Moseley v Birmingham

Posted on Jan 24, 2011 in Rugby News

RFU Championship:
Moseley v Birmingham & Solihull, Saturday 29th January
3.00pm kick off at Billesley Common, Birmingham

Moseley’s preparations for the eagerly awaited local derby on Saturday received some good news on the injury front.

Having had all four locks absent through injury in the victory over Neath last weekend the club expects at least three to be available for selection for the visit to Billesley Common of Birmingham & Solihull.

That victory propelled the red “n” blacks to top spot in top pool C in the B&I Cup with three wins from three with only two matches (away at Ulster and Bedford in February) to go.

Moseley’s Head Coach Ian Smith had elected not to risk an early return for either David Lyons or Paul Spivey in the second row and played five back row forwards in the pack instead. The tactic meant that, while some specialisations may have been lost, the forwards gained through creating fast service for the backs – and three tries in the process.

In just his second game for the club, centre Joe Munro got on the score sheet last weekend and Chris Bishay made a solid and tidy debut on the wing. The third recent new signing Dai Bishop is undergoing a medical this week to determine if he will also be in the reckoning for his debut on Saturday.

Moseley won the corresponding match earlier in the season at Birmingham & Solihull but only with a last gasp converted try. This ‘return leg’ undoubtedly has supporters of both sides looking forward to another high tempo encounter.

Moseley management is expecting the biggest crowd of the season on Saturday and is urging both sets of supporters to use public transport where possible. Billesley Common is served by the most extensive bus service in the area and supposedly in Europe. Supporters can plan their door to door service by public transport using the link on the club’s website ‘How to find us’.
Once again the club is laying on an extensive range of Real Ales as well as its award winning catering that will keep both sets of supporters happy. Early bird bargains are available for purchase of five or more adult tickets (not available on match day).

Hospitality Suite bargains
Only two hospitality boxes remain unsold and a bargain £599 for twelve people including match entry, quality hot meal, priority parking etc.

Bees secure signature of speedster from Spain

Posted on Jan 19, 2011 in Rugby News

Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Club have confirmed the signing of Ian Davey from top Spanish Club CR El Salvador. The 24 year winger joins the Bees until the end of the season and will give the Damson Park outfit additional cover especially with the on-going England Sevens commitments of leading try scorer Simon Hunt.

The Bristol-born winger joined the Spanish Club this season after two highly prolific seasons with Bedford Blues, where he earned a reputation as both one the league’s top finishers and fastest pair of feet with an impressive 100m sprint record of 10.9 seconds to his name. Prior to his time at Goldington Road, Davey was a member of the Bath team between 2005 and 2008, recording 9 league appearances.

“I’ve had a training session with the lads already and they were all really welcoming,” said Ian Davey. “I was looking for an opportunity to get back to the UK to be nearer my family and I’m delighted to get a chance to pull on the Bees shirt and show the fans what I can do”.

“Ian is a quality winger with plenty of top-level playing experience” said Bees’ Director of Rugby Russell Earnshaw. “With Simon Hunt sent to miss the next two Championship games against Moseley and Rotherham due to England Sevens’ commitments, in Ian we have a winger with similar try scoring abilities to slot into our backline”.

Simon Hunt is one of three Bees representatives in the current England Sevens set-up who will be taking part in the next two rounds of the IRB Sevens tournament in Wellington and Las Vegas. He is joined by scrum half John Brake and Russell Earnshaw in his capacity of Assistant coach to Ben Ryan – something that all at Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Club are proud to actively support.

Ian Davey is set to be in the squad that travels to Llandovery next Saturday (22nd January) for the Bees’ third tie in their British & Irish Cup Pool matches. Bees are still in second place in Pool D after losing at home 18-12 to Scottish side Ayr last Sunday.

Albion aim for three in a row

Posted on Jan 7, 2011 in Rugby News

Plymouth Albion will be looking for a third consecutive Championship win when they entertain Esher at Brickfields tomorrow (3pm).

Victories over Rotherham and Birmingham & Solihull have seen Albion close the gap on the top eight.

A home win tomorrow would take Graham Dawe’s side into a promotion play-off place – at least for 24 hours.

