Our hosts this week are Birmingham-Solihull, a short trip down the M1 away, and a relatively new club, forming in 1989 when the clubs of Birmingham and Solihull merged.

Their finest moment in that short time came in the quarter finals of the Powergen Cup in 2004, when they defeated the then European Champions London Wasps. They were known for a short spell as Pertemps Bees, and they are still referred to, locally, as the Bees. After a couple of seasons in ND1, the Bees were relegated last season, but they are currently in second position in National 2, 10 points adrift of leaders Redruth, but with three games in hand. They have only lost 3 games all season, with their only defeat at Sharmans Cross Road, coming at the hands of Tynedale, a club whose path we crossed last time we played in this competition. However, whether they aspire to be part of the new look Championship next season, if they were to win promotion, is another matter. 

They will be determined to showcase their talents this weekend, and they are billing the match as ‘The Top Dogs, versus the Under Dogs’. Leeds  emerged victorious in the 3 previous meetings between the two sides. In our last season in ND1 Leeds claimed a 27 -10 victory at Headingley, and a very close 23 – 20 win in the Midlands.

For those who believe in omens however, Leeds had a convincing 81 – 17 victory over Saturday’s opponents on their way to lifting the Powergen Trophy in 2005, so  lets keep our fingers crossed that history  is about to repeat itself, and we do not get stung.

 If successful, Leeds will have a semi final tie to play in March, after two tough away league fixtures, and with the league being our top priority, I doubt we will see a full strength team take to the field on Saturday. However we should have the resource to progress comfortably into the semi final. 

If that is the case I would expect us to be joined by Nottingham, who squashed the hopes of an all Cornwall quarter final when they dumped the Pirates in the last round, and now travel to the Duchy to take on Mounts Bay.

The 2 other ties are tougher to call. London Welsh will probably start as favourites to beat Moseley, but both sides are inconsistent, and this one really will depend on who delivers on the day. Arguably the tie of the round takes place at Castle Park where Doncaster take on Exeter, who scraped through with a last minute penalty against Bedford in round 5. A few weeks ago, The Chiefs were narrow winners in a high scoring league game in South Yorkshire, after building up what seemed to be an unassailable lead, but Donny’s fight back, and their recent form will make them very confident of taking their place in the semi final. It will be tight, but I’m going to stick my neck out and tip Donny to win a tight game that could well be decided by penalties, and keep the hopes of a White Rose final alive. 

Look forward to seeing you at Sharmans Cross Road there on Saturday, and I hope we see a good, competitive game, ending, of course, in a Carnegie victory.

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