British and Irish Cup: unbeaten teams go head to head

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 in British and Irish Cup

Two teams who have both played three and won three games in this season’s British & Irish Cup competition go head to head at the Mennaye Field on Sunday (ko 2pm).

In a new cross-pool format the Pirates top Pool 1 following wins against Bristol (50-22), Plymouth Albion (0-38), and Munster A (6-10). As for visitors Cross Keys, they top Pool 2 having impressively beaten Moseley (42-3), Ayr (7-32), and Welsh Premiership leaders Neath (45-18).

Cross Keys winger Kristian Ballard, with four to his name, is the top try-scorer in the competition to date, and their back line is one that can clearly play an expansive style, which is perhaps of no surprise considering former Wales star Mark Ring, who was the Director of Rugby with the Pirates in 1997, is the Welsh side’s backs coach.

With the forecast looking improved for Sunday, a good-sized crowd is expected and would be deserving at the Mennaye Field for what should be a fascinating clash.

The Pirates side appears almost a new-look team and is one that will be keen to perform well. Of all the players involved the return to fitness of wing Darren Daniel is seen as a big plus, both to the player and the team. Having not appeared since the pre-season friendlies he will be raring to taste meaningful competitive action, starting with this cup encounter.

It being the 30th anniversary this weekend of the Penlee Lifeboat Disaster, ahead of kick-off both sides will line up in front of the main grandstand for a minute’s silence. A former captain of the Pirates reserves, John Blewett, was one of the brave eight crew members aboard the RNLB "Solomon Browne".

The expected line-ups are as follows:-

Cornish Pirates: C. Thomas, D. Daniel, A. Suniula, T. Cooper, M. Evans, M. Dorrian, J. Doherty, B. Maidment, P. Burgess, C. Morgan (capt), M. Myerscough, M. Smith, R. Brits, D. Ward, R. Storer.
Replacements: A. Paver, R. Elloway, B. Cowan, K. Marriott, G. Cattle, G. Pointer, R. McAtee.

Cross Keys (team as named for the match programme): L. Andrews, K. Baller, L. Williams, N. Williams, M. Johnstone, S. Jones, O. Jones (capt), R. Williams, C. Trayhern, M. Popham, L. Rawlins, D. Hodge, M. Jones, J. Sollis, I. George.
Replacements: R. Nash, G. Price, C. Gould, T. Lampard, J. Robinson, S. Mills, R. Dyer.

Referee: Simon Harding (RFU) Assistants: Tom Foley & Nigel Higginson (his last RFU match before hanging up his whistle and flag)
Referee Coach: Jerry Wallis

England women unbeaten in series win over NZ

Posted on Dec 5, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Women's Rugby

England Women’s had to settle for a draw in the final match of the three-test series against world champions New Zealand today (Saturday) with the Black Ferns denying England a clean sweep of wins as they held them to a 8-8 draw at Esher RFC.

The final Test, which saw England go in 2-0 up and series winners after a 10-0 victory at Twickenham Stadium seven days ago and a 21-7 win on Tuesday, was the closest of battles with New Zealand registering their best performance of the series.

The Black Ferns had led for most of the match with an early Renee Wickliffe try but England substitute Natasha Hunt levelled the score with a 55th minute touch down. Penalties from England skipper Katy McLean, on her 50th cap, and her opposite number Kelly Brazier equalled the score. New Zealand, however, have never lost back-to-back internationals or been nilled before so for England this autumn international series was sweet revenge after their Rugby World Cup final heartache in 2010.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “If I had been offered two wins and a draw against the world champions ten days ago I would have happily taken that result, so even though today’s performance wasn’t our best, I am happy. I think maybe winning the series 2-0 on Tuesday may have taken the edge off us today but the players showed real resilience to level the match after going behind in the first half.

“We have learned so much about ourselves since the world cup final 15 months ago but really this is just the starting point of where this England team can go. Having 12 players in Dubai for the IRB 7s where the team got to the final and six of our first choice players out injured, means that we are starting to show the real strength in depth we have got. We have been able to give massive opportunities to some youngsters in this series who have come through with flying colours and with two months to go before the Six Nations starts we are in good shape.

“I would also like to pay tribute to our backroom staff that have done an amazing job and worked tirelessly in getting three squads out in seven days which is a real achievement.”

Just as they did four days ago England started today’s test match strongly, putting New Zealand under immediate pressure. An England line-out just five metres out from New Zealand’s try-line gave England the territory and although they lifted too early England forced a penalty. Skipper McLean couldn’t make the kick but soon had another chance on six minutes and put England 3-0 ahead.

The world champions were, however, a rejuvenated outfit today, and were clearly determined not to go home winless. They took their opportunities well and when a ball went loose after a crunching tackle on wing Katherine Merchant, Wickliffe picked up and sprinted down the left wing. Fullback Emily Scarratt put in a great tackle, but it was not enough to stop the Black Fern from touching down. Brazier couldn’t make the conversion, but the visitors led 5-3 after 12 minutes.

