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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Huge test awaits Welsh defence against Blues

Posted on Apr 25, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Welsh

London Welsh’s defence will have to overcome its most fierce examination if the club are to reach their first-ever Championship final.

The Exiles face old rivals Bedford over two legs for a place in the Championship final, having twice previously missed out in the semi-finals.

Bedford’s Goldington Road will be the venue for the 1st leg on May 4 (kick-off 7:45pm), with Old Deer Park hosting the return game on May 13 (kick-off 3pm).

“Bedford Blues are a very good attacking side – the best attacking side in the league by far,” said Jones.

Welsh will go into the semi-finals in confident mood on the back of last Saturday’s 33-25 win over Nottingham at Meadow Lane.

The Exiles had already guaranteed their place in the last four, but Jones resisted the temptation to ring the changes ahead of the semi-finals.

Instead Jones fielded 13 of the starting line up which secured the Exiles the point the club needed against Bristol the previous week to book the club’s third consecutive semi-final appearance.

“We’ve got a big gap between Bristol at home and the first leg of the semi-final, and I didn’t want too much time with the boys with their feet up. We felt it was beneficial to go up to Nottingham with as few changes as possible,” said Jones.

“There were some good parts to our game [v Bristol] and there were some not so good parts.

“Throughout the season boys are given a chance to play and at the end of the season it’s up to me to make the call on what is the best side. Boys have come in and they’ve taken the opportunity, fair play to them, and I have to respond to that.”

One of those changes from the Bristol game saw club captain Jon Mills make his first start since December 3.

“It will be interesting to see how Jon Mills come through from his foot injury,” said Jones.

“We’re not in a bad state considering where we were in mid-season with 13 injuries. We’re in good spirits and we’re in good health, and looking forward to the next challenge.”

Ten points down early on against Nottingham, the Exiles produced a strong second half display with Seb Jewell crossing twice, while goal kicker and full back Alex Davies finished with 16 points. While pleased, Jones was not entirely satisfied.

“I was delighted, but to be honest I didn’t doubt that we were going to win. We’re confident at the moment and we’re playing with a nice bit of flair – we just need to lay the platform to be able execute more,” said Jones.

“We conceded 17 points before the break and that’s inexcusable. We have to deal with our opening half; away from home we were just a little bit too open.

“Having said that we came back and played some really good rugby and just failed to get a bonus point.”

For Jones, though, last Saturday’s trip to Nottingham was all about the performance and not the result.

“It’s about playing without fear and trying to get the game going and trying to put some impetus into it. On Saturday it paid off, other days it doesn’t,” he added.

“We just needed to get Nottingham into an open game. Nottingham are a really good side up there. They’ve got a well organised defence and we had to work hard to break it down, but eventually we did find some holes and were able to capitalise.”

Jones lays down a challenge to London Welsh

Posted on Apr 12, 2012 in Latest Rugby News

London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones has challenged his players to pick up from where they left off against Doncaster Knights, when Bristol visit Old Deer Park on Sunday (kick-off 3:15pm).

The Exiles face Pool A rivals Bristol in front of the live Sky Sports cameras needing just a solitary point from their final two fixtures to secure their third consecutive Championship semi-final appearance.

However, that could prove academic should Nottingham fail to come away with a bonus-point win when they travel to Doncaster 24 hours earlier.

Jones doesn’t believe the two-week break will have an adverse affect on the Exiles, but he’s challenged his players to make sure that’s the case on Sunday.

“I don’t anticipate it being difficult, but it’s down to the individual,” said Jones. “Players should realise that every time they cross that white line they get measured – their livelihoods depend on the strength of their performance.

“All you’re looking for is boys to be more consistent in the way they prepare during the week, and consistency and continuity in performance. If you can do that you’ve got a future, and a successful one.”

Last time out, Welsh ran in five tries in a 40-19 win over Doncaster at Castle Park to leapfrog Bristol in the table, after they were held to a draw at the Memorial Stadium by the Green & Whites.

