By Tom Little.
December 9 2012

match previews.

Week 14 - 8^th December results  round up  with week 15 match previews.

Week 14 8^th December Results

Cambridge                       52             17       Sedgley Park

Cinderford                       10             11       Ealing Tfs

Coventry                            8              17       Blaydon

Fylde                                   9              11      Loughborough Students

Macclesfield                     20             17      Wharfedale

Richmond                          21             30     Blackheath

Rosslyn Park                      36             19     Old Albanian

Tynedale                             26            29     Esher

A Saturday of mainly close results which saw all the top four sides all win although in the case of three of them not without a scare. Wins that start to put a ring of steel around the top 4 away from the chasing pack. This pack contains no less than 9 teams with the widening gap now standing at 11 points from 4^th to 5^th place.

Likewise at the nether reaches of the league the Gordian Knot gets ever tighter despite two of the bottom three winning the gap between 13th and 14th place has expanded to 10 points.

As expected the visit of league leaders Ealing Tfs to the dark forest was difficult. It needed Tom Wheatcroft to be on song with his kicking to finally defeat a resolute Cinderford side by just one point.

It was similar tale at Coventry  in a close forward attritional battle with both sides defences on top was in the end separated by the kicking and try by Andrew Baggett.

At Tynedale despite Matt Outson having his kicking boots on, it was a second half red and yellow cards that did for the Tynesiders. Two penalty tries for Esher and a final last minute penalty by Rob Kirby broke the home side heart.

2nd placed Rosslyn Park had a relatively easy win over a strangely subdued Old Albanian side whose performance didn’t match their previous run of 5 wins. Not for the first time this season the goal kicking of Sam Katz proved decisive with his 5 penalty goals. A win that keeps Rosslyn Park just 4 points behind leaders Ealing and awaiting any slip.

In the relegation zone saw Cambridge meet Sedgley Park, with both sides on losing runs of 7 games, something had to give. In the end it was Sedgley Park who folded in the 2^nd half after Cambridge had tried to gift them a lead in the first half. Steve Hipwell led the charge together with two tries from former Coventry winger Mike Gillick sent them on their way to a bonus point win, only the second on Saturday, helped by a MOM performance by prop forward Tom Fidler.

It was good and bad news for bottom side Macclesfield as they found out they had been deducted 5 points by the RFU, so the close win over Wharfedale was much needed. Once again two penalty tries proved the difference, a win that keeps them in last place but now only 3 points behind Sedgley Park.

Fylde continue on their topsy turvy season with a surprise home loss to Loughborough Students. With the Students now having won 6 out of their last 8 games, with the rain proving handling difficult they were able to restrict Fylde to just three penalties. A yellow card again proved decisive with the Students taking advantage with a penalty try.

The final game saw another London derby between Richmond and Blackheath reprising their fixture of 150 years ago. This time it was the more pragmatic approach of Blackheath which gave them the victory. A decision by Richmond to run everything proved a chance too far, and in the end it was the kicking of Rory Teague that gave Club the victory.

Week 15 - 15^th December fixtures  and match previews.

Week 15 Fixtures 15^th December

Blackheath                  v       Fylde

Blaydon                        v        Rosslyn Park

Ealing Tfs                      v       Cambridge

Esher                             v       Richmond

Loughborough St         v       Cinderford

Old Albanian                 v       Macclesfield

Sedgely Park                 v       Coventry Rugby

Wharfedale                   v       Tynedale

As the season reaches its halfway point and the apparent absence of any real challengers to the top 4 sides, interest centres on which of the top 4 will win through.

Key game must be third placed Blaydon entertaining 2nd placedRosslyn Park. Blaydon come the back of 8 straight wins face Park who have won 10 out of their last 11. A real test for both sides.  Can the Rosslyn Park side negate the power and experience of the Blaydon pack? With both sides having excellent defence records perhaps home advantage might just swing it.

Leaders Ealing Tfs should face no problem at home against Cambridge. Yet despite their lowly position Cambridge have demonstrated that they too can score tries, and if players like Steve Hipwell and Tom Fidler can give parity up front Ealing cannot afford to be too complacent.

The final top 4 clash sees Esher meeting in what appears to be another interminable London derby Richmond. The Mond have struggled of late perhaps not varying their game plan to match the ground conditions, and the strong Esher pack and all round power play should give them the win.

There are two other key games affecting the two other bottom sides in the league.

Macclesfield still reeling from the deduction of 5 points, but equally buoyed by beating Wharfedale face the daunting task of travelling to Old Albanian. OA whose poor display at Rosslyn Park gives Macclesfield hope, especially as their pack are now finding their way. A game in that OA need to match the Macclesfield pack to make them slight favourites.

Sedgley Park after their 8 consecutive loss last week to Cambridge, cannot fancy the visit of Coventry. However Coventry after their own two consecutive defeats and overall poor away form, cannot take this game for granted. Matches between these two sides are usually close and there is no reason to see this game in any other way.

The remaining three fixtures sees more mid-table clashes with most teams seemingly unable to mount a sustained assault on the top four places.

Blackheath meet Fylde, with the expected heavy pitch suiting the home side to a greater extent. With Blackheath more able to cope with this style a home win is expected.

Loughborough Students against Cinderford is an intriguing contest. Who would have thought that the Students would have won 6 out of their last 8 matches. LS should be slight favourites at home, but Cinderford  who gave the leaders Ealing such a hard time cannot be ruled out.

The final game sees the clash of the Northern dales as Wharfedale entertain Tynedale. Despite Wharfedale losing narrowly away from home last week, and Tynedale losing to a last minute penalty, Tynedale don’t travel well and apart from a recent win over Fylde are not in form. A game that should go to the Greens.

A full Coventry Rugby v Sedgley Park review will be available later on this week.

Tom Little

Coventry Rugby press office

9^th December 2012

Week 14 - 8th December results round up with week 15...

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 09/12/2012 19:21

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
09/12/2012 19:21

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