Stand at Edgeley Park.  James is confident that the support he has received from the Sharks and Andrew Sheridan, will prove invaluable to his efforts to finish the marathon and raise the £25,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign.

"It’s fantastic to have Andrew and the Sharks on board.  Not only is Andrew a great motivator and trainer, the help I have received regarding nutrition and injury prevention should help me cross the finish line in a half decent time.

Please help me reach my target, all the money goes direct to the cause and every penny counts!!"

Breast Cancer Campaign’s mission is to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure. We aim to be the leading specialist in breast cancer research across the UK and Ireland, making a significant impact on breast cancer for the benefit of patients.

To donate go to www.printerland.co.uk/run or contact James@printerland.co.uk

Bedford Blues take to the road after impressive win

Posted on Oct 4, 2010 in Rugby News

Bedford Blues take to the road again tomorrow as they travel west to face last season’s play-off finalists Bristol.

The Blues go into the game off the back of an impressive 41-12 win over Moseley, but Bristol have also found their form after winning their first game of the season 21-7 against Cornish Pirates.

The Blues have been hit by more injuries with Ollie Dodge facing time on the sidelines after he had to have 18 stitches to his head after taking a knock early in the game against Moseley. It has also been confirmed that Brendan Burke faces six weeks out with medial knee ligament damage. Duncan Taylor is already out with a broken collarbone, while Robin Boot and Ben Lewitt are both long term absentees.

There was some good news though after Ian Vass and Sam Walsh both competed in action on Wednesday night when a development side defeated the RAF 38-5. Vass completed a half while Walsh racked up 60 minutes of valuable game time on the pitch.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s encounter Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer said: “We’ve certainly been enjoying our rugby of late, but we can’t afford to take anything for granted especially at the Memorial Ground.

“People may be looking at Bristol as a team in descent, but that would be very foolish. They are more of a sleeping giant and everyone in this league knows that they have a squad that is more than capable of competing and I’m sure they will be up there come the play-offs.

“From our point of view we have been struggling a bit this week with injuries and are pretty much at the bare bones of the squad. That said, the lads have stepped up a gear in training and I know that they will be champing at the bit to get on the pitch and have a real crack at Bristol.”

Rayer has made a number of enforced changes to the side that started against Moseley with. As he did during the game, James Pritchard comes on to start on the wing while Tom Bedford moves to outside centre and Ian Vass pulls on the number 12 shirt for the first time this season. There is also a five/two split on the bench with Sam Walsh named in the replacements.

Starting line-up:

15. Edd Thrower
14. James Short
13. Tom Bedford
12. Ian Vass
11. James Pritchard
10. Myles Dorrian
9. Darryl Veenendaal

1. Laurence Ovens
2. Dan Richmond
3. Phil Boulton
4. Paul Tupai
5. Alex Rae
6. Gregor Gillanders
7. Will Fraser
8. Jackson Wray

Replacements: Joe Clark, Dan Seal, Sam Walsh, Sean Tomes, Mike Howard, Will Chudley, Nick Walshe.

Scottish Rugby Honours Graduates

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 in Rugby News

Scottish Rugby honoured 17 of its community coach apprentices at a graduation ceremony at Murrayfield on Friday (24 September).
The occasion was lead by Scotland head coach Andy Robinson and Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Life Long Learning, which commended the graduates for achieving a Level 2 SVQ in Coaching, Teaching & Instructing Rugby Union, in addition to a number of industry specific awards within coaching, refereeing, first aid and assessing.
Their input and enthusiasm towards rugby development within their own communities has involved pro-active and extended rugby development to approximately 400 primary schools and 100 secondary schools across the country in the past year.
Alongside classroom based study, the apprentices, sponsored by rugby clubs and local authorities, work in tandem with Scottish Rugby’s regional development network and have graduated with a Scottish Modern Apprenticeship.
Their contribution to the development network in delivering the opportunity to experience rugby and become physically active to thousands of Scottish schoolchildren on a weekly basis, regardless of where they live, was lauded at the ceremony by Robinson.
He said: "Each of the candidates has been supported throughout their vocation by their hometown clubs and, in many cases, their local authorities. These groups must also be applauded for helping to support grassroots rugby within their own communities offering rugby to all children as an acceptable and positive sporting option."
Since its inception eight years ago, the scheme has been a nationally-acclaimed success, contributing to the development feat of growing the Scottish rugby player base by 50% in the last four years.
Robinson added: "The programme exemplifies the way forward if we are to bring new recruits to rugby, irrespective of their background and, at the same time, encourage greater physical activity for young people in Scotland.
"Congratulations to the graduates and everyone involved in giving these young people the chance to flourish."
Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Life Long Learning, said: "The Modern Apprenticeship programme is a genuine success story for Scotland and one of the reasons for that is that organisations outwith the traditional industries are taking part.
"I had the opportunity to visit Murrayfield earlier this year to meet some of the apprentices taking part in the Scottish Rugby training programme. I was very impressed with what I saw – the commitment of the organisation and of the individuals I met was clear to see.
"I would like to extend my congratulations to the community coach apprentices who have been honoured by Scottish Rugby and wish them good luck with their future careers."