Jones admits that on balance the Exiles would probably have preferred to have kept going, after their win at Doncaster maintained Welsh’s unbeaten start to play-offs.

“Momentum is a wonderful thing, it’s like playing well in the first half – you just don’t want half-time,” he said.

“Likewise now, we’re really pleased with the way we’ve played and the way we prepared for Doncaster. We’ve built up some momentum, so it will be interesting to see how we respond after the break.

“I think players can take the break for what it is and that’s a chance to recharge physically and mentally and come back bigger and better, and build on the things they’ve progressed on. Bad players can’t do it.”

With Nottingham holding Bristol to a draw, the Exiles knew that victory over Doncaster would send them top of Pool A, while the Knights needed victory to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the last four.

The home side trailed by a point at the break, but the Exiles controlled the second half with Nick Scott completing his hat-trick to ensure Welsh got the win they needed to leapfrog Bristol in the table.

“Doncaster are a very good attacking side and going away from home is never easy,” said Jones.

“Having said that, I would say our away record this season is better than our home record and that’s an area of concern that the players need to address before the next fixture.

“To score 40 points (v Doncaster) in a game of rugby is fantastic, so for us to do it away from home in the play-offs against one of the better sides is a double-whammy.

“It wasn’t a case that Doncaster were short of players through injury or played badly, they played well. It’s just that we took our chances in attack and played well.”

Victory over Bristol on Sunday would guarantee the Exiles top spot in Pool A, but Jones does not believe that will be of any discernable advantage to Welsh.

“Normally it’s good to finish on top because you avoid the better side in the other pool, but I think the four teams that qualify for the semi-finals will be of equal ability and can beat each other on the day,” he said.

As for the Exiles only requiring one point to book their place in the semi-finals, or for Nottingham to drop a point, Jones is not unduly concerned by such permutations.

“What’s important to us now is building on the performances we’ve put in so far by looking at consistency, realising our potential as individuals to reflect our team performance and if we can do that then league positions look after themselves,” he said.

Sunday will be Welsh and Bristol’s fourth meeting of the season. Jack Tovey’s late try gave Bristol a 35-33 win over the Exiles in an eight-try thriller in front of the live Sky Sports cameras in October.

Tries from Saul Nelson and Hudson Tonga’uiha then saw Welsh run out 23-17 winners at Old Deer Park, while Bristol needed a penalty from former Exile Matthew Jones with the last kick of the game to earn a 12-12 draw when the sides met in the play-offs at the Memorial Stadium last month.

Welsh will be particularly keen to reverse that last-gasp defeat to Bristol in front of the Sky cameras – a game the Exiles led from Rob Lewis’ first minute try. And Jones believes the fact that Sunday’s game is live on Sky is sure to have a bearing.

“People are measured by their peers and everyone will want to put in a good strong performance. It’s going to bring out another edge in the 30 players who start the game,” he said.

Jones demands more pride in the Welsh jersey

Posted on Mar 26, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Welsh, London Welsh

In the wake of the Exiles’ 34-24 win over Doncaster Knights at Old Deer Park on Saturday, head coach Lyn Jones has demanded his players show more pride in the London Welsh jersey.

Welsh were nearly made to pay for a below-par first half performance which saw them trial Doncaster three tries to nil at half-time, although by only seven points on the scoreboard thanks to the accurate boot of full back Alex Davies.

Second half tries from Dan George, Nick Scott and Hudson Tonga’uiha, along with the sin-binnings of Matt Challinor and Chris Planchant, saw the Exiles take control with victory moving them a step closer to a place in the semi-finals, although they can ill afford a similar first half display when they make the return trip to Castle Park next Saturday.

“We just need to make sure that we face Doncaster’s challenge with a little bit more pride for the red shirt,” said Jones.

“We’re disappointed to concede 24 points and four tries, and the manner of the points scored was very careless.

