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Posted 394 days ago
The irony of Charlie Hayter’s interception to cement London Scottish’s place in the Championship for another year wasn’t lost on most of the sizable crowd at Richmond last Saturday. A year ago, David Howells had pounced on a loose Barking pass to get them there, writes Richard Grainger.
If you don’t much care for the bagpipes then the only thing worse…
Posted 401 days ago
Champagne rugby – plenty of fizz but no pop. This pretty much sums up London Welsh’s efforts in the first half of the clash with promotion favourites Bristol, at the Old Deer Park yesterday, writes Richard Grainger.
Having enjoyed 79 per cent of possession, the hosts turned round 3-13 behind having conceded the first of two penalty tries and squandered a…
Posted 414 days ago
The Championship play-offs exist to decide two issues — who goes up and who goes down — and one of these issues was decided, at Molesey Road on Saturday, writes Richard Grainger.
Unless Esher can win with a try bonus point from their last two games, and London Scottish fail to pick up a single point from theirs, the Surrey side…
Posted 423 days ago
Three down and three to go! For the first time this season I can say with some certainty that two of the three play-off pools are virtually decided, writes Richard Grainger.
Bristol and London Welsh should progress from Pool A to the semis, and, unless Esher re-discover their post-Christmas form and win all three of their final games, they will be…
Posted 430 days ago
With two games down and four to play, this division remains as hard to predict as the Stuart Lancaster saga, writes Richard Grainger. In Pool A Bristol, the clear post Stage One favourites, dropped two points against a well-organized and highly charged London Welsh side at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday.
Posted 436 days ago
My predictions last week may not have come back to haunt me on the scale that Dave Ellis’ did. While the former French defence coach’s claims that the French would target the ‘weakness of Tuilagi’ transpired to be somewhat wishful, a significant amount of egg needs to be removed from my face, writes Richard Grainger.
Firstly, bar ratification by the RFU…
Posted 444 days ago
Finally – time to draw breath. After 22 pulsating weeks of Championship rugby culminating in a mad dash for those unfortunate clubs having to fulfill postponed fixtures, last Saturday was a welcome week off, writes Richard Grainger.
But not welcome for all, of course. John Taylor, managing director of London Welsh, was quoted in The Rugby Paper: “…I’m sitting here at…
Posted 451 days ago
In a frantic week of Championship rugby that saw Leeds, Doncaster and London Welsh in action three times in seven days, Bristol were confirmed as winners of Stage One, writes Richard Grainger.
This, of course, was never in doubt, as the Westcountry outfit went into the final round of matches with their place at the head of the table already guaranteed,…
Posted 457 days ago
Headingley was the scene for the latest upset in what is proving to be a fascinating second tier competition, writes Richard Grainger.
The penultimate week the Championship’s Stage One saw Leeds lose 22-24 at home to bottom-placed Esher on Sunday, a reversal which virtually ends Leeds’ Premiership dreams for this season. Of course, the Yorkshire side, currently in seventh place,…
Posted 464 days ago
With wintry conditions decimating the Championship’s week 20 programme once again, at least one thing was decided – no one can catch Bristol in Stage One, writes Richard Grainger.
Bristol romped home 48-13 winners in front of 4322 at the Memorial Stadium to secure a bonus point win and dash any hopes that Moseley might have held of completing the double…
