Paul Sampson poised to make 100th League appearance for London Welsh

Posted on Jan 12, 2011 in Rugby News

Almost 15 years after he was plucked by Jack Rowell from the obscurity of Third Division Otley and Woodhouse Grove School and thrust into the Five Nations spotlight, Paul Sampson is now just one game away from making his 100th league appearance for London Welsh.

The Dragons face Bedford on Saturday in the British & Irish Cup before Sampson will get his chance to reach his century when Welsh travel to Rotherham next Wednesday (January 19) for their rearranged Championship fixture.

The 33-year-old former England wing marked his 99th league appearance for Welsh last Saturday by scoring tries 41 and 42 in the Dragons’ 48-12 win over Moseley at Old Deer Park.

“I’m very proud; to play 100 league games was something I decided I wanted to do once I got to 60 or 70,” said Sampson.

“I’d sooner make 100 league appearances for [just] one club, and a club like London Welsh, and there’s still a lot to play for so it’s a pleasure to be involved.”

After spells with Wasps, where he was the Premiership’s top try scorer in 2000/01, Bath, Worcester and rugby league side Wakefield Wildcats, Sampson joined Welsh in 2006 from Blackheath.

Injury restricted him to just eight appearances in his first season, but in the next two he was the club’s leading try scorer.

He was capped three times by England, with his debut coming on the infamous Tour from Hell in 1998 against South Africa.

Now in his fifth season at Old Deer Park, Sampson’s time at London Welsh has incorporated some colossal changes in the history of the club, none more so than the transition from a semi-professional to full-time club, which has seen the Dragons go from fighting off relegation in Sampson’s first season to vying for a place in the Premiership.

“The highs are to see the transition happen and it’s nice to be part of that, and if it’s up to me that will continue,” he said.

“I’ve had some incredible times and made some lifelong friends. That’s the highlight, the friends you make for life.

“One of the low points was definitely Redruth away in the cup when it was raining and snowing.

“I said to out kit man Pete Lowe at half-time that if I had to play three or four of them a year I’d actually retire.”

Last season Sampson helped Welsh reach the Championship semi-finals, only to lose out to Bristol, and nothing would give him greater pleasure than to help the Dragons make it to the Premiership – five years after he last graced that particular stage.

“I’ve personal goals and goals I would love to achieve with London Welsh, and getting London Welsh to the Premiership would definitely be one of the highlights of my career,” said Sampson.

“I look back at the majority of my career with very fond memories and I’m happy with what I’ve achieved, especially 100 league appearances for London Welsh.

“To get London Welsh to the Premiership would be an immense achievement and would really put the icing on the cake for me and my career.”

And as for the future, Sampson has no plans to hang up his boots any time soon, he added: “I’d like to be part of the club’s plans next year. I’m enjoying rugby too much to consider retirement just yet.”

Welsh must keep up the momentum against Bedford, says Claassens

Posted on Jan 12, 2011 in Rugby News

Errie Claassens has promised they’ll be no let up from London Welsh when they travel to Bedford on Saturday in the British & Irish Cup.

The Dragons ran in seven tries in a 48-12 win against Moseley last weekend at Old Deer Park – their sixth league win in a row – to move up to third in the table, just two points behind the Blues and with a game in hand.

But although the focus now switches back to the B&I Cup, the London Welsh full back says it’s imperative that the Dragons keep the winning habit going.

“It is a very important game for us,” said Claassens. “It’s about building momentum. This is the time we should start peaking towards the play-offs.

“Confidence wise it won’t be good for us if we slip up this weekend, so we will definitely be going out on Saturday to give Bedford a good game and go for a win.”

In round 1 Moseley inflicted a shock B&I Cup defeat on the Dragons at Old Deer Park last month when they came away with a 24-21 win, having overturned a 16 point half-time deficit.

But there was no repeat slip up by Welsh last Saturday as they built on first half tries by Paul Sampson, Vili Ma’asi and Paul Mackey to add four more after the break courtesy of Claassens, Rob Herring, Hudson Tonga’uiha and Sampson again.

“We didn’t mention it, but we owed Moseley. We knew in the back of our heads what happened last time and we weren’t going to slip up again,” said Claassens.

“We were mentally stronger on Saturday and we worked so much harder for our win.

“There are no easy games in this league, or the British & Irish Cup, and if you take your foot off the pedal any team can beat any other on the day.

“It’s about consistency and throughout the game against Moseley we gave a better performance than the last time we played them.

“The work-rate of the players was better, we had to work quite hard for our tries, and it was a step up from the previous week’s game [v Doncaster].

“But we still feel that there’s much more this London Welsh can offer as a team, and we need to build on the Moseley performance.

“We need to take all the positives and next Saturday make sure we raise our game another 10 or 20 per cent.

“The work-rate of each player was a lot better. There’s definitely a positive vibe in the squad and you can see the spirit is really high, and that’s when you get good results.

