Greene King IPA Championship - Round 5

by **Ozzy3213** Tue 27 Sep 2016, 10:27 am

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts

1.	London Irish	4	4	0	0	117	47	+70	16	7	3	0	19
2.	Yorkshire Carnegie	4	4	0	0	118	88	+30	15	12	2	0	18
3.	Cornish Pirates	4	3	1	0	108	77	+31	11	11	2	0	16
4.	Doncaster Knights	4	3	0	1	112	70	+42	16	9	2	0	14
5.	Jersey Reds	4	2	0	2	91	67	+24	13	6	1	2	11
6.	Rotherham Titans	4	2	0	2	98	96	-2	10	13	1	1	10
7.	Nottingham Rugby	4	2	0	2	90	104	-14	13	12	1	1	10
8.	London Welsh	4	1	0	3	100	81	+19	14	8	2	3	9
9.	Ealing Trailfinders	4	1	1	2	76	108	-32	9	14	1	0	7
10.	London Scottish	4	1	0	3	91	130	-39	11	16	2	1	7
11.	Bedford Blues	4	0	0	4	71	100	-29	9	12	1	2	3
12.	Richmond	4	0	0	4	52	152	-100	6	24	0	0	0

Fixtures

Nottingham Rugby vs. London Irish
Nottingham picked up a great win away at Jersey last Friday and will come into this fixture against the league leaders full of confidence as a result. Irish picked up a third successive try bonus point win against Ealing on Sunday, despite a fair bit of misfunctioning at the set piece. It is a short turnaround this week for Irish which could mean some further rotation in the squad, although given that the likes of Franks, Robson, Cowan, Treviranus and Williams didn't feature in the 22 on Sunday, this should not weaken the side in any way. Nottingham will need to perform at their best, but they do have players with Premiership experience, such as Matt Everard and former Irish player Jimmy Stevens, and this fixture is definitely a banana skin for Irish.
Prediction: Close game but Irish to see it out and make it five wins from five.

London Welsh vs. Jersey Reds
Despite some decent performances London Welsh find themselves having only won one of their first four games, after their 10-16 defeat away at Cornish Pirates on Sunday. Jersey, after winning their opening two games find themselves outside the top four, after back to back defeats to Ealing Trailfinders and Nottingham. This game will be a battle of two big packs, both of whom will be smarting from recent losses. I expect both teams to try to keep this one tight and grind it out, so am anticipating a low scoring affair.
Prediction: Welsh to pile on the misery for Jersey winning a very close game.

Bedford Blues vs. Richmond
Bedford have had a tough three weeks, facing Yorkshire, Irish and Doncaster in successive weeks and find themselves in eleventh place with no wins to their name. Richmond had a similarly difficult start, and also find themselves winless, despite a better showing against Rotherham last time out, where they lost 8-18. Whilst Richmond would have expected to be near the bottom of the table, Bedford would have had designs on being top six and possibly make the play offs. They have been in the game in their last couple of matches and lead both Irish and Doncaster in the second halves of those games. They will fancy picking up their first win this weekend but need to not underestimate a committed Richmond side, who will give it everything they have at Goldington Road.
Prediction: Bedford to pick up their first win of the season with a try bonus point.

Ealing Trailfinders vs. Doncaster Knights
Ealing went down fighting at the Madejski on Sunday while Doncaster had to dig deep to come from behind to beat Bedford Blues. Both teams boast big packs and this is likely to be tough encounter. Looking at the relative strengths of the squads, it is behind the packs where Doncaster would appear to have a significant advantage, with a strong half back pairing of Michael Heaney and Declan Cusack, and a pacy back three. Ealing's kicking from hand was poor on Sunday, and if it does not improve this weekend they will find themselves under all sorts of pressure from a side who do like to run the ball.
Prediction: Doncaster with too much for Ealing and extend their winning streak to four games.

London Scottish vs. Cornish Pirates
Scottish picked up a try bonus point in losing 29-39 to Yorkshire at the weekend, with Pirates extending their unbeaten start to the season beating Welsh 16-10 at home. By all accounts that was a pretty scrappy affair, with Pirates having to dog it out to bag the win. From reading their fans forum the general consensus was that it was a game they would have lost last season, and that the team is developing well and growing together. After a difficult summer with lots of changes Scottish are further back in their own development process, and while they have been scoring tries, only Richmond have conceded more tries and points to them. Their best bet may well be an open high scoring game, as they don't look to have the defensive skills to win in a dogfight.
Prediction: Tough one to call, but if the weather is good I can see this being an open game ans Scottish sneaking the win.

Rotherham Titans vs. Yorkshire Carnegie
Rotherham just about overcame Richmond while Carnegie were pretty comfortable in beating Scottish at the weekend. On paper this should be a comfortable win for Carnegie, but it's a Yorkshire derby and Rotherham will want to put in a performance in front of their own fans. This will be fiercely contested and may come down to who holds their nerve best in a tight encounter.
Prediction: Rotherham to sneak it and inflict Carnegie's first defeat of the season.

by **George Carlin** Wed 28 Sep 2016, 7:30 am

Have you been along to the Athletics Ground in Richmond to see Scottish, Ozzy?

