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

England U18 name squad for FIRA/AER European Championship in France

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 in England U18

England Under 18 coaches John Fletcher, Peter Walton and Ian Peel have named their squad for the 2013 FIRA/AER European Championship, held in Grenoble.

Defending champions England face Portugal in their first game on Friday March 22 (KO 7pm local time) before readying themselves for a potential semi-final and final.  

Head Coach Fletcher said: “We’ve got a good squad for this tournament but we know that it will be a challenge. We’re missing a few lads; Alfie Barron, Max Clark, Brett Herron and Will Owen are injured unfortunately, but it gives an opportunity for guys to come in and impress.

"Our aim is to build on the recent performances against Scotland and Wales and improve through the three games"

Forwards

Andrew Boyce (Worcester Warriors & Kings Worcester)
Andrew Hughes (Sale Sharks & Hartpury College)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby & Bryanston School)
Charlie Hewitt (Exeter Chiefs & Ivybridge College)
Lewis Boyce (Leeds Carnegie & Prince Henry’s Grammar)
Jack Walker (Leeds Carnegie & Prince Henry’s Grammar)
James Chisholm (Harlequins & Brighton College)
Jordan Onjoaife (Northampton Saints & Stowe School)
Josh Peters (Northampton Saints & Oundle School)
Matt Bolwell (Exeter Chiefs & Truro College)
Luke Chapman (Exeter Chiefs & Truro College)
Neale Farthing (Leicester Tigers  & Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth College)
Paul Hill (Leeds Carnegie & Prince Henry’s Grammar)
Sam James (Saracens & Bishops Stortford)

Backs

George Perkins (Saracens & Oaklands College)
Howard Packman (Northampton Saints & Moulton College)
James Mitchell (Sale Sharks & Lymm School)
Josh Sharp (Saracens & Oaklands College)
Josh Skelcey (Northampton Saints & Moulton College)
Louis Clayton-Molloy (London Wasps & Harrow School)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens & Oaklands College)
Stuart Townsend (Exeter Chiefs & Ivybridge College)
Tom Fowlie (London Irish & St Pauls Catholic College)
Tom Howe (London Wasps & Shiplake College)
Lucas Slowik (Bristol Rugby & Filton College)
Rory Jennings (Bath Rugby & Bryanston School)

Doncaster Knights v London Scottish postponed to next Friday

Posted on Jan 25, 2013 in Doncaster

Tonight’s Championship Round 14 fixture against London Scottish has been postponed.

The referee who inspected the Castle Park turf this morning deemed the pitch potentially playable; however, in view of the adverse weather forecast, the predicted snow and associated Amber Warnings issued by the UK Met Office and Highways Agency for the Yorkshire & Humber Region, the RFU agreed the postponement of the game until next Friday provided both clubs agreed.

The Club have been in conversation with London Scottish who agreed that, in view of the impending conditions, they would take our advice to not travel and agreed to the postponement.

All hospitality and commercial plans will move to next Friday night for the rescheduled match against London Scottish on February 1st (KO 19:45).

The Club would like to thank the volunteers and others who braved the elements to clear the snow yesterday.

British & Irish Cup Round 6 preview

Posted on Jan 15, 2013 in British and Irish Cup

RFU Championship sides Bedford Blues, Cornish Pirates and Newcastle Falcons have all secured their place in the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup with one round of pool games to go.

A fifth straight bonus-point victory against Stirling means the Blues are certain of being one of the top four seeded teams in the last eight draw, guaranteeing them a home tie. The Pirates and Falcons only have to avoid defeat away to Carmarthen and Cross Keys respectively to enjoy the same advantage.

Like Bedford, who scraped home 24-21, Newcastle made heavy weather of beating Connacht at Kingston Park. The Falcons won 16-6 to maintain their winning run going into next weekend’s clash at Pandy Park. Meanwhile, a man-of-the-match display from Wes Davies helped the Pirates see off Dundee, 34-14.

One point from their match against Cardiff on Sunday will be enough to see Bristol join their Championship rivals as a seeded team in the quarter-final draw. Liam Middleton’s men are four points clear of Ulster, who they beat 12-8 in Belfast in Round 5, and they have a far better points tally (22) than the likely pool winners of Pools 5-8 inclusive.

Leinster A went a long way to securing top spot in Pool 5 with a 21-9 win over Pontypridd, their nearest rivals in the table. Leinster need to take a point from their final pool game against Leeds, which has been switched to the John Charles Sports Stadium, to maintain their interest in the competition.

Moseley’s stranglehold on Pool 6 continued after a win by the narrowest of margins at home to London Scottish. Again, one point will be enough for the Midlands side to go through at the expense of Llanelli, who they play in West Wales in their final pool game.

Pool 7 is Munster A’s to lose as they are currently four points clear of second-placed Rotherham Titans. Munster entertain Plymouth in the final fixture, while the Titans are at home to Aberavon.

Dave Jackson’s 100th try for Nottingham in Saturday’s 16-14 win away to Doncaster kept the Green & Whites’ slim hopes of a last eight place alive. Llandovery are the firm favourites to top the pool, though, after they beat Melrose 34-12 to stay five points clear. The two sides face each other at Meadow Lane on Saturday evening.

Friday January 18

Pool 7
Munster A v Plymouth Albion

Saturday January 19

Pool 1
Bridgend v Ulster Ravens, KO 14:00

Pool 2
Neath v Stirling, KO 14:00
Bedford Blues v Bedwas, KO 15:00

Pool 3
Carmarthen v Cornish Pirates, KO 14:00
Dundee v Swansea

Pool 4
Connacht Eagles v Newport
Cross Keys v Newcastle Falcons

Pool 5
Leeds Carnegie v Leinster A, KO 14:00
Pontypridd v Jersey, KO 14:00

Pool 6
Llanelli v Moseley, KO 14:30
London Scottish v Gala, KO 15:00

Pool 7
Rotherham Titans v Aberavon, KO 14:00

Pool 8
Melrose v Doncaster, KO 14:00
Nottingham v Llandovery, KO 20:00

Sunday January 20

Pool 1
Bristol v Cardiff, KO 15:00

RFU Championship to lead RefCam trial

Posted on Dec 19, 2012 in Championship, emb

The RFU Championship will trial the first ever use of “RefCam” in a live rugby union broadcast when Newcastle Falcons take on London Scottish this Sunday, December 23. KO 315pm.

Continuing to bring supporters closer to the action, the RFU Championship fixture will show live footage from a camera placed on the shirt of match referee Matt Carley, including close-ups of the scrum in particular. As well as increasing the viewing experience for supporters and helping them understand the role of the referee, RefCam will crucially provide a vehicle for referees further down the leagues to gain valuable insight into professional refereeing.

Commenting on the new project Head of Professional Referee Development Ed Morrison said:

“This is an exciting development and one that we’re excited to trial. Not only will it offer a new perspective for viewers but it will also provide us with an additional tool which can be utilised within the on-going development of our referees."

Gus Williamson, Executive Producer, Sky Sports Rugby Union, also commented:

“At Sky Sports we are always looking to introduce broadcast innovations that add depth to our coverage and this will certainly help viewers understand the decisions that referees make. We are excited about working with the RFU and we are confident that rugby viewers will be fascinated by this new way of watching the game.”

Newcastle Falcons vs London Scottish, Sunday December 23, KO 315pm. Live on Sky Sports 3 HD.

Picture: RFU referee JP Doyle