Bedford Blues postponed match vs Doncaster Knights has been rearranged to take place at Goldington Road on Wednesday 17th April, Kick Off 7:45pm.
All match tickets purchased for the original date are valid for this game and gates will open at 5pm.
Interim head coach Stevie Scott today named the Edinburgh Rugby side charged with sparking an end-of-season resurgence against Ulster at Murrayfield Stadium tomorrow night (kick-off 7.30pm).
The Ulstermen enjoyed the top spot of the RaboDirect PRO12 since September however two losses and a draw in their last four matches saw them supplanted into second place on points’ difference in the previous round.
Their form still compares favourably to their hosts’ however, who go into the match seeking their first championship success on an eighth attempt.
Despite the difference in standings, Scott says the players and management are taking confidence from a quality week preparing for his first match at the helm.
He said: “The players’ reaction in training this week has been excellent.
“It’s been a tough season but their commitment to improving and getting results for the club and its fans has been superb.
“A lot of hard work has gone in this week but, importantly, the work done has also been of a very high standard.
“There’s a real will to do whatever it takes to get our results back on track.”
Scott has made three changes to the pack for the Ulster clash, with international back-row Ross Rennie making a welcome return from the shoulder injury he sustained in Scotland’s EMC Test match against New Zealand in November.
Netani Talei replaces the injured David Denton (knee) at number 8 and lock Grant Gilchrist comes back into the squad after his international debut against France in the RBS 6 Nations on Saturday.
Both Scott and interim assistant coach Duncan Hodge have seen enough of promising young scrum-half Sean Kennedy from his Scotland A success and loan spell at Glasgow Warriors to hand the 21-year-old his Edinburgh Rugby debut, where he’ll partner Piers Francis at half-back from the outset.
Ben Atiga returns to inside-centre for his 10th appearance in the competition alongside Dougie Fife, who has been moved infield to accommodate Tom Brown on the wing, with the back three completed by Greig Tonks and Lee Jones.
Of note is the firepower named on the bench, with an all-international front-row of Ross Ford, John Yapp and Geoff Cross ready to enter the fray as well as the division’s three-time top try-scorer, Tim Visser.
To herald the black and red return of the former favourites, Edinburgh Rugby have cut the cost of student tickets to £5, will hand out thousands of free flags to fans on arrival at the stadium, and have slashed the cost of a sit down bangers and mash in the supporters’ bar to five pounds!
The RBS 6 Nations trophy will return to the scene of its dramatic capture by Wales at the Regional double-header match to be held at the Millennium Stadium a week on Saturday.
Over 30,000 Welsh rugby fans have already bought tickets to the ‘Judgement Day’ fixture, which pits the Dragons against the Scarlets and the Blues against the Ospreys in an East versus West Rabo Direct Pro12 double derby day clash, which will now also become a celebration of the national cause.
Most of the Wales squad which retained the title they took in 2012 with a clean sweep, by recording the nation’s greatest ever victory over England last weekend, will be on display on the pitch in Regional team colours introducing some fascinating head to head clashes.
But the coaching team which played its own integral role in the 30-3 victory over England and the retention of the Championship title in 2013, will also attend as special guests and to see their latest acquisition of silverware paraded in front of the Welsh fans.
The Welsh Rugby Union is hoping to use the event to help fans show the national squad just what their recent successes have meant to them and also allow fans to relive the glorious scenes of Wales’ consummate demolition of England in the capital less than a week ago.
The Judgement Day event in itself represents the first time all four Welsh rugby Regions have come together to play under the same roof and is a chance to celebrate the regional game in Wales and its value to the national game.
“The trophy will be displayed proudly at pitchside and paraded around the ground at both matches,” said a WRU spokesman.
“It’s incredibly difficult to quantify what success on the rugby pitch means for the nation,but the scenes at the Millennium Stadium last weekend go some way to explaining just how passionate we all are about our national sport.
“Judgement Day, a week on Saturday, is a perfect and timely opportunity for us to celebrate again the success of the Wales national squad, to let them know how proud we all are of them and to watch some fascinating clashes as many of them go head to head in their Regional colours.”
Wales flankers Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) and Sam Warburton (Blues) provide the most direct match up of the day, but the likes of Dan Biggar, Adam Jones (Ospreys), Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny (Blues),Andrew Coombs, Toby Faletau (Dragons), George North and Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) are also set to return to the Millennium Stadium turf to take on their national team-mates.
Judgement Day – Millennium Stadium, Saturday 30 March
Dragons v Scarlets 2.30pm
Blues v Ospreys 5.15pm
Tickets: Adults £25, U18s £10, Family ticket £50 (two adults, two children)
England Under 20 play Wales on Friday night in a match Head Coach Rob Hunter has described as a “big one”.
The game kicks off at 7.35pm at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, live on S4C (Sky channel 134).
Wales are unbeaten in this season’s Under 20 Six Nations campaign while England have lost once but have the greater points difference, meaning Friday’s clash in north Wales is winner takes all.
Title holders England have brought wing Anthony Watson, prop Kyle Sinckler and hooker Nathan Morris into the starting XV and Hunter is looking forward to the match.
He said: “It’ll be a tough game, but a big game in front of a sold out crowd. Wales have performed very well in this competition and they’ve been quite consistent with their selection – we’ll approach this one as we would any other, we want a good performance from the guys.”
Friday will be Hunter’s final match at the helm of the Under 20s before he moves to Exeter Chiefs, he has won 19 of his 24 matches in charge, but says that he can’t afford to think about this one being his last just yet: “It hasn’t really crossed my mind to be honest, the focus is on Friday night.”
England Women’s Head Coach Gary Street has made just one change to the starting line-up that defeated Italy last weekend for Sunday’s Six Nations clash against Wales, kick off 230pm at Aberavon RFC.
Following Saturday’s 34-0 victory against Italy, Wasps scrum-half La Toya Mason comes in to start ahead of Lichfield’s Georgina Gulliver. On the bench, Street has called up Bristol’s Kim Oliver, who can play at fly-half or in the centre. Oliver has been side-lined through injury this season and will make a welcome return to the match day squad having impressed in the RFU Divisional Programme over recent weeks. Worcester prop Rochelle Clark is also named on the bench after missing the Italian clash.
“I was impressed with our performance against Italy last weekend so I have given the bulk of the squad the chance to start again,” said Street. “It was a tough call to decide who should start at scrum-half but in this instance La Toya just gets the nod.
“The only other changes are on the bench and it’s great to welcome back a player of Kim’s experience. She has 42 caps and is unlucky not to have played this season because of injury. We have definitely got an experienced bench who will bring a lot of firepower to our game".
Although England cannot defend their Grand Slam crown after defeats to Ireland and France this season, wins over Scotland and Italy means that England can still finish second in the Six Nations if they defeat Wales.
For Wales, this is also a massive game. They know that if they defeat England – something they’ve not done since 2009 – then they will qualify for the Rugby World Cup in 2014.
Street added: “There’s a lot at stake for both teams on Sunday. Wales need no motivation to want to beat England but certainly qualifying for next year’s Rugby World Cup is a massive goal for them.
“For us, we have got a lot to play for. We want to finish second in this year’s championship and I think if we can do that without several of our big name, experienced players, then that’s a good result in a challenging Six Nations year.”
 |
Designed by Now City News | Copyright NCN Ltd
Comments