Last night Rotherham Titans won at Nottingham and ended any remote prospect of us getting into the play-offs. With two games left, after a miserable season, we are 7th in the Championship table. It would appear that our season is as good as over. However the two remaining fixtures are at Headingley and they are both against teams that are above us in the league. Pride is at stake....
London Scottish are our visitors on Sunday. It does not seem too long since they were promoted into the Championship. Since then they have slowly, inexorably, established themselves and then pushed on to become a force to be reckoned with. They are in the play-offs because they deserve to be.
Back in January we were beaten at the RAG by 26-22. Since then we have won 5 Championship matches and lost 4. Consistent in our inconsistency! The Exiles will be confident, tomorrow, of taking home at least 4 points. The lads will need to put in a big shift if we are to get anything out of this game.
Last time out we were beaten at Worcester but our pack was dominant. On Sunday it will be "Once more unto the breach" for the forwards who must get on top of their opponents if we are to prevail. Our lack of fit locks could have been an issue if not for the versatility of Ben Harris and the effervescence of Matt Smith. Our youthful front row ought to be a handful for the Exiles. It could be Paul Hill's last start for us. He will want to leave on a high note. Buzz can expect to share ball-carrying duties with Harris and Jones. We have enough talent in our starting pack to secure good ball for the backs.
It is probably just my imagination but Pilgrim and Leonard seem to have improved since Brush arrived. Keep it up lads. Pete Lucock is one of the few players who have actually played to their potential this season. His partner this week, James Fitzpatrick, needs a good 80 minute performance.
Rain is forecast for LS6 on Sunday morning but it should brighten up by kick-off time. For methe only thing that will brighten up the day day is adecent performance from the squad resulting in a home win.
IMHO Fitzpatrick has played well when he's played so the comment re needing a good 80 minutes sounds as if he's been underperforming. Pity he's been injured for much of the season.
Hardly a confidence booster for Scottish. They brought on some heavy guns in the second half, and, although we had a short wobble, normal service was soon resumed. Could have been 50+ if the game had gone on another few minutes as we were nearly over in the corner.
When you think that a Worcester "B" side put Donny to the sword playing away in the B&I cup final, it would seem to indicate that Scottish do not have the strength in depth to trouble the two division pace setters. However play-offs are play-offs, so you never know.
The view from the other side of the fence - listen to their coach - interesting comments near the end.
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