Nottingham ready to duel with the Knights

Posted on Oct 21, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, Nottingham

Nottingham Rugby are out to seek another win in their Championship campaign on Saturday when they travel to Castle Park for a showdown against Doncaster Knights.

With Doncaster currently sitting fourth in the League table, Nottingham know that their opponents won’t go down easily and have been working hard in training.

Director of Rugby, Glenn Delaney, said: “We’re expecting a very physical challenge on Saturday up at Doncaster. They are one of the form teams this season and we know that playing them on their home patch will only add to the challenge.”

The Green and Whites are coming into the tie after a tough draw last week at Meadow Lane against last season’s runners-up, Cornish Pirates. Having worked up a 12-point lead going into the final quarter Nottingham will be keen this week to prove that they can maintain their level of performance and be strong finishers.

Delaney added: “We’ve trained well but we understand the demands that are in front of us. We are working hard to turn those narrow margins into winning margins.”

The team sees a few changes from the side that played Cornish Pirates last week. One change that has been forced sees leading try scorer David Jackson drop out of the team following a shoulder injury. Alex Lewington comes in to take his place.

Matt Parr comes in to the front row with Michael Holford dropping to the bench while Richard De Carpentier comes into the back row in place of Phil Eggleshaw.

The match kicks off at 2.30pm at Castle Park. The team will then return to Nottingham as they prepare to face London Scottish on Sunday 30th October at Meadow Lane for Ladies Day in aid of Breast Cancer Care.

Tickets for Ladies Day are still available and priced at just £20 for a VIP ticket, two course meal, luxury goody bag and much more.

Matt Parr
Joe Duffey
Ben Prescott
Craig Hammond (c)
Nic Rouse
Sione Kalamafoni
Richard De Carpentier
Alex Shaw

Nathan Jones
James Arlidge
Jack Cobden
Juan Socino
Ayoola Erinle
Alex Lewington
Kieran Hallett

Bench

Jimmy Stevens
Michael Holford
Matt Shields
Lee Morley
Phil Eggleshaw
Finlay Barnham
Charlie Hayter

Moseley keep the faith

Posted on Oct 21, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, Moseley

After Sunday’s last minute one-point defeat to Leeds at Headingly, Moseley keep faith with the twenty-two who participated in that match, although there is a doubt about the fitness of Jack Adams who injured himself in training on Tuesday.

This will be the first time this season that the side has been unchanged, and the coaches will be looking to build on their second half performance last week, when their side had all but won the game until a last ditch penalty took the points. With Rotherham buoyed by success against high-flying London Welsh last week, Moseley are sure to have a hard task on their hands.
Starting 15: 01. Tom WARREN; 02.Adam CAVES; 03.Antony O’DONNELL; 04. David LYONS; 05.Paul SPIVEY; 06. Neil MASON; 07. Michael MALTMAN; 08.Chevvy PENNYCOOK; 09.Ryan GLYNN; 10. Brad DAVIES; 11.Oliver THOMAS; 12.Andy REAY (capt); 13. Greg KING; 14.William ROBINSON; 15. Anthony CARTER;

Replacements: 16. Richard STOTT 17.Charley THOMAS (FR) 18. Craig VOISEY (FR); 19. Colin QUIGLEY (FR); 20. Drew HARPER; 21. Sam BROWN; 22. Jack ADAMS

Titans make five changes for Moseley

Posted on Oct 21, 2011 in Championship, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans Head Coach Andre Bester has made five changes to the side that impressively beat London Welsh 33-25 in the capital last week. This week Titans face another road trip, when they travel to Billesley Common for the tricky challenge Moseley will undoubtedly present, kick off 3pm Saturday.

The one change in the back line sees Cliffie Hodgson come in for Stephen Hamilton at full back. Up front Bester has changed both props; at loose head Jamie Kilbane replaces Shane Cahill and at tight head Rob O’Donnell comes in for Ben Hooper. In the second row Barney Maddison replaces Neale Patrick and club captain Sam Dickinson returns to the starting line up, he gives the in form Semisi Taulava a break at number 8.

Moseley are coached by two ex Titans in Head Coach Kevin Maggs and his assistant Craig West. Both served the Clifton Lane club admirably during their spell and were both big hits with the supporters. Moseley’s playing staff comprises of five ex Titans in Anthony Carter, Brad Hunt, Anton O’Donnell, Colin Quigley and Craig Voisey all of whom will be trying to ‘put one over’ their old club.

The two sides have met each other on 25 previous occasions in all competitions, with Rotherham holding a healthy 17-8 advantage. Rotherham’s biggest win over Moseley came in the 2002/03 season when a 17 try demolition at Millmoor saw the Titans run out 102-3 winners.