However, Esher, currently sitting in 10th place just five points behind Albion, have top-eight ambitions themselves and they will arrive in Devon knowing a victory would put them well and truly back into the play-off race.

"It is a massive game for both teams," said Albion winger Fionn McLoughlin. "It is going to be a real dog-fight."

Tomorrow will be Albion’s first home game since they beat Birmingham & Solihull 27-0 five weeks ago.

However, they will follow it up with another match at Brickfields on Wednesday when they entertain the Cornish Pirates (7.45pm).

Albion keep the same 22 that beat Rotherham at a muddy Clifton Lane last weekend for the Esher game. However, Ben Mercer is added to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since the end of November.

The teams played out a 10-10 draw when they met earlier in the season in Surrey. Albion led for nearly 80 minutes of that match but conceded an injury-time penalty try to only return with two points instead of four.

"We know from our last game that they will fight right to the end," said Albion’s chairman of rugby Graham Dawe.

Albion (from): K Hallett, M Lee, F McLoughlin, K Fisilau, S Tu’ipulotu, B Mercer, S Johns, C Mitchell, A Davies, T Kessell, R Cushion, G Porter, D Morton, R Hopkins, G Evans, G O’Meara, R Copeland, D Collier, T Skelding, S-M Stephen, R Watts-Jones, A Carpenter, S Hocking.

Bees vs Titans moved to 28th Dec

Posted on Dec 23, 2010 in Rugby News

The Bees’ home Championship game against Rotherham Titans, originally scheduled to take place on Sunday 26th December, has been rescheduled to Tuesday 28th December (kick off 3pm) due to the current adverse weather conditions.

With the Damson Park pitch covered in snow and night time temperatures between now and Boxing Day forecast to be extremely low, Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Club, in consultation with officials from both Rotherham and the RFU, have concluded that an early postponement and rescheduling of the game is the best way forward.

Louise Ford, Director of Operations at the Bees said, “By moving the game now to the Bank Holiday Tuesday, we give ourselves two extra days for the weather to improve, whilst also giving supporters, players and staff from both Clubs as much notice as possible to reshape their plans over the festive period.”

There will be a pitch inspection on Monday ahead of the rescheduled game on Tuesday 28th December and the Club will update fans of any further information via the website www.beesrugby.com and by Twitter www.twitter.com/BSBeesRugby. All tickets already issued for this game will be valid for the rearranged date.

Bees and Pirates – Keen to avoid the chill

Posted on Dec 14, 2010 in Rugby News

With the weather forecast to bring further chill to Britain this weekend, Birmingham & Solihull and the Cornish Pirates will be keen to beat the weather and get their RFU Championship Stage 1 tie played at Damson Park, Solihull, at the second attempt.

The fixture was originally scheduled for Sunday 28th November, but it had to be postponed, and is now due to take place at the same venue on Wednesday evening, 15th December, kick-off at 7pm.

For the Cornish Pirates it will be a first ever visit to Damson Park, Solihull, where they’ll be keen to not only avoid any chance of frostbite, but also a sting from Russell Earnshaw’s Bees.

Birmingham & Solihull will take confidence from their last two outings against the Pirates, having drawn 31-all at Camborne in January, and losing a closely-fought game 32-15 at the Mennaye Field, Penzance, in September.

The Cornish Pirates, however, have played some exciting rugby this season, their displays worthy of a present third spot placing in the league, and they’ll be determined not to slip up on Wednesday evening. Their selection for the game is as follows:-

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, R. McAtee, M. Hopper, S. Winn, G. Pointer, J. Bentley, G. Cattle (capt) K. Marriott, P. Burgess, S. Betty, I. Nimmo, L. McGlone, C. Rimmer, D. Ward, R. Storer.
Replacements: P. Andrew, R. Elloway, R. Brits, B. Gulliver, B. Cowan, W. Davies, D. Locke.

For supporters unable to travel to the game, it has been confirmed that the match can be heard on BBC Radio Cornwall’s medium wave 630 and 657, and also on-line at www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall – just click on ‘Sport’ and link to mention of the Bees v Pirates match.