“We still make a few basic errors and we still sometimes don’t stick to the game plan, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

Welsh will look to take that try scoring form to Goldington Road with them on Saturday, when they’ll also be hoping for a more favourable result than their league visit to Bedford earlier in the season.

In front of the Sky Sports cameras, Welsh left their second half comeback too late as they went down 19-16, with Marland Yarde and Josh Drauniniu touching down in injury time.

Saturday’s return to Goldington Road will mark the start of a busy period for Welsh with potentially four games in the space of two weeks.

The Dragons travel to Rotherham on January 15 for their rearranged Championship fixture before entertaining Ulster in the B&I Cup (January 22) and the club still have a B&I Cup clash with Swansea to fit into their calendar.

Claassens, though, believes Welsh have the strength in depth to cope with such a schedule.

“Our depth is so good this year that anyone can step in and replace anyone else and perform just as well or even better. So the confidence in the squad is really good and that’s what you need in weeks like this,” he said.

“We can rest a few boys and give some other boys a chance as well to keep everyone sharp. Everyone wants to play and this is the ideal time for the whole squad to get game time.”

Burger signs new Sarries contract

Posted on Jan 11, 2011 in Rugby News

Jacques Burger has signed a new long-term contract with Saracens.

“It was a very easy decision,” said the Namibian captain. “Saracens is a special club, the Premiership is a fantastic competition and Lehanie and I are very happy in north London.”

Mark McCall, Director of Rugby, said: “Jacques produces outstanding performances week after week, and we’re delighted he has pledged his future to the club.”

HEC – race for quarter finals

Posted on Jan 10, 2011 in Rugby News

The race for the prestigious eight Heineken Cup quarter-final places is entering the final straight – but 11 of the 24 teams in the 2010 / 2011 tournament will still be in elite European club rugby action come April.

While the six Pool winners and two best Pool runners-up will prolong their Heineken Cup adventure into the knock-out stages, the next three best Pool runners-up will join the five Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners in the tournament’s quarter-finals.

With the incentive of an extended run in European competition, and the possibility of winning a coveted European title, there is bound to be an added edge to the final 24 Heineken Cup Pool fixtures.

Last season’s innovation which led to three Heineken Cup teams doing battle with the pick of the Amlin Challenge Cup sides was a resounding success with the record-breaking final in Marseille ultimately won by a Heineken Cup starter – Cardiff Blues – against an Amlin Challenge Cup starter, Toulon.

“The anticipation is always great at this time of the year before the qualifiers for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals are revealed, but for a second season the calculations will have an added edge with three more teams going through to the last eight of the Amlin Challenge Cup,” said ERC Chief Executive Derek McGrath.

“The four top-ranked sides from the five Amlin Challenge Cup Pools will have home advantage over their Heineken Cup rivals and the quality of those games once again promises to be of the very highest standard.”

Last season the Blues, Gloucester Rugby and the Scarlets were the Heineken Cup representatives who went into the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals, so there is still all to play for among those teams who might not make the Heineken Cup last eight.

And while Pool 6 is a two-horse race between Toulouse and London Wasps, things could hardly be tighter in Pools 3 and 5 where just three points separate the top three teams.

In Pool 3, the battle is between Toulon (13 points), Munster (11 points) and the Ospreys (10 points) while in Pool 5, the Scarlets lead the way on 15 points followed by Leicester Tigers on 13 points and Perpignan a further one point adrift.

Tournament newcomers Toulon – who have beaten the Ospreys 19-14 and London Irish 38-17 at Stade Felix Mayol – now face the acid home test in the shape of former double champions Munster on Sunday afternoon while the Ospreys, who have yet to win on the road this season, must beat London Irish at the Madejski Stadium to stay in contention.

In Pool 5, Leicester Tigers and Perpignan have away day targets at the Scarlets and Benetton Treviso respectively while the two sole surviving 100 per cent teams, Northampton Saints in Pool 1 and Toulouse in Pool 6, both enjoy home advantage.

A word from the Wise – Waisea Luveniyali

Posted on Jan 6, 2011 in Rugby News

At first glance a warm summer’s evening in Canberra and a bitterly afternoon at Old Deer Park may not appear to have too much in common, but for London Welsh fly half Waisea Luveniyali they will be forever linked.

Little did the Fiji international, nicknamed ‘Wise’, know when he lined up against Australia in Canbarra in June last year that his next game of rugby would come nearly seven months later and 10,000 miles away against Esher at Old Deer Park, Richmond.

A broken arm suffered in trying to “smash” Aussie pin up boy Matt Giteau left the former Quin kicking his heels and carrying the tackle bags before he stepped off the bench for new club London Welsh and in to a derby clash with Esher.

“Just to come back and play rugby again was awesome,” said 25-year-old Luveniyali, who has been capped nine times by Fiji. “I was really excited and happy, but also relieved because I’d been waiting six months.

(more…)