What is the set-up like? I have never been.

by **BigGee** Wed 28 Sep 2016, 9:16 am

I am going to see the LS game this Saturday. Looking forward to it and to seeing some of the young Scottish kids in action. They seem to be scoring tries for fun, even if they are leaking a few in the process!

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 29 Sep 2016, 10:29 am

George Carlin wrote:Have you been along to the Athletics Ground in Richmond to see Scottish, Ozzy?

What is the set-up like? I have never been.

I have George, but was a couple of years ago. Lovely place to watch rugby, especially when the sun is shining. Looking forward to a couple of trips there this year for the games against Scottish and Richmond.

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 29 Sep 2016, 12:29 pm

Nottingham team to face London Irish:

15) Billy Robinson
14) James Stephenson
13) Oli Evans
12) Vili Hakalo
11) Calum Hall
10) Lawrence Rayner
9) Murray McConnell
1) Tom West
2) Jimmy Stevens
3) Tom Heard
4) Toby Freeman
5) Ben Morris (C)
6) Rob Langley
7) Jordan Coghlan
8) Josh Poullet
Replacements:
16) TJ Harris
17) Harry Morley
18) Adam Parkins
19) Joe Green
20) Matt Everard
21) Jacob Nash
22) Will Millett

http://www.nottinghamrugby.co.uk/freeman-returns-to-face-irish/

by **Ozzy3213** Thu 29 Sep 2016, 12:31 pm

London Irish:
15 James Marshall, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Fergus Mulchrone, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Scott Steele;
1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, 2 David Paice (c), 3 Ben Franks, 4 George Robson, 5 Sebastien De Chaves, 6 Mike Coman, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 8 Ofisa Treviranus.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris-Wright, 17 Tom Court, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Will Lloyd, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Ciaran Hearn.

http://www.london-irish.com/news/team-news-kennedy-shuffles-pack-for-nottingham-trip/bp1038/

by **Ozzy3213** Sat 01 Oct 2016, 9:13 am

Friday Night Result

Nottingham Rugby 7 London Irish 29

Another try bonus point win for Irish, and almost a second shut out of the season, but conceded an 84th minute try. By all accounts our best performance so far this season, and Scott Steele was apparently superb.

by **George Carlin** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 6:06 am

That'll be Mr Steele's celtic genes Ozzy.

Very good win for Scottish... Very Happy

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 9:39 am

Saturdays Results

Bedford Blues 34 Richmond 14
Ealing Trailfinders 27 Doncaster Knights 14
London Scottish 25 Cornish Pirates 24
Rotherham Titans 21 Yorkshire Carnegie 37
London Welsh 23 Jersey Reds 18

http://www.englandrugby.com/news/greene-king-ipa-championship-stories-from-round-five/

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 9:57 am

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts

1.	London Irish	5	5	0	0	146	54	+92	20	8	4	0	24
2.	Yorkshire Carnegie	5	5	0	0	155	109	+46	19	15	3	0	23
3.	Cornish Pirates	5	3	1	1	132	102	+30	14	14	2	1	17
4.	Doncaster Knights	5	3	0	2	126	97	+29	18	12	2	0	14
5.	London Welsh	5	2	0	3	123	99	+24	17	10	2	3	13
6.	Jersey Reds	5	2	0	3	119	90	+19	15	9	1	3	12
7.	Ealing Trailfinders	5	2	1	2	103	122	-19	12	16	1	0	11
8.	London Scottish	5	2	0	3	116	154	-38	14	19	2	1	11
9.	Rotherham Titans	5	2	0	3	119	133	-14	13	17	1	1	10
10.	Nottingham Rugby	5	2	0	3	97	133	-36	14	16	1	1	10
11.	Bedford Blues	5	1	0	4	105	114	-9	15	14	2	2	8
12.	Richmond	5	0	0	5	66	186	-120	8	30	0	0	0

by Hazel Sapling Mon 03 Oct 2016, 10:33 am

Richmond looking like the whipping boys of the division. Hopefully Scots can get top 6, some achievement after a disastrous summer. Need a development side and early signs on Shiells and McQuill look like they were given up on too early.

Irish and Carnegie look the pick of the division casting an eye at the results.

by **George Carlin** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 11:48 am

Always thought it was a glaring error for neither of the 2 Scottish pro teams to find a place for Grant Shiells.

I always thought he was excellent for Newcastle and clearly premier league class.

by **BigGee** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 12:10 pm

George Carlin wrote:Always thought it was a glaring error for neither of the 2 Scottish pro teams to find a place for Grant Shiells.

I always thought he was excellent for Newcastle and clearly premier league class.

Well he, as well as some of the others like McQuillan are putting themselves back in the shop window down there. They will get the game time they need this year at a very decent standard and get the chance to show us what they are capable of. It may turn out to be a very decent move for them.

by **Ozzy3213** Mon 03 Oct 2016, 5:13 pm

Scottish I would imagine will be erratic this year, given that they effectively started pre season later than the rest due to the issues in the summer. From what I can glean so far this season they play some exciting attacking rugby, but perhaps don't have the grunt to realistically finish in the top half this year.

by Irish Londoner Tue 04 Oct 2016, 8:36 am

Early days but starting to look like a two horse race....

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