New Zealand were left battling with just 14 men after fullback Hazel Tubic was sent to the sin-bin for a late tackle on Scarratt but England weren’t able to take advantage of their extra man. In fact, it was the Black Ferns who, although they didn’t get near England’s try line, put England under real pressure with Brazier and Justine Lavea combining and then Brazier having a second shot of goal. This time she made no mistake with the penalty and put New Zealand 8-3 ahead at half time.

England made a raft of changes at the break to get some fresh legs on. McLean had another chance at goal early on with New Zealand being penalised for several offences, but the England fly half couldn’t make the kick. The Black Ferns then fell foul of the referee once again with flanker Lydia Crossman this time ending up in the sin bin. England, this time, did make the most of their opportunities. First a good line-out and drive saw England come close  and then moments later another well worked line-out saw England drive forward and scrum-half Hunt spotted a space to dive in and over the line. McLean missed the conversion but England were now back in the game at 8-8. 

From there on in, it was end to end action with both sides pushing forward but also being penalised for their mistakes. With nine minutes to go New Zealand went close when Tupic and captain Victoria Grant found space out-wide but Tupic’s pass was far too ambitious and a possible score went amiss. England clung on, however, and showed tremendous strength in their defence to keep a hurting New Zealand side at bay.

England 

15 Emily         Scarratt          (Lichfield), 14 Katherine     Merchant       (Worcester), 13 Rachael Burford (Richmond), 12 Alice Richardson (Richmond), 11 Kay            Wilson (Bristol), 10 Katy     McLean            (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) (C), 9 La Toya Mason        (Wasps), 1 Claire Purdy (Wasps), 2 Amy Turner (Richmond), 3 Sophie Hemming    (Bristol), 4 Rebecca Essex(Richmond), 5 Tamara            Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 6 Alexandra Matthews (Richmond), 7 Margaret Alphonsi        (Saracens) (VC), 8 Sarah Hunter (Lichfield). Replacements: 16 Victoria Fleetwood            (Lichfield), 17 Laura            Keates            (Worcester), 18 Rowena     Burnfield (Richmond), 19 Marlie Packer            (Bristol), 20 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), 21 Kimberley     Oliver  (Bristol), 22 Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

Tries: Hunt

Conversions:

Penalties: McLean

Substitutions: Oliver for Richardson (30), Packer for Matthews, Hunt for Mason, Fleetwood for Turner (all HT), Keates for Purdy (48), Burnfield for Essex (63).  

New Zealand

15 Hazel Tubic, 14 Victoria Grant (C), 13 Shakira Baker, 12 Teresa Te Tamaki, 11 Renee Wickliffe, 10 Kelly Brazier, 9 Kendra Cocksedge, 1 Kathleen Wilton, 2 Karina Penetito, 3 Stephanie TeOhaere-Fox, 4 Vita Robinson, 5 Eloise Blackwell, 6 Lydia Crossman, 7 Justine Lavea, 8 Casey Robertson. Replacements: 16 Doris Taufateau, 17 Muteremoana Aiatu, 18 Amanda Murphy, 19 Rawina Everitt, 20 Emma Jensen, 21 Rebecca Mahoney, 22 Katarina Whata

Tries: Wickliffe, 

Conversions:

Penalties: Brazier

Referee:Ross Campbell

Assistant Referees:Ed Turnill & Peter Crouch

England Autumn International Series

Nov 26th England v New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium, WON 10-0

Nov 29th England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, KO 7pm, WON 21-7

Dec 3rd England v New Zealand, Esher RFC, DRAW 8-8

Barden swaps front line for full time with England sevens

Posted on Nov 21, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Sevens

England’s Greg Barden has swapped the front line for a full-time sevens career.

The 30 year old left the Royal Marines this year, ending 14 years with the military that included service in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Barden, from Poole in Dorset, is one of 12 full-time sevens players on England’s books who kick off the HSBC Sevens World Series on Friday on the Gold Coast in Australia, the first of nine global events this season.

At the same time he’s also preparing to open another new chapter in his life by developing an online business and consumer networking platform due to launch in February.

First of all, though, England launch their sevens campaign in Queensland before tournaments in Dubai (December 2-3) and Port Elizabeth (December 9-10) with nearly three months of pre-season work behind them.

Time has been called on Ben Gollings after 12 years and Dan Caprice has stepped into the Top 14 with Biarritz but the squad is deeper following the signing of the likes of Rob Vickerman, Chris Brightwell and Christian Lewis-Pratt from Aviva Premiership sides Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks and Leeds Carnegie respectively. The return of the Army’s  Isoa Damudamu to full fitness also adds a valuable weapon to their armoury.

Barden said: “It was the right time for me to move on [from the military] after 14 years that started when I was a 16 year-old.

