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Posted 244 days ago
AFTER THREE weeks of Championship rugby it’s beginning to look as if the sides promoted and relegated to this division may have booked a return ticket back to where they came from, writes Richard Grainger.
Much to the annoyance of Moseley Head Coach Kevin Maggs, there had been media speculation last week that this mid-September clash in the Channel Islands might…
Posted 248 days ago
DIVISION NEWCOMERS Jersey travelled to Headingley on Friday for what is believed to have been their first-ever evening fixture, writes Richard Grainger.
Despite losing 32-19 to a Leeds side who were far from clinical but too strong for the visitors, Jersey were level 13-13 at the break. Leeds managed to record a bonus point win with two tries for skipper Jacob…
Posted 257 days ago
THE REVAMPED Championship kicked off with a bonus point win for promotion favourites Newcastle Falcons over last season’s front-runners Bristol at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday, writes Richard Grainger.
Falcons’ Director of Rugby Dean Richards said: “We knew they would be very competitive but it is pleasing to get the five-point win to start our season.
“It is what we aimed for…
Posted 305 days ago
THE LEICESTER back row will be dusting off their tuxedos in anticipation of giving Gavin Henson a dancing lesson at the Kassam Stadium, come September 2, writes Richard Grainger.
For 30-year-old Henson, the lifeline thrown by London Welsh this week may well represent the last chance saloon, and the Premiership new boys must be hoping that the ice cubes stay on…
Posted 320 days ago
LONDON WELSH have belatedly been confirmed as the new boys in England’s rugby master-class. But will they still be there this time next year, asks Richard Grainger.
An old proverb made famous in the 1902 short story The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs, warns: ‘be careful what you wish for’.
For London Welsh, their wish for Premiership rugby became a reality on…
Posted 353 days ago
London Welsh were crowned kings of the Championship last night at the Kassam Stadium — a palace deemed unfit for the round table of Premiership rugby by the RFU, writes Richard Grainger.
A week is a long time in politics — and in rugby too, but one of the more bizarre sideshows
Posted 360 days ago
LONDON WELSH showed the RFU exactly what they thought of the their decision to bar them from the Aviva Premiership by making the Cornish Pirates walk the plank at the Mennaye Field last night. Club chairman, Bleddyn Phillips told Sky Sports that London Welsh had made an arrangement with the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, specifically to enable them to schedule games as required by Premiership Rugby and the host broadcaster.
Posted 361 days ago
LONDON WELSH are to be denied entry to the Aviva Premiership, even if they win the right to dine at English rugby’s top table by beating the Cornish Pirates.
The RFU’s Board of Directors announced this afternoon that they have accepted the findings of independent auditors in response to the Exiles’ request for scrutiny. The auditors concluded that London Welsh have…
Posted 368 days ago
THE GREAT thing about Eurovision, is that when it’s all over, Engelbert Humperdinck — win or lose — will return to relative obscurity, writes Richard Grainger.
Sadly, the same will apply to one, if not both, of the teams who will contest the Championship final, irrespective of the outcome.
Unless the RFU and Premiership Rugby Ltd surprise everyone and come up with…
Posted 376 days ago
THE FOG on the Tyne, made thicker by Newcastle’s failure to take a bonus point win from Wasps on Saturday, has lifted somewhat this morning with news from west of the Tamar, writes Richard Grainger.
With a defence that was about as effective as Network Rail on a wet bank holiday, Bristol conceded five second half tries at the Mennaye Field…