- SECOND YEAR GRADUATES -

James Bird (Dunfermline RFC) – David is studying a BSc in Sport and Exercise at Abertay University
Euan Bonner (BATS) – Euan has successfully applied to study an HND in Sports Coaching at Telford College
Mark Christie (Falkirk Council) – Mark has successfully applied to study an HND in Sports Coaching at Forth College
Hani Darwish (Biggar) – Hani is now coaching Biggar rugby club
Thomas Davidson (Cartha) – Thomas has successfully applied to study an HND Sports Coaching at Cardonald College
Jack Forrester (Lasswade) – Jack is coaching in Midlothian
John Hall (Stobswell) – John is travelling and playing rugby in Australia
Cairstiona Hawthorn (Perthshire) – Cairstiona is studying an HNC at Perth College with a view to becoming a physiotherapist
Jordan Kingston (Dundee Eagles) – Jordan is now in Dundee
Ross Kinnear (Bannockburn/Stirling County) – Ross is studying an HND Sports Coaching in Forth College
Ross Manson (City of Edinburgh) – Ross is now a sessional coach for Edinburgh City Council
Gregor Manson (Clackmannanshire Council) – Gregor is coaching at Hillfoots
Hamish Munro (Portobello) – Hamish is now the competitions administrator at Scottish Rugby
James Sadio (Mackie) – James has been appointed as Mackie rugby club development officer
Craig Shearer (Dundee Eagles) – is studying an HNC in Physical Education and Sports Studies at Dundee College
Graeme Simpson (Clackmannanshire Council) – Graeme is now an assistant rugby coach for Clackmannanshire Council
Michael- James Starkey (Clydebank) – Michael-James is now coaching at Clydebank rugby club
Colin Sturgeon (Carrick/Girvan/Ayr) – Colin has a secured a coaching role at Ayr

Baxter warns of fierce test from Falcons

Posted on Sep 17, 2010 in English Rugby, Premiership

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter insists tomorrow’s Aviva Premiership clash with Newcastle Falcons at Sandy Park is the club’s "biggest game of the season so far".

Although the Chiefs opened up with a 22-10 victory over visiting Gloucester, before then forcing defending champions Leicester Tigers to hit back from a 27-16 deficit to win 37-27, it’s the impending visit of the Falcons which is uppermost in the mind of Baxter.

With two notable performances already under their belts, Baxter is well aware that those displays have already set a high benchmark for his players who must now replicate their efforts not only this weekend, but in the coming weeks and months.

Alongside the Chiefs, Alan Tait’s Newcastle side have also been tipped by a number of rugby pundits to be one of the sides set to struggle this season. It is little wonder then this first-ever league fixture between the two clubs – who are poised to meet five times this season in all competitions – is already been billed as a crunch encounter.

Baxter said: "In a lot of ways I think this is the biggest game of the three. That emotional build up we had for the Gloucester and Leicester games was a big part of how well we did, now we have got to make sure we show that same emotion, attitude and work ethic in our second home game.

“There’s a bit of pressure on us to perform out there, that’s what Premiership rugby is about and I’m quite enjoying the fact that people think we’re going to do quite well now. That creates a different scenario for us as a team and I think Newcastle will target us in different ways than Gloucester and Leicester.

“There’s no point running away from it, we’re one of the sides they’ll target to get points from for their Premiership campaign. That makes it a very important game for us.”

Having lost their opening league fixture of the season at Sale Sharks, the Falcons hit back a week ago when they overcame visiting London Wasps 29-17 at Kingston Park. Newcastle’s Kiwi fly-half Jimmy Gopperth did much of the damage in that success, scoring 19 points as the Falcons hit back from a 17-3 deficit. And it is that fighting spirit that Baxter is well aware of as the two sides prepare to lock horns.

Indeed, Baxter has warned that if his squad are not in the right frame of mind for this latest match-up, any advantage they get from playing in front of the Sandy Park faithful could well be extinguished.

"Undoubtedly home form is key, it’s key to every side’s season," he said. "Gloucester only won two games away from home last season, but had a pretty comfortable Premiership season. They’re targeting away games because they won so few last season. That shows you where clubs are – their seasons are built on their home performances and their home records.

"For us this is very important because it’s a home game, but it’s also very important to us because we lost last week and we’ve got to get back into winning ways."

Baxter added: "We have got the advantage of playing at home in front of what will hopefully be a very large crowd, Newcastle have got to travel, so we’ve got to take advantage of all that.

"The way you do that is by hitting the pitch in great condition and in a great frame of mind and if you do that it’s a big help. If you don’t hit the pitch in the right frame of mind a crowd can only do so much.

"We have concentrated hard on a really good, quality preparation week as we have in the other weeks. We haven’t done anything different in our preparation for the opposition

Team news ahead of the kick-off sees Baxter stick with the same starting XV for the third game on the bounce, but there are changes on the bench where Samoan international Junior Poluleuligaga returns after a hamstring injury in place of James Honeyben, while summer signing Andrew Higgins comes into the squad for the first time in place of Matt Jess.

