Lancaster praise for new England Sevens captain Vickerman

Posted on May 4, 2012 in England Sevens

Stuart Lancaster today paid tribute to Rob Vickerman after the former Leeds Carnegie and Newcastle Falcons centre was named England Sevens captain.

Vickerman has been appointed by England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan to lead the side in the remaining two legs of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series – the Glasgow Sevens this weekend and the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham on May 12-13.

England Head Coach Lancaster recruited the teenaged Vickerman while at Leeds and described the 26 year-old as an “outstanding professional in both forms of the game”.

Lancaster said: “I’d like to congratulate Rob on his appointment and wish him, Ben Ryan and the England Sevens players and management the best for the final two legs of the series.

“I started working with Rob when he was a teenager at the Leeds Academy. He was and still is one of the best players I have coached with an intuitive understanding of time and space on a rugby field. He has developed into an outstanding professional in both forms of the game, first at Leeds, then at Newcastle Falcons and now as a full-time sevens player with England.

“He’s a great communicator on and off the field, someone who leads by example and I’m sure he’ll be a great ambassador for England Rugby.”

Vickerman banked more than 50 top-flight appearances for Leeds and Newcastle before joining England’s full-time sevens squad.

He accepted the captaincy honour by singling out Lancaster’s influence and added that his mentor’s success as England head coach came as no surprise to him.

“Stuart’s a person who was never going to end up anywhere other than where he is now,” said Vickerman. “He’s a real leader of men, he’s very aware of how he manages and of his principles he’s learned at Leeds and with the RFU.

“He’s helped me in leaps and bounds and has been one of the most influential people in my life, not just my career, so it’s great to see him doing well.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he would succeed with England. To anyone who has worked with him and knows his philosophies in terms of the culture in the team, it’s no surprise.”

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Phil Davies appointed Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby

Posted on May 3, 2012 in Cardiff Blues, Welsh Rugby

Cardiff Blues have announced that Phil Davies has been appointed as Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby.

Davies played his club rugby for Llanelli and enjoyed a distinguished 46-cap career for Wales between 1985 and 1995.

The ex-Wales captain, born in Seven Sisters, spent a decade at Leeds Tykes between 1996 and 2006 taking the Yorkshire club from Division Three into top-flight Premiership rugby. He steered Leeds to their Heineken Cup debut in 2003 and to a Powergen Cup win in 2005. Davies also spent two years at the Scarlets, leading them to their first Heineken Cup semi-final in eight years.

The former Scarlets and Leeds boss Phil Davies joined Worcester Warriors as a forwards coach from his position at the WRU as Wales Under-20s coach and National Academy Manager in August 2010.

Commenting on the appointment, Cardiff Blues CEO Richard Holland said:

“Phil Davies is a hugely respected coach and we are delighted to have secured him as the new Cardiff Blues Director of Rugby.”

“He has shown during his time at the Leeds Tykes, when he took them from Division Three to the Premiership, that he can develop a young team and deliver success.”

“He is hugely knowledgeable about the game, extremely hard working and we look forward to having him with us for the forthcoming season.”

Speaking of his appointment, Phil Davies said:

“I’m really looking forward to starting the job. It’s a role I’ve been passionate about for a long, long time.”

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Leeds set for emotional end of season

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Leeds Carnegie

Leeds Carnegie are set for an emotional last day of the season as a number of players make their final appearances for the club.

The club’s four most experienced players in terms of career starts will all be making their final appearances. Prop Mike MacDonald will make his 127th appearance for the club since joining in 2006 whilst Lee Blackett returns on the wing for his 99th start for the club since joining from Rotherham in March 2006. Centre Scott Barrow has made 81 appearances for Leeds Carnegie whilst winger Michael Stephenson has made 48 appearances since joining from Bath in 2010.

Head Coach Diccon Edwards has made a number of changes to the side that won at Rotherham last Saturday. Tommy Bell will start at fly half in place of Joe Ford with Craig Hampson at scrum half instead of Will Cliff.

In the pack, Halani Aulika and Sean Hohneck are also making their final appearances for Leeds Carnegie whilst Richard Beck continues his role in the back row.

The team in full is:

15. Stevie McColl

14. Lee Blackett

13. Iain Thornley

12. Scott Barrow

11. Michael Stephenson

10. Tommy Bell

9. Craig Hampson

1. Mike MacDonald

2. Andy Titterrell (c)

3. Halani Aulika

4. Jon Pendlebury

5. Sean Hohneck

6. Richard Beck

7. Jacob Rowan

8. Ryan Burrows

16. Scott Freer

17. Mo Mustafa

18. Ed Williamson

19. Chris Walker

20. Will Cliff

21. Jordan Davies

22. Pete Lucock

Titans ready for derby battle

Posted on Apr 13, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans are prepared for another tough Yorkshire derby as they welcome the visit of Leeds Carnegie to Clifton Lane on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Mathematically, it is still possible for Titans to reach the semi-final stage of the competition, but anything less than a victory over local rivals Leeds will see their slender hopes evaporate.

