Week 15 national league 1 previews for Saturday 13th Dec...

...including Blackheath v Coventry Rugby. 

Week 15 Fixtures Saturday 13^th December 2014

Blackheath                                   v          Coventry Rugby

Blaydon                                        v           Hartpury College

Cinderford                                   v           Macclesfield

Fylde                                            v            Richmond

Loughborough Students           v           Tynedale

Old Albanian                               v            Darlington Mowden Park

Rosslyn Park                               v             Ealing Tfs

Wharfedale                                v             Esher     

This Saturday will see the final games of the first half of the season completed with still all to play for at both ends of the table.

No guessing the Match of the Day-well it could be two both for different reasons -there is Cinderford v Macclesfield at the wrong end of the table, but  it cannot be ignored that the visit of leaders and pre-season favourites Ealing Tfs to second placed Rosslyn Park takes the main interest especially from Coventry Rugby’s point of view.

Ealing Tfs in first place but only one point ahead of second placed Rosslyn Park make the short journey across West London with both sides only having been defeated once.   A game not for the faint hearted  with so much riding on it for both of these ambitious clubs, with Coventry Rugby waiting in the wings for any slip up from either side. Ealing have stuttered recently in losing to Coventry and only just beating Blackheath and Park must feel confident for the home victory. Certainly a draw would suite Coventry Rugby better.

Coventry Rugby have their own difficult away fixture to negotiate, as they travel to Blackheath, where their recent record has not been too impressive. A full preview of this game will follow.

Cinderford bought themselves a lifeline, last week in beating Richmond away, and although still in 15^th place are now only one win from safety. As they face bottom club Macclesfield who still have only one win to their credit, the greater need and importance to the Foresters should see them win at home, putting even more pressure on that phalanx of teams just above them.

Fylde after two recent heavy away defeats should be on firmer ground as Richmond are their visitors. Unbeaten at home this season Fylde should be favourites for the win after Richmond’s surprise defeat at home to Cinderford.  Fylde now 7 points behind 3^rd placed Coventry need the win to keep up pressure on the top three sides.

Another side that should be back on firmer ground or at least home turf Blaydon have Hartpury College as their visitors. College finally arrested a losing run last week but Blaydon had a large loss away at Esher. However Blaydon are a different proposition at home, and should have enough experience and nous to defeat Hartpury, a loss which could leave the league newcomers too close to the danger zone.

Wharfedale and Esher both meet in the Dales, both a lot more confident after last week’s wins which in the case of Wharfedale has moved them 6 points clear of danger. A key game for the home side needing the win but Esher may be too strong for them.

Two more sides struggling at the wrong end of the table Loughborough Students and Tynedale meet in the East Midlands, with the Students now taking up the final relegation place. Tynedale have the second worse defensive record in the league and have recently suffered some large defeats. With injuries still affecting Dale the Students are expected to win.

The final game sees two more sides struggling to keep away from the danger zone Old Albanian and Darlington Mowden Park meet. The home side’s recent good run came to an abrupt halt in defeat at Hartpury College, whilst Park had their pack to thank for getting a vital win. Darlington playing better than some of their results suggest, and their pack should give them enough to squeeze out a close win.

Blackheath v Coventry Rugby Match Preview

This coming Saturday 13^th December with kick off at 3pm sees Coventry Rugby travel to one of their traditional rivals Blackheath at the Rectory Field. Blackheath or “club” as they are known were founded in 1858, becoming one of the founder members of the RFU in 1871 as the game separated out from Association Football.

Two seasons ago Blackheath finished 10^th and 8^th last season under new Head Coach Simon Legg. Currently they are lying in 6^th place with 7 wins, and 7 losses on 41 points compared to Coventry Rugby’s 3^rd place with 12 wins, 2 losses and 58 points.

Blackheath have a much better home record than away, having beaten Loughborough Students, Macclesfield, Hartpury College, Tynedale and Cinderford, with their only home loss being against Blaydon by 12-29.Away from home they have beaten Old Albanian and Wharfedale but lost six, including their 4 London derbies against Rosslyn Park, Esher, Richmond and Ealing Tfs, where they put up a strong showing and possibly could have taken all points. Last week’s close defeat at Ealing by 27-31 still saw them score 4 tries with the difference being missed conversions.

Last season Coventry Rugby in their best home performance of the season won 63-21 but at the Rectory Field lost 6-24, a salutary lesson indeed that they cannot afford to take their opponents too lightly.

Blackheath have as usual kept the majority of last season’s squad but have also recruited a large number of new players and more importantly have benefited by the dual registration agreement with Premiership side Wasps with a number of their Academy players being made available.

Key players retained include influential full-back Mike Canty whose speed and general play can change a game, Marcus Burcham at centre and wingers Geoff Griffiths and Robert Windsor. There is plenty of experience in the pack with veterans Tom Bason at lock and the ubiquitous Dave Allen at No 7-who has certainly scored more than enough tries against Coventry from close up positions. Power and ability in the front row comes from prop James Cleverly and hookers Nick Grier and Gavin O’Meara. In addition to Dave Allen, George Oram can play either in the back row or lock, with No 8’s Seb Nagle-Taylor and James Catt proving they have pace to match that of flankers Richard Pike and Chris Sewell.

New recruits include Dr players from Wasps Academy with Ollie Evans-winger, Ollie Lyons-flanker, fly-half Harry Shepherd and prop forward Will Stuart all finding a place in the current side. Another fly-half Alex Gallagher has come from New Zealand and has taken over the goal-kicking duties and at scrum-half  there is a trio of Tom Trotter  from London Scottish, Sam Eydmann and Jake Bedding.

Centre Joe Crust and wing or full-back Ryan Squires from Manly have added pace and finishing to the back line.

Always a very difficult side to beat at home Blackheath have a good all round game with the pack strong enough to play a driving maul game usually being finished off by Dave Allen, but in their backs especially with the spend and broken play ability of Mike Canty with him already on 10 tries and wingers Geoff Griffiths and Ollie Evans any errors will be punished.

Although Coventry Rugby are on the back of 10 successive wins this game will again need a high level of intensity and application to counteract any feeling of complacency especially with Coventry Rugby’s poor away record at Blackheath. With Coventry’s closest rivals Rosslyn Park and Ealing Tfs also meeting on Saturday in London a win for Coventry Rugby will move them closer to at least one of them. 

Once again a large and enthusiastic away support is expected at Rectory Field with the supporters coach being run-more details from the club. For those making their own way the address is The Rectory Field, Charlton Road, Blackheath, London SE7 7EY(for Sat nav use), or by train for those who don’t mind a hilly climb use Westcombe Park station.

Don’t forget kick off is at 3pm.

Tom Little

Coventry Rugby press office

9^th December 2014.