EXETER CHIEFS TEAM TO FACE NEWCASTLE FALCONS
15 Luke Arscott
14 Nic Sestaret
13 Phil Dollman
12 Bryan Rennie
11 Mark Foster
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Neil Clark
3 Hoani Tui
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 James Hanks
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 James Phillips

Replacements
16 Simon Alcott
17 Ben Moon
18 Chris Budgen
19 Dave Gannon
20 Chad Slade
21 Junior Poluleuligaga
22 Ryan Davis
23 Andrew Higgins

Knights make changes: Bedford’s Rayer under no illusions

Posted on Sep 17, 2010 in Championship, English Rugby

 

Two Welshmen face each other on an English field of battle as Doncaster Knights under one of Pontypridd’s favourite sons, Lynn Howells takes on Bedford Blues headed by Cardiff’s Mike Rayer. There will be no room for sentiment however, as the old rivals do battle at the top of the Championship table.

Doncaster’s Director of Rugby Lynn Howells makes two changes for Saturday’s match at home to Bedford (KO 2.30pm) from the side that had an excellent win away at Bristol the previous weekend. In the pack, hooker Steve Boden returns in place of the injured Steve Lawrie whilst, in the backs, winger Andy Wright, last season’s leading try scorer, gets a start ahead of Dougie Flockhart. The Knights will be looking to build on the performance they put in last weekend at the Memorial Ground as they return to Castle Park for what promises to be a humdinger of a match against second place Bedford.

The Blues are heading up the M1 to Yorkshire once again this weekend to face a Doncaster side who appear to be finding their feet and hitting a rich vein of form at the moment.

Last weekend the Knights inflicted a third defeat of the season on Bristol as they chalked up 12-26 win at the Memorial Ground, but the Blues are also riding high after racking up a 31-9 victory over Esher who had also beaten Bris the week before.

But the win against Esher did come at a cost to the Blues squad. Following a rather horrendous hit, Duncan Taylor is facing between four and six weeks on the sidelines with a fractured clavicle (collar bone). Mike Howard and Sacha Harding are also missing from this weekend’s encounter after picking up knocks in the same game. Howard has a knee ligament problem and will be missing for at least a fortnight while Harding is ruled out with a hip problem. Brendan Burke has been suffering from a back injury and misses out again, but the Irishman has been receiving treatment and shouldn’t be too far from a return. Ian Vass, Sam Walsh, Ben Lewitt and Robin Boot are all still out of action.

Looking ahead to the game Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer said: "Doncaster are always a difficult team to face whether it be on the road or at home and I’m sure that they will be buoyed by their result against Bristol last weekend.

"We’ve not had the easiest of weeks with so many players picking up knocks and we are having to manage the use of players such as Owen Farrell and James Short who are involved not only with us, but Saracens as well.

"That said, I have every confidence in the squad that we have put together and we have such depth that we are able to call on players and rotate positionally when needed and that is what we are doing this weekend. Laurence Ovens has recovered from the knock he took at Rotherham and Edd Thrower comes in for his first start which will be fantastic for him and is great for the squad as a whole.

"We are under no illusions going into this game, it is not only going to be a real test of character but a test of our squad depth. What we have to do is improve our performance after our last trip on the road. Our ability to control the ball and take opportunities when they present themselves will be crucial as we know Donny have the ability to keep sides under the cosh for sustained periods."

Bedford make nine changes to the side that started against Esher with Edd Thrower, Ollie Dodge, Myles Dorrian coming into the backs in place of Duncan Taylor, James Short and Owen Farrell respectively. Up front Laurence Ovens replaces Phil Boulton, Alex Rae rotates with Gregor Gillanders, Chris Gooman comes in for the injured Sacha Harding and Paul Tupai returns for the crocked Mike Howard having served an internal one match ban. James Pritchard moves to outside centre while Dan Seal reverts back to tighthead prop and Will Fraser comes onto the bench for the 2.30pm clash.

Doncaster Knights

15 McColl, 14 Wright, 13 Briers, 12 Gidlow, 11 Williams, 10 Roberts, 9 Hallam, 1 Frazier, 2 Boden, 3 Cusack, 4 Kenworthy, 5 Craig, 6 Boyde, 7 Cochrane (Capt), 8 Jackson,

Replacements: 16 Doughty, 17 Thiede, 18 Corsar, 19 Parsons, 20 Walker, 21 Goss, 22 Flockhart

Bedford Blues

15. Edd Thrower, 14. Handre Schmidt, 13. James Pritchard (c), 12. Tom Bedford, 11. Ollie Dodge, 10. Myles Dorrian,  9. Darryl Veenendaal, 1. Laurence Ovensl, 2. Joe Clark, 3. Dan Seal, 4. Paul Tupai, 5. Sean Tomes, 6. Alex Rae, 7. Chris Goodman, 8. Jackson Wray

Replacements: 16. Dan Richmond, 17. Phil Boulton, 18. Gregor Gillanders, 19. Will Fraser, 20. Will Chudley, 21. Owen Farrell, 22. James Short.

Referee: Luke Pearce, Ass Refs: Steve Lee, Barry Dalby