“I’ve loved it and now I’ve gone from one close-knit family into another one. There are a lot of crossovers between rugby and the military. As a group you have that camaraderie and you do it for each other. We’re a tight group with no egos. We all want the same thing. The ultimate goal and the reason to play is to win and for us that means winning the world series.

“The squad’s been evolving for a long time and we’ve now got some people back in the fold like Rob Vickerman and Chris Brightwell and an up-and-coming one like [Saracens back] Marcus Watson.

“There’s a wide range of personalities and characters. I hope we can relax and that personality in the squad comes out on the field, and that we can express ourselves in the way we play. The coaches give us the tools and the framework but ultimately it’s up to us.”

Self-reliance and problem solving – right out of the Marines playbook – are part of the entrepreneurial urge that will see the launch of pixie-me.com early in the New Year.

Barden, who has been helped by Ben McGregor from the Rugby Players Association, has developed the idea for “a social networking platform that links consumers and businesses, and helps both create new  and mutually beneficial opportunities”.

For now, though, it’s put to one side as his teammates focus on the mutually beneficial opportunities on offer in Australia, the UAE and South Africa over the next three weeks.

England have never won the sevens world title – Samoa, South Africa and New Zealand have taken the last three – so making the right start is vital.

Titterrell and MacDonald set to return for Leeds Carnegie

Posted on Nov 18, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, Leeds Carnegie

Leeds Carnegie return to action in the Championship looking to keep up their winning ways this week with a trip to bottom of the table Esher this Saturday.

Leeds name an unchanged back line from the side that beat Nottingham a fortnight ago in their last game in the Championship however there are four changes in the pack.

Sam Lockwood earns a place in the starting line up at loose head prop with Gareth Denman swapping places with him to the bench whilst Mo Mustafa will make his league debut for Leeds at tight head prop in place of the injured Phil Swainston.

Dan Hemingway comes into the second row in place of Sean Hohneck, who picked up an injury against Nottingham, and Ryan Burrows returns to the team having come through his comeback game last week in the win over Currie in the British & Irish Cup.

On the bench, Leeds are given a boost with the return of the experienced pair of Andy Titterrell and Mike MacDonald whilst young second row Dominic Barrow is also passed fit to return.

The team in full is:

15. Tommy Bell
14. Lee Blackett
13. Iain Thornley
12. Joe Barker
11. Michael Stephenson
10. Joe Ford
9. Robbie Shaw
1. Sam Lockwood
2. Phil Nilsen
3. Mo Mustafa
4. Tom Denton
5. Dan Hemingway
6. Ryan Burrows
7. Chris Walker
8. Jacob Rowan (c)
16. Andy Titterrell
17. Mike MacDonald
18. Gareth Denman
19. Dominic Barrow
20. Richard Beck
21. Dan White
22. Pete Lucock

Bedford Blues look to rediscover form against Moseley

Posted on Nov 18, 2011 in Bedford, Championship, English Rugby, Moseley

Bedford Blues are hoping to rediscover their home form on Saturday afternoon, but they know that they will be in for one heck of a challenge when Moseley come through the gates for the 3pm Championship clash.

Following a disappointing last gasp defeat to Melrose in the British & Irish Cup last weekend, the Blues are looking to re-establish their credentials in the league as Kevin Maggs brings his Midlanders to Goldington Road. Moseley were also a losing team in the cup last week going down 42-3 to Cross Keys, but they come into the game buoyed by an impressive 33-27 win over Bristol in their last league outing.

Bedford players are slowly recovering from a number of early injury setbacks and Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer is able to welcome back captain James Pritchard and hooker Neil Cochrane into the starting line-up for Saturday’s encounter.

Speaking ahead of the game Rayer said: “Everyone was left deflated by the result last weekend, but we only had ourselves to blame. We took a 17 point lead into the break but for whatever reason, we switched off in the second period and Melrose made us pay for that. It was however a great learning curve for some of our younger guys, at one stage we had four of this year’s Colts side on the pitch so they will have hopefully learnt a great deal from the experience.

“This Saturday will see us face another huge test in the form of Moseley who had an outstanding win last time out in the Championship. Their attacking game against Bristol was as good as anything I’ve seen so far this season.

“For us though it’s great to have so many guys back into the starting line-up. Sach, Brendan, Pritch and Neil Cochrane bring a wealth of experience with them, so to have them fresh and chomping at the bit will no doubt raise our performance levels. We have two home games on the bounce now so we must make them count”.

Starting line-up:

15. James Pritchard (c)

14. Mark Kohler

13. Brendan Burke

12. Tom Bedford

11. Josh Bassett

10. Jake Sharp

9. Darryl Veenendaal

1. Sam Walsh

2. Neil Cochrane

3. Phil Boulton

4. Mike Howard

5. Sean Tomes

6. Alex Rae (c)

7. Sacha Harding

8. Paul Tupai

Replacements: 16. Chris Locke, 17. Dan Seal, 18. Sam Pailor, 19. Don Barrell, 20. Stefan Liebenberg, 21. Jamie Lennard, 22. Ollie Dodge.