Pennell – Sixways support crucial to us

Posted on Mar 16, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Worcester captain Chris Pennell has issued a rallying cry for the Sixways faithful to make a wall of noise in the league play-offs – urging fans to create a hostile and intimidating atmosphere for away teams to face.

Worcester Warriors kicked off the RFU Championship play-off bid in Pool A with a 44-15 away day victory over Bristol and now prepare to welcome London Welsh to Sixways this Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

Pennell has stressed the importance of the Warriors really exploding into life and making home advantage count as the squad strives to make Sixways a difficult place to visit.

And he has urged the club’s dedicated and loyal followers to play a big role by cranking up the volume in the promotion bid.

“Home games in the play-offs are massive,” said Pennell. “This is a different competition and we have to make sure we take the form from the regular league season into these play-offs.

“Sixways has to be our fortress, especially looking ahead when we want home advantage in the latter stages. We have to play as we know we can and leave teams in no doubt that they face a very tough day at the office here.

“That has to start this weekend. Hopefully we can get a big crowd in and we can start with a big performance.

“We are all in this together and the fans have been fantastic so far. Now I want even more intimidating atmospheres and for teams to come here to face big crowds and really hear that noise and our support.

“It can be an incredibly intimidating place for the opposition to play when the stadium is really rocking and our players really feed of that. It lifts every one of us and we would love nothing more than to put in some massive displays for our fans.”

Full back Pennell, who has made an eye catching return to the team in recent weeks, admits the victory over Bristol was all important on day one of the play-offs but firmly believes the team can produce even more.

“It was very important to win first up,” he added. “The most important thing was the victory. We didn’t play how we really wanted, but we made massive improvement in certain areas and our defence was top class.

“Now we just need to sharpen our attack. We showed what we can do by scoring six tries when we didn’t really produce what we wanted. There is more to come and in these next set of five play-off games we have got to keep our focus and get even better.”

Travelling support crucial for Sharples and co

Posted on Mar 15, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Gloucester Rugby winger Charlie Sharples caught the eye with his four try display in the LV= Cup semi final win over the Dragons at Kingsholm on Sunday and told the club website that a huge travelling support will be crucial for the final on Sunday.

The win was Gloucester’s tenth in a row and secured a place in the final of the Anglo Welsh tournament for the third year in succession .

Ticket sales have been going well this week a fact which hasn’t been lost upon the Gloucester squad.

“That’s obviously massive for us as players. Kingsholm and the Shed are a big part of what we are, so to have that sort of travelling support is fantastic.”

“They’ll be like a 16^thman for us and it’d be fantastic to be celebrating with them come the final whistle.”

However, despite the buzz around the city, the fact that it’s the final is having no effect upon preparations according to Sharples.

“It’s very much business as usual. I don’t think we’re going to focus on the fact that it’s the final, everyone’s aware of what it is.”

“We’re not going to change anything in terms of how we prepare for it. We’ll do the same things in training and prepare as we would do every week.”

“There will be an intensity to training but there always is. It’s a final but every game we play is important and we train to win whatever the competition.”

“There’s a lot at stake but we’ll be mentally tuned in as we always are. If nothing else, we know that we lost up at Newcastle earlier in the season so we know what’s ahead of us.”

The game against the Dragons was a physical one with a number of shuddering collisions all over the pitch but that was exactly what Gloucester expected according to the Hong Kong born flier.

“We knew it was going to be like that. It’s the old Anglo Welsh rivalry with them coming over and looking to defeat the English. We knew that they weren’t going to roll over.”

“Fortunately for us, we played some good rugby and they wasted a few opportunities and we managed to ease clear in the second half.”

“But it was a tough game and we were definitely feeling the effects the next day but there’s nothing like a final to get you going again.”

Near full strength Bees ready for Esher challenge

Posted on Mar 7, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

The Bees’ face Esher on home soil this Sunday (13th March KO 1pm) in the first of six crucial games in which they will be looking to secure their Championship status again for next season.

The visitors from Surrey are the Bees’ first opponents in Round One of the Championship Relegation Playoffs. With the exception of Dan Oselton and Jack Preece, Director of Rugby Russell Earnshaw has a full strength squad at his disposal and is upbeat about the Bees’ Playoff prospects.

“We’ve looked very sharp in training this week and with good recent performances against both Worcester and Rotherham, coupled with pretty much a full strength squad available, getting our campaign off to a winning start is well within our capabilities.”

Honours were even between the two Clubs in the first stage Championship with the Bees recording a well deserved 38-16 home win in October, which was followed by a 13-21 defeat to Esher at Molesey Road in January.

Esher go into the Playoffs with 7 points, having recorded seven wins in Stage 1 of the Championship, 3 more than the Bees. However a win for the Bees on Sunday would wipe out that advantage at a stroke.

“Esher will be keen to set the tone for their Playoff campaign and having won three out of their last four Championship games they come to Damson Park in a good vein of form. It will be a tough physical battle but we are focused and prepared for whatever Mike Schmid’s men throw at us.”

The Club will delay naming the starting XV for the game against Esher until later on in the week but the Bees’ Director of Rugby is calling on as many fans as possible to come along and support the side. “The fantastic support we had from fans was a vital part of our Playoff success last season and I would urge as many supporters as possible to get down to Damson Park on Sunday – it makes a real difference!”

Back to back clashes at Meadow Lane for Nottingham

Posted on Jan 31, 2011 in Rugby News

Nottingham prepare for back-to-back home fixtures this week as they look to continue with their season long improvement.

Top of the table Worcester Warriors come to Meadow Lane on Sunday(5.45pm Kick Off) in a special Help for Heroes occasion packed with special events.

According to Director of Rugby Glenn Delaney that game will provide one of the hardest tests of the season in what promises to be an exciting encounter for fans.

He said: "Worcester have been the team to beat this year and their form hasn’t really taken any real dips. When we played them earlier in the year at Sixways we took 2 bonus points and nearly took all five, we’ll be looking to create that kind of quality at the weekend. With the home support behind us we have a chance against anyone.

After that match, the Doncaster Knights head to the East Midlands in a clash between two closely-pitted Championship rivals.

The Wednesday (Feb 9, 7.45pm kick off) match will provide a key pre-promotion play-off test for the Green and Whites as Nottingham play their final home game of the competition’s first phase.

Rodd Penney rejoins Saracens

Posted on Jan 28, 2011 in Rugby News

Centre Rodd Penney has rejoined Saracens from Italian club Aironi.

Penney moved to Italy earlier this season, but the centre has now returned to the North London club and is available for selection for Saturday’s LV=Cup clash against Llanelli Scarlets.

Penney, who has 93 Saracens appearances, said: “My time at Aironi was memorable and one which my wife and I will forever cherish. Being part of a passionate Aironi culture with such loyal supporters was a unique experience. I take with me some great friendships from Aironi. I appreciate Aironi’s support in my decision to return to Saracens.”

Penney’s return has been welcome by Director of Rugby Mark McCall. He said: “We’re delighted to have Rodd back with us. He knows our systems inside out and has quickly settled back into the team.”