Posted on Nov 23, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, Leeds Carnegie
Ryan Burrows knows what to expect this Friday night when Leeds Carnegie take on Rotherham at Headingley Carnegie having been in the opposition camp the last time the Titans came to Headingley Carnegie in the Championship.
Burrows made the move up the M1 this summer to join Leeds Carnegie and endured a baptism of fire when he was part of the Leeds team who were well beaten on his return to Clifton Lane in the second week of the season. However, after a tough start to the campaign, Diccon Edwards side have turned things around and go into Friday’s game on the back of six consecutive league wins.
The back row says that the form book will go out of the window on Friday night, he revealed, “It will be another tough challenge, we owe them a performance after what happened at Clifton Lane but we have put six good wins together and we will be aiming to do that again on Friday,” added Burrows.
The Yorkshire derby between Leeds and Rotherham has always been one of the toughest games of the year and Friday’s clash should be no different and Burrows is expecting his old boss, Titans coach Andre Bester to have his players fired up for kick off. He added, “The rivalry will be there no doubt. Andre will get into them this week because form goes out the window. When derbies come along, it is who wants it most on the day. The boys at Leeds have pulled together really well and we have a great atmosphere. I haven’t spoken to the Rotherham boys this week but I was in touch with them over the past few weeks and they are playing really well, even better than when we played them earlier in the season. Both teams are in good form and both will be looking forward to it. One of us has to lose our winning record and we will be doing our best to make sure it is not us.”
Burrows enforced absence through injury has seen England U20 star Jacob Rowan awarded the number eight shirt and the captain’s armband. However, Burrows who started the season at eight, says he is happy to play at six and will do whatever he can to help the team keep up their winning ways.
He added, “I started the season at eight and have played most of my rugby in recent years there but I have also played at six in the Championship so it is not a problem. I am just pleased to be playing and I will put any number shirt on if it means that I am playing and contributing to the side. We have got great competition in the back row especially now with Danny Paul back fit as well. That strength in depth is getting back now because we have lacked that recently with Sean Hohneck and Jon Pendlebury being out. All three of those guys give us a lot of experience and it will be great to have them all back in action over the next few weeks,” added Burrows.
Paul glad to be back for Leeds Carnegie
Nuneaton was the unlikely venue for Danny Paul to make his long awaited come back last weekend as he got a run out for Otley in the Midlands whilst his team mates were battling hard to beat Esher in the Championship.
Paul has been out since the end of last season when he had a serious operation to cure a problem with a hip injury. He then faced a further set back two months ago when he suffered an Achilles injury just as he was stepping up his efforts for a first team return. However, the number eight is now fully fit and ready to go.
Looking back on his game for Otley last week, he said, "I think I left my lungs on the field somewhere! It was good to be finally back out there and I came through unscathed. I was excited before the game and just wanted to get out there. I had a set back with an Achilles problem after getting over the hip injury so I have been chomping at the bit for a few weeks. I came on and the captain asked me to take a pick up at the scrum and he then told me the same at the next four scrums by the end of it I got up and I was struggling for breath. We were getting some joy with that tactic but it certainly got me back into the swing of things."
Paul is now hoping to be involved on Friday night when Leeds Carnegie take on Rotherham at Headingley Carnegie in a massive Yorkshire derby game. He revealed, "Fingers crossed I will be involved on Friday against Rotherham off the bench. I have been out for such a long time and the boys are playing so well that there is a lot for me to prove in the next few weeks. We have got a massive run of games coming up this month with two big Yorkshire derbies plus Pirates coming to Headingley Carnegie. We only just won last week so nothing is a given regardless of the run we are on.
"Rotherham are renowned for being aggressive and in your face, our forwards need to man up and take them on up front. We need to get our set piece going so we can execute our game plan and hopefully that will get us the win we want," added Paul.
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