By Tom Little
March 30 2016

...Saturday 2nd April 2016 including Henley Hawks v Coventry Rugby.

Week 26 Fixtures Saturday 2nd April 2016.

Ampthill & District                       v       Plymouth Albion

Blackheath                                     v       Hull Ionians

Cinderford                                      v       Esher

Darlington  Mowden Park           v        Fylde

Henley Hawks                                v       Coventry Rugby

Loughborough Students              v       Hartpury College          14.00

Rosslyn Park                                   v       Blaydon                         14.30

Wharfedale                                     v      Richmond          

Week 26 could see both Henley Hawks and Cinderford relegated and if leaders Richmond beat Wharfedale ,leaving Dale favourites for the final relegation place, with Richmond virtually taking the title.

Richmond are almost there and in visiting Wharfedale must be confident to confirm their title hopes, although many a team have found Wharfedale a tough nut to crack at home, especially now they need the win to give them even a slim chance of staying in this league. With such a key game for both sides it could be down to whoever holds its nerves.

Still hoping for a Richmond slip up will be Hartpury College, now only 10 points behind the leaders, as they travel to Loughborough Students. The Students have been very inconsistent this season but can raise their game, but Hartpury should be strong enough in all departments to win this hotly contested game.

An intriguing contest is on the cards in Bedfordshire as two sides setting out their stalls for next season, Ampthill & District and Plymouth Albion meet. Both sides are in form and are on the heels of 2nd placed Hartpury College, with the winner confirming at least 3rd place. The home pack might have a slight edge in the tight so a close contest is in prospect which could go either way, although the Administration news coming out about  Albion might affect their performance.

Fifth placed Blackheath could still finish in 3rd place, but need a home win over a struggling Hull Ionians side still unable to eke out wins from a leading position. Hull Ionians are only 10 points ahead of the relegation zone and need to find a win from somewhere, especially if Wharfedale can win. With the pressure off Blackheath they should be able to get an easy win.

Fifteenth placed Cinderford face a difficult game at home to 6th placed Esher. Cinderford earned 2 deserved points away at Coventry 2 weeks ago, but only a win will do this time, as another loss will see them relegated. Esher with no pressure on them should be too strong.

Another intriguing game in prospect is in the north-east as Darlington  Mowden Park have Fylde as their visitors. Park have  belatedly found their form , which augurs well for next season, especially if they go full-time, and should be powerful enough to see off a Fylde side who don’t always travel well.

Another side with some form albeit too late is Rosslyn Park, who have  Blaydon visiting them. Recent better form from Blaydon has seen them virtually safe but in Rosslyn Park they will find a pack that should match theirs. Home advantage should give Park the edge.

The final game sees a last chance for Henley Hawks, as a loss for them will see them relegated. The Hawks are hosting the visit of a Coventry Rugby side, who have not won away since November and have recently struggled for form. A difficult game for both sides. A full preview will follow. 

MATCH PREVIEW HENLEY HAWKS V COVENTRY RUGBY SATURDAY 2ND APRIL 2016

This coming Saturday 2nd April sees Coventry Rugby visit Dry Leas to face relegation threatened Henley Hawks with kick off at 3pm. Founded in 1930 as the Old Henleiensians Henley have their ground close to Henley-on-Thames town centre. Their previous sojourn in NL1 ended with relegation in season 2013/14,  but were promoted back to NL1 at the start of this season as Champions of NL2 South.

Under DOR Nigel Dudding and Head Coach Pete Davies, they have struggled in their first season back despite winning 3 and drawing 1 of their first 6 fixtures. Since then they have only won 2 further games at home to Cinderford and to Loughborough Students. Their 19 losses include some heavy ones  to Richmond, Hartpury College, Blackheath and Rosslyn Park. Earlier in the season they travelled to Coventry Rugby and were beaten 29-15.

The net result of these losses  is to leave them with the worst defensive record in the league with the lowest number of bonus points, and on 27 match points are in bottom place, no less than 9 points from safety, or 19 points behind Hull Ionians in 13th place. Another loss on Saturday would see them relegated.

The Hawks have seen close ties with the RAF as well as London Irish Premiership side, which has boosted their recruitment.

Some experienced players have been retained from the previous season including  prop Dave Manning and experienced captain and lock Dave Clements. Scrum-half Connor Murphy is still causing teams problems and in fly-half James Comben they have a proven goal-kicker. Speed on the wing is found in Xavier Andre and Jamie Davies.

Centres Fred Pierrepoint and Tom Gardner remain with Tom Hall  appearing in the back-row with Iwan Davies .

New recruits include abrasive flanker Rob Bell well known to Coventry from his Blaydon days, and former Coventry prop Henry Sandys. Full-back Liam O’Neill has arrived from Nottingham, and centre Jake Randall from Australia. Experienced lock Charlie Davey is in from the Cornish Pirates, and hookers Tom Emery from Exmouth and Curtis Langdon dr from London Irish, as well as prop Billy Moss, Simon Perry on the wing, and Alan Awcock either as No 15 or centre.

Even more recent recruits since the start of the season include fly-halfs  Ben Palmer and Tom Bliss with centre Basil Strange.

Coventry Rugby are in urgent need of an away win, which has been missing since November, but in Henley Hawks they face a home side fighting for their NL1 survival. A loss in this game will relegate the home side so Coventry Rugby certainly cannot take this game too lightly.

Tom little

Coventry Rugby press office

28th March 2016 .

Week 26 - round 26 national league 1 previews...

Discussion started by Unofficial Coventry Rugby (IP Logged), 30/03/2016 07:39

Unofficial Coventry Rugby
30/03/2016 07:39

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