Andre Bester knows Saturday visit to Moseley will present his side with a stiff challenge, he said,” We have respect for Moseley and we won’t be making too many changes, however it’s a squad game and we saw last week at London Welsh how well the players that came in did. There is a certain amount of rotation but we are very respectful of Moseley, they showed against Leeds that they can play rugby and can control matches. They’ve got a lot to prove and they are on their own patch and I expect them to provide us with a difficult challenge.

“Last year they gave us a fair and square hiding down there 9-5 and it was an upsetting result, I felt we played particularly bad in that game. We have a lot to prove going to Moseley!

“We are targeting the Moseley game like we target every game and if you don’t turn up and earn the result, you don’t get it. We’ve worked very hard this week as we always do and we know we have a tough task ahead of us. In the past 18 months we’ve had an apprehension about away matches, but in the last few weeks that has disappeared.

“Moseley are a better side than they were last season and they’ll have a little more self belief after pushing Leeds so close last week. They will be really up for this match given the history between the clubs in terms of coaches and players.

“Moseley have an abrasive pack, a good back line, there are very experienced in certain areas of the pitch and they are on their own
patch and are proving a very difficult side to beat. If we don’t apply ourselves properly, then we are going to be in trouble.

“But we are going to Moseley with the intention of winning the match, not damage limitation like we have on previous occasions; we’re going there to win. Likewise Moseley will have the same mindset, they will be planning the same and they will believe they can win also. There’s a lot of respect between the clubs, but when the whistle goes that all goes out of the window and our application is going to be all important.”
Rotherham Titans: 15 Cliffie Hodgson, 14 Tom Foden, 13 Shane Monahan, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Ed Tellwright, 10 Garry Law, 9 Jimmy Williams, 1 Jamie Kilbane, 2 Ted Stagg, 3 Rob O’Donnell, 4 Barney Maddison 5 Adrian Griffiths, 6 Robin Copeland, 7 Sean Dougall, 8 Sam Dickinson (Capt.).

Replacements From: 16 Dan Baines, 17 Shane Cahill, 18 Ben Hooper, 19 Ross Noonan, 20 Semisi Taulava, 21 Matt Rhodes, 22 Steve Hamilton, 23 Elliot Brierley, 24 Ben Harris.

Championship: Esher’s Big Macs for Bristol

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Esher’s Mike Schmid is delighted as fellow Canadians Phil and Jamie MacKenzie make a return to the Esher match day squad after their New Zealand World Cup experience for Saturday’s encounter with second placed Bristol. They join Mark Atkinson who returns from injury and is one of a number of other changes from last week’s away trip to Rotherham.

15 Rob Kirby

14 Sam Edgerley

13 Phil Mackenzie

12 Tom Cheeseman

11 Tom Loizides

10 Mark Atkinson

9 Clive Stuart – Smith

1 Ollie Mines

2 Stuart Mackie

3 Robin Boot

4 Perry Parker

5 Mike Blakeburn

6 Mike Macfarlane

7 Sam Stitcher

8 Chris Goodman

Replacements

16 James Gethings

17 Shawn Renwick

18 Kevin Corrigan

19 Peter Synnott

20 Andy Wright

21Richard Mill

22 Jamie Mackenzie

23 John Downey

24 Joe Brown

Championship: Moseley coaches seek disciplined performance

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Coaches Kevin Maggs and Craig West have selected an almost unchanged side for the visit to Leeds on Sunday for this match in the next round of The Championship. The only change in the starting fifteen sees Jack Adams give way to Ollie Thomas, who made a case for his inclusion in the team with a good goal-kicking performance in mid-week in the win against Bristol in the British & Irish Cup. Newcomers to the bench include lock David Lyons and centre Callum McBurnie.

After last week’s defeat by London Welsh, Maggs and West are looking for an immediate response from the team. “We have conceded too many soft scores in the last two League games”, said Maggs. “On Sunday we will be looking for our defence to be a lot meaner. We are managing to create plenty of chances, but have not always kept possession as long as we would have liked, and last week early penalties did not allow us to build any momentum. We will be looking for a more disciplined performance at Headingley”.

Starting 15: 01. Tom WARREN; 02.Adam CAVES; 03. Anthony O’DONNELL; 04. Paul SPIVEY; 05.Richard STOTT; 06.Neil MASON; 07. Michael MALTMAN; 08.Chevvy PENNYCOOK; 09. Ryan GLYNN; 10. Bradley DAVIES; 11. William ROBINSON; 12.Andy REAY; 13. Greg KING; 14. Oliver THOMAS; 15. Anthony CARTER
Replacements: 16. Craig VOISEY; 17. Colin QUIGLEY; 18. David LYONS; 19. Charley THOMAS; 20.Callum McBURNIE; 21. Sam BROWN; 22. Jack ADAMS