Esher Set To Open With Scottish Clash As Play Off Schedule Revealed

Posted on Mar 1, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Esher

With Mike Schmid’s Esher finishing the regular RFU Championship season with a 41-17 victory over Plymouth Albion, hopes are high going into the relegation play-off pool for which the Molesey Road side today confirmed their schedule.

The Club are delighted to announce that five of their games – including all three at home – are set to be played at the regular 3pm slot on a Saturday afternoon, with only the trip to Albion (Friday, 16th March) penned in for a 7.45pm kick off.

A clash with Simon Amor’s London Scottish next Saturday, 10th March opens up what is set to be a fascinating six weeks before the long trip to Plymouth the following Friday. Back to back fixtures against Moseley, the first at Billesley Common, follow after which there is a two week rest period.

Plymouth then visit Molesey Road on the 14th April before the final, and potentially decisive, round of fixtures takes place on Saturday, 21st April with Esher rounding off the pool with a trip to the Athletic Ground and a sixth meeting this term with Scottish.

The final pool game is still to be confirmed with Scottish’s landlords Richmond slated in for a home fixture against Lydney the same day and we will release further information as soon as we have it.

Esher take forward four points gained from their four wins over the course of the regular 22-game term, with the three other sides all starting on six.

Esher Rugby Play Off Fixtures (Home fixtures in bold):

Saturday, 10th March: Esher Rugby v London Scottish – 3pm

Friday, 16th March: Plymouth Albion v Esher – 7.45pm

Saturday, 24th March: Moseley v Esher Rugby – 3pm

Saturday, 31st March: Esher Rugby v Moseley – 3pm

Saturday, 14th April: Esher Rugby v Plymouth Albion – 3pm

Saturday, 21st April: London Scottish v Esher Rugby – 3pm (TBC)

Titans make ten changes ahead of Scottish match

Posted on Feb 23, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans have made ten changes ahead of their Championship clash with London Scottish this Saturday; kick off is 2pm at Clifton Lane.

With a large number of Titans carrying knocks and minor niggles; head coach Andre Bester believes it prudent not to risk further injury ahead of the crucial promotion play-offs. The changes have been split evenly between the backs and forwards, with Neale Patrick given the role of captain for the match.

Along the back line Ed Tellwright and Peter Homan come back in on the wings, whilst Byron Godfrey returns from a loan spell at Hull and starts at outside centre. Cliffie Hodgson is back in the number 10 shirt and Dale Farnham gets another opportunity to show off his talents at scrum half.

In the forwards Jamie Kilbane is back at loose head prop, with Adrian Griffiths returning from injury to recapture the number 5 shirt. A complete change to the back row sees duel registered Leicester Tigers Tom Armes start at blind side, Carl Kirwan comes back in at open side and the 8 jersey will be worn by Titans veteran Ben Wade.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s encounter Andre Bester explained, “London Scottish is important to us, it’s a home match and like every match we play, we go into it to try and win. We have prepared very well this week in anticipation of a tough Scottish challenge.

“However, we have lots of niggles that we are carrying in the squad following our physical encounter at Doncaster last week and therefore we are enforced to rotate heavily. It’s important that we don’t arrive at the play-offs with niggles and injuries.

“We know London Scottish are a good side, they have a very good set piece, they have the strongest scrum in the division and they have two absolutely brilliant tight head props. There’s no doubt that they will be up for the challenge and they won’t have any doubt that they can beat Rotherham at home.

“Our job is to make sure that does not happen and we believe that the side that has been selected is good enough to take the points if they play as well as we know they can.”

Titans: 15 Stephen Hamilton, 14 Ed Tellwright, 13 Byron Godfrey, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Peter Homan, 10 Cliffie Hodgson, 9 Dale Farnham, 1 Jamie Kilbane, 2 Ted Stagg, 3 Rob O’Donnell, 4 Neale Patrick (Capt.), 5 Adrian Griffiths, 6 Tom Armes, 7 Carl Kirwan, 8 Ben Wade.