The only change to the squad that narrowly lost 14-17 to Cornish Pirates last time out is Cliffie Hodgson comes in for the injured Garry Law at fly-half.

Looking ahead to the contest Titans assistant coach Ben Wade said, “The boys have trained very well this week and they are ready for what we anticipate will be a tough Yorkshire battle. Both Leeds and ourselves can still progress from the pool, throw into the mix it’s a local derby with lots of pride at stake and that means both sides will be giving everything to gain the victory.

“We had a tremendous victory at Leeds just four weeks ago and to repeat that result would be brilliant, unfortunately that will count for nothing when the teams run out at Clifton Lane on Saturday. The boys know that and there won’t be any complacency on our part. We’d like to sign off our last game of the season at Clifton Lane with a memorable victory and finish the campaign as the top side in Yorkshire.”

Rotherham Titans: 15 Tom Foden, 14 Peter Homan, 13 Dave McCall, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Cliffie Hodgson, 9 Jimmy Williams, 1 Shane Cahill, 2 Dan Baines, 3 Ben Hooper, 4 Neale Patrick, 5 Barney Maddison, 6 Robin Copeland, 7 Sean Dougall (Capt.), 8 Semisi Taulava.

Replacements: 16 Ted Stagg, 17 Jamie Kilbane, 18 Talite Vaioleti, 19 Adrian Griffiths, 20 Carl Kirwan, 21 Ed Tellwright, 22 Stephen Hamilton.

Championship playoffs set to enter final furlong

Posted on Apr 11, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby

London Welsh are all but certain of a place in the Championship semi- finals after they surged to the top of Pool A thanks to a bonus- point win at Doncaster. On-loan Bath winger Nick Scott raced in for a hat- trick of tries for the Exiles who are now ten points clear of third- placed Nottingham who they meet in the final round of pool games later this month.

Welsh just need a bonus point from their remaining two games to make sure of their place in the last four for the third consecutive season. Doncaster, meanwhile, played their part in an entertaining contest that produced eight tries – three of them to the home side for whom former Newcastle academy player Fred Burdon crossed the line twice.

Bristol stuttered for the second time at home after being held to a 19- all draw against Nottingham. But it could have been worse for the West Country outfit had James Arlidge’s drop goal attempt gone over in the final minute.

A crowd of just over 7,000 turned up at the Memorial Stadium expecting to see Bristol confirm their place in the semi- finals but Liam Middleton’s men were unable to convert the ten-point lead they held at half- time into victory. Nottingham now need to beat Doncaster away and London Welsh at home to have any chance of progressing further in the competition.

Bedford became the first team to officially book their place in the Championship semi- finals after securing their first victory over Leeds at the fourth attempt this season. Leeds did the double over the Blues in the regular season and the sides then drew in the first play- off meeting at Headingley. But on home soil and in front of a large crowd Bedford laid that particular bogey to rest with a 26-20 win at Goldington Road. Tries for Josh Bassett and on- loan Saracens scrum- half Luke Baldwin at the start of the second half proved pivotal to the eventual outcome.

Cornish Pirates are strong favourites to join Bedford in the last four after repeating their home and away victories over Rotherham in the regular season in the play- offs. The Pirates are seven points clear of Leeds, who they meet at Headingley in the final round of fixtures, following their 17-14 success at Clifton Lane. Four penalties from Rob Cook and a try from flanker Phil Burgess were enough to see off the Titans who are bottom of the pool.

Leeds’s hopes of returning to the Premiership at the first attempt are now hanging by a thread after a four- game winless run in the play- offs. A record of two draws and two defeats means that victories in their remaining two games are vital if they are to stand any chance of beating Pirates to the second semi- final qualification play- off spot.

Plymouth will live to fight another day in the Championship after securing their third straight win in the play- offs. On Sunday Albion completed the double over London Scottish with an 11-6 victory at the Athletic Ground to ensure that a troubled season on and off the field has a happy ending.

Aaron Carpenter’s try in the 56th minute proved crucial to the eventual outcome with all the other points in a tight game coming from the boots of Dan Mugford and James Love with two penalties apiece. Love has been integral to Plymouth’s survival bid with 51 points in the play- offs to add to the 187 he managed in the regular season – not a bad return for his inaugural Championship campaign.

Neither Plymouth nor Moseley can be caught at the top of the Pool C table. Both sides are safe having accumulated 19 points – 13 more than bottom side Esher with two games remaining. Moseley secured their future in the second tier with a 25-13 win at Esher, Brad Davies and David Lyons scoring their tries with Ollie Thomas contributing 10 points from the kicking tee.

Esher are effectively down and out unless they can pick up maximum points from their remaining two fixtures and London Scottish fail to claim a single bonus point in theirs. Esher are at home to Plymouth on April 14 before making the short trip to London Scottish a week later.