By Tom Little
February 16 2015

...Saturday 14th February 2015 including Esher v Coventry rugby.  

Fixtures Saturday 14^th February 2015.

Blaydon                                       24            28             Fylde

Cinderford                                   28           12             Loughborough Students

Darlington Mowden Park         27           18             Tynedale

Esher                                            20           17             Coventry Rugby

Hartpury College                        22           39             Ealing Trailfinders

Macclesfield                                13           25             Blackheath

Richmond                                      6            44             Rosslyn Park

Wharfedale                                  22           17            Old Albanian

The weekend that initially looked as though the top three sides might struggle away from home turned out in the end to be a damp squib, that is apart from Coventry Rugby who lost their unbeaten record, a loss which puts them 6 points behind leaders Ealing. There are still many twists and turns to come as all top three sides have to meet each other, with the strong possibility that all teams could be at one time either kingmaker or kingslayer.

It is equally fraught at the bottom of the table with Cinderford getting their required win although still  2 points from safety but now within sight of not only Old Albanian but also Loughborough Students and even Wharfedale.

No less than 5 penalty tries were awarded with Coventry Rugby leading the way with 2 awarded, not that it paved the way for the win.

It was all too easy as Hartpury College surrendered their unbeaten record of 9 successive wins to Ealing Trailfinders who were out of sight by half-time. Six tries in total for the leaders told its own tale mixing up the power of the forwards and offloading pace of the backs. A better  second half saw a belated fight-back but too little and too late. This win now moves Ealing 6 points ahead of Coventry, still with a game in hand.

It was another unexpected easy win on Friday night as Rosslyn Park saw off their neighbours Richmond, with Dave Vincent leading the way with 4 second half tries. The home side found this game a step too far after a series of good performances, but the bonus point win takes Rosslyn Park up to third place and only 4 points behind Ealing.

No such victory for Coventry Rugby as they lost their 18 match unbeaten run to a fired up Esher side. Yet Coventry started off at break net speed pressurising the home side for the first quarter, and eschewing easy penalty kicks at goal in going for tries. Despite a dominant scrum Coventry fell foul of the referee in the first half and 2 breakouts gave Esher the lead by half-time. Esher who gave their best defensive display of the season were not to be denied despite giving away 2 penalty tries, and Coventry gave up the chance for a late draw  in going for the win. The loss leaves Coventry back in third place and 6 points from Ealing, although with having to visit both Ealing and Rosslyn Park, it may not be all over yet.

Relegation placed Cinderford gave themselves a sniff of survival with a victory over fellow strugglers Loughborough Students. A dominant home pack saw them on their way and a late try by Mike Wilcox sealed it for them. A win that moves Cinderford to just 2 points from safety , but bringing the Students within sight of danger.

No such win for Old Albanian who travelled to Wharfedale whose hard fought win gave them a breathing space. With the teams drawing with 10 minutes to go, two late yellow cards for the visitors gave the home side the impetus and a late try to win it. This loss brought Old Albanian to just 2 points ahead of Cinderford.

After a dour first half saw a flurry of tries from  Darlington Mowden Park early in the second, with the Connon brothers in opposition. Another loss for Tynedale, although playing better does leave them in serious trouble now 9 points from safety. Surely too much for them to escape  as they are showing the poorest form of the bottom 6 sides.

After 4 successive losses Fylde have to thanks prolific and record try scorer Oli Brennand, whose 4 tries saw off home side Blaydon, who were leading at half-time. Two late Brennand tries sealed it, which keeps Fylde in 5^th place, and the losing bonus point from Blaydon surely makes them safe.

Blackheath continued on with their fine form with a close victory over bottom side Macclesfield. Despite trailing at half-time Blackheath once again had to thank Dave Allen for setting them on their way with a hat-trick, as Blackheath ran out easy winners in the end. Perhaps the win would have more certain earlier if they had a goal-kicker.

Tom Little

Coventry Rugby press office

15^th February 2015

Week 23 national league 1 results round up...

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 16/02/2015 11:57

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
16/02/2015 11:57

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Reply Quote Report

Goto: Forum List•Message List•Search• Log In

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net