Replacements: 16 Jan-Francois Bester, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Rikki Stout, 19 Talite Vaioleti, 20 Semisi Taulava, 21 Tom Foden, 22 Dave McCall.

Ross looking forward to facing Scottish in Exiles derby

Posted on Nov 18, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, London Scottish, London Scottish, London Welsh, London Welsh

London Welsh fly half and former Scotland international Gordon Ross has no qualms about lining up against London Scottish at Old Deer Park on Saturday (kick off 2pm) as the game’s two oldest Exiles clubs go head-to-head in the Championship.

Ross won 25 international caps for Scotland but insists there’ll be no place for sentiment on Saturday, as Welsh look to extend their unbeaten run to five games and take the derby bragging rights over their near neighbours and oldest rivals.

“You want Scottish people down here to do well, but I think Saturday will be the exception!,” he said.

“It’s key that we go out to enjoy it, express ourselves and do the basics right. The last couple of league games we’ve not really played to our potential and given our crowd an entertaining afternoon.

“Hopefully this Saturday, with it being a local derby, there will be a good crowd and we can go out and perform well and do ourselves and the club proud.”

Ross will also be hoping for a change of luck on Saturday, having enjoyed mixed fortunes in the past against Scottish sides. Against his former club Edinburgh in the 2003/04 Heineken Cup he was in the Leeds side beaten 19-9 at Meadowbank Stadium and 23-0 at Headingley a week later.

In 2007/08 he was in the Saracens side that defeated Glasgow Warriors 33-31 at Vicarage Road in the Heineken Cup, but Ross remembers the game for different reasons.

“I came on the pitch with five minutes to go and Glasgow scored a try, and didn’t play another game,” he said.

“It [Edinburgh] was a horrible experience, we got absolutely battered a home and played off the pitch”

Ross has sampled an array of different derbies during a distinguished career, including London Double Headers, Castres v Albi in France and the caldron of England v Scotland, and while he believes the better team will prevail on the day in derbies, cool heads and discipline are a must.

“It’ll be pretty heated at times at the weekend but it’s having that ability to step back from heated exchanges, keep a cool head and play the game the way you think it should be played,” he said.

“Play to your strengths and try and keep it simple, but be as effective as you possibly can.”

Although Welsh ran out comfortable winners, 44-9, when the sides met earlier in the season at the Athletic Ground in the British & Irish Cup, Ross says that win will count for nothing on Saturday.

“I don’t think too many of their first team regulars played in that game, so judging from their line up that night and what you see in most Championship games I think it will be almost a completely different 15 that we face on Saturday,” he said.

“I watched Scottish earlier in the season and they try and play some very good rugby and it’s going to be a very big test for us, especially defensively, to nullify their threats.

“They want to keep the ball moving and keep it alive. They’re quite a fit side and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us for 80 minutes to make sure we control the game for longer periods than they do, and take our chances.”

Team news – London Welsh v London Scottish

Posted on Nov 18, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, London Scottish, London Welsh

London Welsh will re-enact the first-ever fixture in the club’s 126-year history when London Scottish make the short trip to Old Deer Park on Saturday (2pm).

Scottish provided London Welsh’s first-ever opponents in October 1885, winning by a goal and a try to no score at the Athletic Ground, while Saturday’s Championship clash will be the fourth league meeting between the two great rivals.

The last time they locked horns in the league was in 1989/90 when Scottish won 18-14 in League 3 at the Athletic Ground. In 1988/89 in League 2 the two sides played out a 24-24 draw at Old Deer Park, while in 1987/88 Welsh came out on top 29-10, again at Old Deer Park.

London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones makes 11 changes for the visit of London Scottish, with hooker Vili Ma’asi, second row Adam Brown, flanker Mike Denbee and Seb Jewell the only players to retain their starting places from the side that beat Aberavon in the British & Irish Cup. Jewell, though, moves from outside centre to full back.

Gordon Ross takes over the captain’s armband from Gary Johnson, while Welsh give a start to on loan London Irish back row forward, and former Scarlet, Ed Siggery.

