Ulster backrow forward, Iain Henderson, suffered an injury to his left foot playing for Ireland against Italy in the RBS 6 Nations last Saturday.
Following a scan in Dublin on Sunday, he underwent an X-Ray in Belfast yesterday. There it was confirmed that he has suffered soft-tissue damage.
He will continue to be monitored, but it is expected that he will make a return to rugby in the coming weeks.
For this rearranged home game with Bristol the Moseley side shows three changes to that which lost narrowly at The Mennaye against Cornish Pirates on Sunday. In the pack Ben Pons switches at open-side with Ollie Robinson and Mike Powell returns in place of Addison Lockley, in the backs Glynn Hughes is expected to start at fly-half ahead of Brad Davies, who goes to the bench.
In the Autumn the Birmingham side gained a late victory at The Memorial Ground, coming from behind with a searing try from under the shadow of their own posts. They will be seeking something from this game in order to move further clear of the bottom of the table, and a win would give them a rare double over the south-westerners. With their opponents needing the same to get into the top four play-off positions the match is bound to be fast and furious.
With both Moseley coaches being former Bristol players an extra edge is attached to the proceedings. “This will be a tough contest” said Kevin Maggs. “They have a strong squad of players and we will have to be on top form to get any reward”
Starting 15: 01.Ethan WALLER; 02. Sam WILKES; 03. Ben EVANS; 04. Mike POWELL; 05. Buster LAWRENCE; 06. Neil MASON; 07. Oliver ROBINSON; 08. Ben PIENAAR;; 09.Ryan GLYNN; 10. Glynn HUGHES; 11 Billy ROBINSON.; 12. Anthony CARTER; 13. Greg KING; 14. Simon HUNT; 15. Oliver THOMAS
Replacements:16. Tom WARREN; 17. Matt WILLIAMS;18. Addison LOCKLEY;19.Sam DICKINSON; 20 Ben PONS.; 21 Sam BROWN; 22. Brad DAVIES
Wales Women have made six changes to the side to face England in the final game of the RBS 6 Nations championship on Sunday at the Talbot Athletic Ground (KO 2.30pm).
Amy Day replaces Laura Prosser at scrum half while Charlie Murray makes her first start of the campaign after impressing as a replacement in Sunday’s win away to Scotland where she scored a second half try. Philippa Tuttiett makes way for her on the wing.
The pack has been boosted with 157 caps with the introduction of prop Jenny Davies, hooker Lowri Harries, second row Gemma Hallett and back row Catrina Nicholas. Megan York, Carys Phillips, Vicky Owens and Nia Davies all move down to the replacements bench.
Wales Women’s head coach Rhys Edwards has no qualms about making so many changes against a strong England side.
“Charlie had her first opportunity against Scotland and looked dangerous every time she got her hands on the ball," he said. "She took her try really well while Amy also did well when she got her chance.
“In the forwards all the players who are coming in for the England game made an impact when they came on against Scotland. They steadied the ship in what was a tough game in demanding conditions. We can’t afford to start slowly against England so I think their experience will prove invaluable.”
Wales’ win against Scotland last Sunday has edged them in front of Italy for the last spot up for grabs in the race for automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup.
“Italy still have an outside chance of overturning that but they would have to beat Ireland this weekend and we would have to concede an avalanche of points against England,” said Edwards.
“But our mind-set is to go out and beat England. We played well against Ireland in our first game at Talbot Athletic Ground to lose by only two points. The following week they then beat England by 25-0. We’ve just to go for it.”
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.”
Saracens and Cardiff Blues will make history this Sunday as they play the first-ever professional top flight match on artificial turf in their LV= Cup clash at the new Allianz Park stadium.
The encounter will be the first for Sarries at the 10,000-seater stadium in Barnet, London, which is set to become their permanent home.
And the artificial surface, designed after six years of research by Support in Sport, is the first of its kind in the sport – with the three-layered rugby-specific surface made up of 65mm synthetic blades and a shock pad to reduce the threat of joint injuries.
Synthetic pitches were a revolution when introduced to field hockey in the 1980’s, while 13 American Football teams in the NFL also play on similar surfaces.
Despite an initial installation cost of £500,000 the all-weather pitch is low-maintenance, with an eight-year cycle before it needs to be replaced, and will debut in the Aviva Premiership on 13 February when Exeter Chiefs visit Allianz Park.
And with the rugby world set to be watching on this Sunday, Sarries chief executive Edward Griffiths is delighted the club are pioneering what he believes will be the future of the sport.
“We are incredibly excited about this new chapter for this rugby club and what we feel could be a new chapter in this sport as a whole,” he said.
“We believe that what these pitches did to hockey can be replicated in rugby. Hockey was transformed by the introduction of these pitches and I am certain that is a possibility in rugby.
“This surface has been created just for rugby and all the research shows us it will be a faster game and one which will still be safe for the players to use.
“I have had conversations with people in South Africa, Australia, and I know people are interested at places like Murrayfield as well, and all these places are waiting to see whether this experiment is successful going forward because if it is I think it will be a route more and more clubs go towards.
“If this surface here is a success in the long-run, does it mean rugby pitches in the next five years will all be artificial or moving in that direction? I think it probably does.”
The move to Barnet ends a period of nomadic travel for Saracens, who have played ‘home’ fixtures at six different venues far this season as they waited for building work to be completed at Allianz Park.
And Griffiths is confident Saracens can adapt to life at a new stadium quickly and believes teams will enjoy coming to Allianz Park because of the unique playing surface.
“I think a home venue always gives a team an edge but this one will be a bit different,” he added.
“Teams will come here knowing they have to contend with a new pitch – one which we will let them train on beforehand – but I’m sure people will quickly see the positives far outweigh the negatives.”
 |
Designed by Now City News | Copyright NCN Ltd
Comments