Posted on Mar 9, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Esher
By MARK BENGOECHEA
MIKE SCHMID is backing revitalised Esher to handle the heat of the relegation play-offs and secure their place in the Championship next season.
Esher take on local rivals London Scottish at home on Saturday in the first play-offs clash brimming with confidence after finishing the regular season with three straight wins.
The showdown is the first of six home and away games between Esher, Scottish, Plymouth and Moseley to determine who drops into National One.
Esher’s injury-ravaged side looked doomed for most of the campaign but the return to fitness of key players has seen them claim four wins in the last seven weeks.
That gives them four points going into the play-offs, just two behind their rivals, but with the momentum firmly behind Schmid’s side.
Now Schmid believes his side can avoid the drop with the psychological advantage of beating both Scottish and Plymouth in recent week.
Director of Rugby Schmid said: “The boys are very positive that we can get through this and be successful and build. They are looking forward to it.
“There is a fantastic mentality within the squad and our leadership and character is reality starting to show.
“We have got six World Cup finals coming at us but the big thing is to keep to the game plan, no matter whether we’re winning or losing. We have just got to keep doing what we know is successful.
“I think virtually for the first time this year we are leaving players out that we actually can’t believe we would be leaving on the bench. We’re at a stage when we are at our healthiest all season so we don’t have any excuses.
“The good thing is we’ve proved what works over the last few weeks but we’ve got to make sure that under pressure we execute properly.
“We haven’t really talked a lot about the pressure. It’s just another game. Everyone knows what’s at stake but we’re just purely looking at process, how we do things and how we can improve, what we need to do to be successful.
“You saw us earlier in the season chasing games and playing high-risk rugby at times to get that magical try whereas over the last few weeks we have built scores. We now have the confidence in what we are doing.”
Esher finished ninth in the Championship last season and topped the relegation play-off group with four wins from six but Schmid believes three wins could be enough to survive.
He said: “Anyone who wins four out of six will definitely we through and probably three of the six as well because someone will probably only win two.
“You need a bit of luck with injuries, with the bounce of the ball, with refereeing decisions but you kind of earn that with how you are playing.
“The good thing is we have beaten two out of the other three teams very recently so there is a bit of confidence from that.
“But we have been playing under pressure for months, trying to get our first win and trying to get our game together and trying to get players back off the injury list. But the boys are through that now so I’m not sure of that is going to bother them whether we win or lose our first game.
“You lose your first one you’re not out of it; win and you’re not through it. Having said that, this will be our first chance all year to get off the bottom.
“ It’s at home so we are hoping to get a good crowd here because the guys respond to that and the boys deserve that with the way they have played recently.
“It’s a huge game for me, the players and the club. But if we win it, we’re not done. But what we did really well last year in the play-offs was going away and winning our first game.
“I think by doing that it took the pressure off and these play-offs are about handling pressure, playing with pressure and closing games out when it’s tight and I would expect most games to be tight. “
Esher will lose around £300,000 in RFU funding if they are relegated and Schmid is desperate to avoid the drop so he can keep his best players and strengthen in a bid to avoid the relegation lottery in the future.
He said: “If you want to build and improve you have got to retain your core players and as a part-time club a lot of that is based about financial resources inevitably.
“The club’s vision is to be a sustainable Championship rugby club. If we can keep this group of players healthy and keep them together, and add some key people in key positions, we can achieve that.
“If we are shooting for that vision, it’s massive that we stay in the league. If you go down you lose a huge amount of funding, over £300,000, so for a club like us that’s a huge figure so the repercussions are that you lose a number of players.”
Schmid admits he is grateful to the Esher board for the faith they have shown in him this season despite spending the entire campaign rooted to the foot of the table.
He added: “For me the fantastic thing is that the board are very understanding of what we are able to achieve, what our resources are, both financial and human, and of course all our issues with injuries.
“They have talked to people, myself and players included, just to make sure that everything is on the right track and if anything can be done.
“Is there pressure on me? There is always pressure on me as coach whether you are winning or losing but the board have been brilliant and as supportive as they possibly can be.
“Nobody likes to front a losing side but thankfully they are great rugby people and understand the game and that was one of the reasons I chose this club in the first place. In today’s coaching environment you need that.
“Hopefully the last six years have been very successful for the club with me here, which may or may not buy you a bit more time than otherwise would have been the case.
“I think it goes to the character of the guys who are on the top that they have faith in the players and the coaches. We owe them and the only way we can repay them is by playing our best rugby now.”
Team to play Scottish
15 Ross Chisholm
14 Seb Stegmann
13 Tom Cheeseman
12 Arran Cruickshanks
11 Phil Mackenzie
10 Mark Atkinson
9 Clive Stuart-Smith
1 Dave Millard
2 James Campbell
3 Ingacio Elosu
4 Ian Kench
5 James Inglis
6 Sam Stitcher (Capt.)
7 Peter Synnott
8 Mike Macfarlane
Replacements
16 Will Collier (FR)
17 Tom Alexander
18 Matt Symons
19 Kevin Corrigan (FR)
20 Nicky Little
21 Luke Daniels
22 Patrick O’Grady
Semi-final place assured, London Welsh head to Nottingham on Saturday knowing that victory could yet see them top Pool A should Bristol slip up at home to Doncaster Knights.
Comments