“I think Bristol took so much out of us mentally that we weren’t able to raise ourselves today – we suffered in the first half.

“We kicked badly, we kicked long, we didn’t play enough first half and at the end of the day Doncaster wanted it a bit more than we did.”

Jones’ half-time pep-talk seemed to have the desired effect, however, and it was a different London Welsh side that emerged after the break.

“We reflected on the rugby we played first half and that took about four seconds. So it was just a matter of time before we put a bit of rugby together,” he added.

“Early discipline cost us territory and we just couldn’t get out of our own half.

“Between manipulating the scoreline we were just letting Doncaster through for well taken tries I must say – they did well to score those tries.

“But at the same time I want to be critical of my players for not wanting to get across and put tackles in.”

While unable to claim a bonus-point, the win maintains the Exiles’ unbeaten start in Pool A after three rounds.

“We haven’t lost yet; we’re pleased with where we are and we’re delighted with our four points from the match today,” said Jones.

“Today was about the result not the performance, but we need to raise our performance if we’re going to get a result next week.

Jones upbeat despite Welsh conceding last minute draw to Bristol

Posted on Mar 20, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Welsh

London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones refused to be downbeat after seeing victory prised from his side’s grasp for the second time this season at the Memorial Stadium.

Bristol needed a Matthew Jones penalty with the last kick of the game to grab a 12-12 draw on Sunday, and keep the Championship favourites on top of play-off Pool A.

But while it was may have been more late Memorial heartache for Welsh, after Jack Tovey’s last-gasp try snatched a 35-33 victory for Bristol over the Exiles in September, Jones was satisfied with the result.

“We would have taken that at the start of the day,” said Jones. “Just because Bristol stroked a penalty over at the death we shouldn’t be reflecting on that moment.

“There were several opportunities throughout the game and on reflection 12-12 was a fair score.

“In the grand scheme of things, to come to Bristol and pick up two points in the play-offs is a bonus.”

Welsh defended tigerishly throughout to keep their line in tact against a Bristol side which had run in nine tries the previous weekend in their 65-3 rout of Doncaster Knights.

Gordon’s Ross’ 69th minute drop goal looked like it might be enough to win it for the visitors, until former Exile Matthew Jones stepped up at the death.

“There are areas in our game that we need to tidy up but overall I’m delighted with the way the players applied themselves,” added Jones.

“They showed a lot of commitment, we improved in a lot of areas from Nottingham and there’s more to come.

“Our set-piece was sound and our desire to work hard in defence was greatly improved.”

In particular, the scrum was a fascinating arm wrestle and while last Sunday’s fare may have lacked the free flowing attacking rugby of the Exiles’ September visit to the Memorial Stadium, it was no less compelling for that.

“It was to and fro; James Tideswell scrummaged particular well. We know this league is dominated by the scrum,” said Jones.

“We haven’t been great all season, but we’re very positive in the way we play and the way we scrummage, and we just need to keep on going that.”

Considering Bristol’s performance against Doncaster and Welsh’s bonus point win over Nottingham, as well as events in September, Jones was a little surprised that Sunday’s game failed to produce a single try.

“We’ve just experienced Wales and England doing well in the Six Nations on the back of sound defences, and we saw it again on Sunday – two sides working hard and disciplined in defence,” he said.

“You can’t always score tries but there were opportunities on both sides. We had two clear opportunities and so did Bristol, but both sides turned them down.”

Welsh now face back-to-back games with Doncaster, starting with the Knights’ visit to Old Deer Park on Saturday, but last Sunday’s result has set up a titanic clash between London Welsh and Bristol in the return game on April 15. Jones, however, is not getting carried away.

“It’s a long way to go; we just need to look after ourselves and making sure we perform to our highest ability,” he said.

“All we’ve got to do is focus on winning our games. We’ve got back-to-back matches with Doncaster, starting next Saturday at home, and we need to give Doncaster a huge amount of respect and be as professional as we can.”