Championship 13/14 – Round 10
By stonehousealbion
November 27 2013
After losing the lead in a game we were widely expected to win, Albion face a much tougher prospect in the shape of Rotherham Titans this week. Brickfields echoed to the sound of booing after the final whistle of last Friday’s game - a frustrating, fruitless enterprise with a long list of injuries to boot. Head coach James Shanahan has had to endure the humiliation of issuing “worst performance this season” statements two weeks in succession. As we approach the break for the second tranche of B&I games, can the engine be tweeked to fire on all eight instead of stalling and spluttering?
Rotherham (currently third in the C’ship) are a changed team from the outfit of old. Having endured two changes of coach in 2012/13, they appear to have discarded the Bester “mailed fist” approach and are playing a much more open game. A large number of signings from across the spectrum (including ex-PARFC favourite Alfie To’ala) over the summer complimented the change at the top. While this has brought success in the league table, it is not without cost in yellow cards and penalties. At times they appear to be remarkably similar to Albion in blowing hot and cold. Posting a hatful against luckless Ealing early on, they were fortunate not to repeat our fate against Nottingham last week; hanging on to a 17-11 lead while down to 13 men.
Here is the full fixture list:
Fri 29 Nov
Plymouth Albion v Rotherham Titans 19:45 Brickfields
Sat 30 Nov
Jersey v Ealing Trailfinders 14:30 St Peter
Bedford Blues v London Welsh 15:00 Goldington Road
London Scottish v Moseley 15:00 Richmond Athletic Ground
Sun 01 Dec
Nottingham v Cornish Pirates 15:00 Meadow Lane
Bristol Rugby v Leeds Carnegie 15:15 Memorial Ground
If any team offers Ealing a chance to break the duck, it should be Jersey – but that’s a big ask away from home. Welsh may be unbeaten, but they don’t seem to show the assurance of their clean sheet. The meeting at Bedford would have been a top pick last year, this time around it’s merely “Let’s see if the shock at Albion was a flash in the pan”. Elsewhere, the quest for consistency continues. Pirates (our next league opponents on Boxing Day), although fresh from a brace of wins over Bristol, will take nothing for granted at Nottingham. Finally, a solid bet for a preview of some kind of a play-off fixture is surely taking place at the Memorial.
Fancy a punt on how they will all pan out? Check out the form and post then below.
Link to league table: http://clubs.rfu.com/Fixtures/MatchByDivision.aspx?DivID=189321646
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Against all the odds....
Plymouth Albion v Rotherham Titans 19:45 Brickfields
Sat 30 Nov
Jersey v Ealing Trailfinders 14:30 St Peter
Bedford Blues v London Welsh 15:00 Goldington Road
London Scottish v Moseley 15:00 Richmond Athletic Ground
Sun 01 Dec
Nottingham v Cornish Pirates 15:00 Meadow Lane
Bristol Rugby v Leeds Carnegie 15:15 Memorial Ground
Plymouth Albion 17 - 28 Rotherham Titans
Not the tale of woe against Bedford, but a familiar story of what might have been - 16 points off the boot went begging (mostly with the wind behind us!) and what looked like a penalty try warning apparently ceded to no effect. On the plus side, we were a much better side against better opposition and rallied for a consolation try in the dying moments.
Come cheer up, my lads - 'tis to glory we steer!
Jersey 18 - 28 Ealing Trailfinders
Bedford Blues 28 - 26 London Welsh
London Scottish 38 - 17 Moseley
Still at 7th - albeit with Beds a whole deal closer. Table to follow tomorrow.
Come cheer up, my lads - 'tis to glory we steer!
[www.bbc.co.uk]
Semper Sersum.
Looking up the table we see that current second and third teams could, and many would say should, have been beaten by Albion.
The first conclusion I would draw from this is that a major determining factor in how teams are going to perform in the coming rounds is form.
Clearly Albion are struggling to find top form at the moment. I hope that a couple of week's away from the demands of the league, albeit against probably strong opposition, will allow the players to regain their mojo and to regain some confidence. They have the ability, they just need the rub of the green to go their way.
Nottingham 27 - 27 Cornish Pirates
Bristol Rugby 22 - 28 Leeds Carnegie
Notts draw with the final kick of the game. On current form we have to plan on full-bore for a full 80 minutes on Boxing Day...
Come cheer up, my lads - 'tis to glory we steer!