Welsh have had the upper hand in the sides’ recent meetings, enjoying a 44-9 win earlier this season at the Athletic Ground in the British & Irish Cup, as well as recording a pre-season victory over Scottish at the same venue in August 2010.

London Welsh: 15. Seb Jewell, 14. Will Hurrell, 13. Hudson Tonga’uiha*, 12. Simon Whatling, 11. Joe Ajuwa, 10. Gordon Ross*, 9. Rob Lewis, 1. Shawn Pittman*, 2. Vili Ma’asi*, 3. Billy Moss, 4. Adam Brown, 5. Martin Purdy, 6. Ed Siggery, 7. Mike Denbee, 8. Lee Beach.

Replacements: 16. Nathan Morris, 17. Marc George, 18. Mike Powell, 19. Ed Jackson, 20. Ben Stevenson, 21. Alex Davies, 22. Edd Thrower.

* Denotes full international

London Scottish goes into Saturday’s derby match (ko 2pm) with confidence and heart gained from their recent form, which has seen them gain seven points from their last four fixtures, especially in the way which they dealt with a stubborn and resolute Esher side. London Welsh are in many ways a side Scottish can learn from as they have established themselves as one of the leading contenders for the Championship title.
The fixture represents the first league meeting between the two sides for over 10 years, and for the more senior supporters of Scottish the match on Saturday will bring back many memories of games gone past between these famous old rivals. From the early seventies when both Scottish and Welsh were littered with internationalists and British & Irish Lions players and the matches were sometimes even considered to be international trial matches, through to the last time the teams played one another for league points in the 1989/90 season when Scottish came out on top 18 -14.
Injuries and recalls have disrupted Scottish’s preparations somewhat: recent dual-registration signings Elliot Daly and Guy Armitage have been called back into the Wasps and London Irish squads respectively, while full back Oli Grove is ruled out through injury. Argentine international wing Agustine Gosio moves to full back, and scrum-half Matt Heeks will hope to continue his try-scoring form as he shifts to the wing.
Scottish team:
15 Gosio
14 Heeks
13 O Holmes
12 O Brown
11 Howells
10 J Brown
9 Lalanne (c)

1 Liffchak
2 Kwasnicki
3 Thiede
4 Rudzki
5 Thomas
6 Andrews
7 Lonergan
8 Kellard

Replacements: Clarke, Stanfield, MacKenzie, Josh Thomas Brown, Calder, Amor, Holgate.

New faces for Scottish’s trip to Nottingham

Posted on Oct 28, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, London Scottish, Nottingham

Head Coach Simon Amor has moved to plug some of the injury problems suffered by Scottish in recent weeks with three exciting new dual-registered signings set to feature at Nottingham on Sunday (3pm kick off)

England Under 20 stars Elliot Daly of Wasps and Guy Armitage (brother of England Internationals Steffon and Delon Armitage) from London Irish have come into the centres following Ben MacDougall’s ongoing hamstring problems, and England U18 forward David Sisi, also from London Irish, starts at 8 following the injury picked up by Mark Bright at Plymouth.

All three players promise to add some vitality to a back line that has been stretched over recent weeks.

Elsewhere, Scottish’s two Argentine internationals, Agustine Gosio and Alfredo Lalanne retain their places after their try-scoring debuts last weekend, and Stephen Hihetah returns to the team following an injury disrupted start to the season. There is a return to the bench for Scottish’s leading points scorer Dan Mugford after he was ruled out just before kick-off against Bedford.

Team:

15. Oli Grove
14. Agustin Gosio
13. Elliot Daley
12. Guy Armitage
11. Stephen Hihetah
10. James Brown
9. Alfredo Lalanne
8. David Sisi
7. Lewis Calder ©
6. Anthony Andrews
5. Ben Thomas
4. Stephen Pape
3. Aaron Liffchak
2. Tom Standfield
1. Alex Clarke

16. Nick Auterac
17. Adam Kwasnicki
18. Lewis Thiede
19. James Kellard
20. Oli Brown
21. Matt Heeks
22. Dan Mugford