Pirates side to face Newport

Posted on Jan 20, 2011 in Rugby News

On Friday the Cornish Pirates have what is now a mightily important British & Irish Cup Pool A match away to Newport RFC, the game scheduled to be played at the Welsh club’s famous Rodney Parade ground where they’ll be looking for revenge for the Pirates having beaten them 26-20 at Camborne in March. The kick-off is at 7.15pm.

When Newport won 25-23 away to Currie last week, former Cornish ‘Pirate’ Rhys Jones landed a match winning penalty in injury time. Besides Rhys, two other former Pirates players based in Newport are Nicky Griffiths, who has competed for the scrum-half shirt, and Joe Bearman, who left the Pirates to join the Dragons in 2006. On the comeback trail after recovering from a groin injury that threatened his career, Joe made a cameo appearance for Pontypool on Tuesday evening, when he gained valuable game time as a replacement in a Welsh Premiership match against Cardiff.

The Cornish Pirates presently top Pool A in the British & Irish Cup with 15 points from their three games played. Leinster, who beat Worcester 38-23 on Sunday, are second with 14 points from four games, Newport are third (6 from three), Worcester fourth (5 from two), Currie fifth (1 from two), and Plymouth sixth (0 from two). The Pirates final game in Pool A is away to Worcester on the 26th February.

Speaking ahead of Friday evening’s match, Cornish Pirates high performance manager Chris Stirling has said: "We were pretty happy with our performance in the cup against Plymouth Albion, but we know it’s going to be really tough at Newport. They will bring physicality to the match and can also play with width, and we’re expecting a real battle."

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, W. Davies, D. Locke, T. Luke, R. McAtee, J. Bentley, J. Doherty, L. McGlone, T. Holmes, C. Morgan, B. Gulliver (capt), I. Nimmo, J. Currie, D. Ward, P. Andrew.

Replacements: R. Storer, T. Cowan-Dickie, R. Brits, M. Myerscough, K. Marriott, S. Winn, G. Pointer.

HEC Friday teams

Posted on Oct 8, 2010 in Rugby News

POOL 1 – Northampton Saints V Castres Olympique (20.00)

Northampton Saints: B Foden, C Ashton, J Clarke, J Downey, B Reihana, S Geraghty, L Dickson, S Tongauiha, D Hartley [capt], B Mujati, C Lawes, C Day, P Dowson, T Wood, R Wilson.
Replacements: B Sharman, R Dreyer, E Murray, C Clark, M Easter, R Powell, S Myler, J Ansbro
Castres Olympique: P Bernard, R Martial, P Garcia, R Cabannes, V Inigo, C McIntyre, S Tillous-Borde, Y Forestier, M Bonello, D Saayman, S Murray, J Tekori, I Diarra, Y Caballero, C Masoe [capt].
Replacements: B Kayser, M Coetzee, A Peikrishvili, M Rolland, J Bornman, T Sanchou, S Bai, M Andreu

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

POOL 4 – Ulster Rugby V Aironi Rugby (19.30)
Ulster Rugby: J Smith, A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, S Danielli, I Humphreys, R Pienaar, B Young, R Best [capt], T Court, J Muller, T Barker, P Wannenburg, C Henry, R Diack.
Replacements: N Brady, P McAllister, A Whitten, D Tuohy, W Faloon, P Marshall, I Whitten, D McIlwaine
Aironi Rugby: D Demas, G Toniolatti , R Penney, G Pavan, G Venditti, L Mercier, T Tebaldi, A de Marchi, R Santamaria, L Redolfini, C del Fava [capt], M Bortolami, A Benatti, A Birchall, N Williams.
Replacements: L Ferraro, A de Marchi, S Perugini, V Liebenberg, N Cattina, P Canavosio, G Pizarro, R Bocchino
Referee: Chris White (England)

POOL 6 – Glasgow Warriors V Newport Gwent Dragons (19.30)

Glasgow Warriors: B Stortoni, D van der Merwe, M Evans, G Morrison, F Aramburu, R Jackson, C Gregor, J Welsh, F Thomson, M Low, T Ryder, R Gray, R Harley, J Barclay [capt], R Vernon.
Replacements: D Hall, R Grant, E Kalman, A Muldowney, C Forrester, H Pyrgos, D Weir, R Dewey
Newport Gwent Dragons: W Harries, A Hughes, T Cheeseman, A Smith, A Brew, M Jones, W Evans [capt], P Price, S Jones, B Castle, S Morgan, R Sidoli, D Lydiate, R Sowden-Taylor, A Coombs.
Replacements: L Burns, H Gustafson, N Hall, A Jones, L Evans, J Leadbeater, T Riley, M Evans
Referee: Jeromé Garces (France)

Fussell moves to Ospreys

Posted on Feb 9, 2010 in Rugby News

Richard Fussell has revealed that his ambition to play for Wales was behind his decision to sign a two-year contract with the Ospreys.
The 25-year old Newport Gwent Dragons wing has penned a deal that will see him arrive at the Ospreys in the summer after five years at Rodney Parade, and he says that the motivating factor for his switch to Ospreylia was the region’s track record in developing players for the national set-up.

Fussell commented: ”I’m excited about the prospect of moving to the Ospreys. I’ve made the decision purely on the basis of where I feel I can develop my game best over the next couple of years. I’ve spoken to people about the set-up at the Ospreys and it’s all been very positive. They have excellent facilities and a track record in developing players so I see it as a real opportunity for me to kick on another level in my game. If you look at the number of players that the Ospreys bring through for Wales, then it is clear that they are doing something right and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.

“There are some great coaches at the Ospreys, they have exciting plans for the region and I’m looking forward to working with them. It’s going to be a real challenge for me personally to go into that environment and try and make an impact. I realise that they have real strength in the wing position; In Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe I’d say that they’ve probably got two of the best wingers in the world, and there is also Nikki Walker and some really talented youngsters coming through, so being around players of that quality and working with them day in, day out, and testing myself in training against them can only be a positive thing for me personally. Hopefully, it will allow me to improve my own game to the level where maybe I can get closer to international rugby.

“Clearly, while I’m looking forward to joining up with the Ospreys, there’s a lot of rugby to be played between now and the end of the season. I’ve been at the Dragons for five years, I’ve really enjoyed my time with them and as a professional rugby player my focus between now and then will be 100 per cent on the Dragons and doing my best for them, which is as it should be.”

Lineen says Glasgow need to do ML position justice

Posted on Dec 9, 2009 in Rugby News

Glasgow Warriors head coach Sean Lineen has this week challenged his players to back-up their status as Magners League leaders by putting in a winning performance against Gloucester when they return to Heineken Cup duty at Firhill on Friday night (kick-off 7:30pm).

“It’s a tail of two tables,” he said. “In the Magners League we’re at the top but in the Heineken Cup we’re at the bottom.

“We need to play like a team that’s at the top of the Magners League to do our current position justice.”

The Warriors lost their two opening games of the European competition away to Newport-Gwent Dragons and at home to Biarritz.

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Ryan Jones is out of Australia clash – Gethin Jenkins takes over as Captain

Posted on Nov 27, 2009 in Rugby News

Ryan Jones has withdrawn from the Wales side to take on Australia in the Invesco Perpetual Series climax at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow (kick-off 5.15pm).

Gethin Jenkins will captain the team and Jones is replaced at No8 by Andy Powell, who moves across the back row, with Dragons flanker Dan Lydiate promoted from the bench to the blindside to win his second cap.

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