2011/12 Championship & Cup Fixtures Announced
By Dragons' Den
June 17 2011
Welsh start their league campaign with a difficult trip to relegated Leeds on Sunday 4th September. The first home game of the season will be in the second round of matches with Plymouth visiting on the weekend of 10th September.
New London Welsh Head Coach Lyn Jones faces a tough introduction to Championship rugby with his side facing Leeds, Plymouth, Bedford and Nottingham in the opening four games. Many supporters will be eagerly awaiting the chance to see Welsh v Scottish and the first of the very local derbies takes place on 19th November when London Welsh will be the hosts. The return leg takes place on the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
The neighbours don't have to wait quite so long to meet in the cup with the Dragons making the short journey to the other part of Old Deer Park for the opening round of the B&I Cup. This will be played mid-week on 21st September. The other matches cup matches are home to Bedford and Aberavon plus an away match at Leinster on 17th December.
Championship Fixtures
Round 1 (September 3): Moseley v Cornish Pirates, Doncaster Knights v Bristol Rugby, London Scottish v Rotherham Titans, Leeds Carnegie v London Welsh, Plymouth Albion v Esher Rugby, Nottingham Rugby v Bedford Blues
Round 2 (September 10): Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights, Esher Rugby v Bedford Blues, London Welsh v Plymouth Albion, Rotherham Titans v Leeds Carnegie, Bristol Rugby v London Scottish, Moseley v Nottingham Rugby
Round 3 (September 17): Doncaster Knights v Moseley, London Scottish v Cornish Pirates, Leeds Carnegie v Bristol Rugby, Plymouth Albion v Rotherham Titans, Bedford Blues v London Welsh, Nottingham Rugby v Esher Rugby
Round 4 (September 24): Cornish Pirates v Leeds Carnegie, Doncaster Knights v London Scottish, London Welsh v Nottingham Rugby, Rotherham Titans v Bedford Blues, Bristol Rugby v Plymouth Albion, Moseley v Esher Rugby
Round 5 (October 1): London Scottish v Moseley, Leeds Carnegie v Doncaster Knights, Plymouth Albion v Cornish Pirates, Bedford Blues v Bristol Rugby, Nottingham Rugby v Rotherham, Esher Rugby v London Welsh
Round 6 (October 8): Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues, Doncaster Knights v Plymouth Albion, London Scottish v Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans v Esher Rugby, Bristol Rugby v Nottingham Rugby, Moseley v London Welsh
Round 7 (October 15): Leeds Carnegie v Moseley, Plymouth Albion v London Scottish, Bedford Blues v Doncaster Knights, Nottingham Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Esher Rugby v Bristol Rugby, London Welsh v Rotherham Titans
Round 8 (October 22): Cornish Pirates v Esher Rugby, Doncaster Knights v Nottingham Rugby, London Scottish v Bedford Blues, Leeds Carnegie v Plymouth Albion, Bristol Rugby v London Welsh, Moseley v Rotherham Titans
Round 9 (October 29): Plymouth Albion v Moseley, Bedford Blues v Leeds Carnegie, Nottingham Rugby v London Scottish, Esher Rugby v Doncaster Knights, London Welsh v Cornish Pirates, Rotherham Titans v Bristol Rugby
Round 10 (November 5): Cornish Pirates v Rotherham Titans, Doncaster Knights v London Welsh, London Scottish v Esher Rugby, Leeds Carnegie v Nottingham Rugby, Plymouth Albion v Bedford Blues, Moseley v Bristol Rugby,
Round 11 (November 19): Bedford Blues v Moseley, Nottingham Rugby v Plymouth Albion, Esher Rugby v Leeds Carnegie, London Welsh v London Scottish, Rotherham Titans v Doncaster Knights, Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates
Round 12 (November 26): Doncaster Knights v Cornish Pirates, London Scottish v Bristol Rugby, Leeds Carnegie v Rotherham Titans, Plymouth Albion v London Welsh, Bedford Blues v Esher Rugby, Nottingham Rugby v Moseley
Round 13 (December 3): Cornish Pirates v London Scottish, Esher Rugby v Nottingham Rugby, London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Rotherham Titans v Plymouth Albion, Bristol Rugby v Leeds Carnegie, Moseley v Doncaster Knights
Round 14 (December 10): London Scottish v Doncaster Knights, Leeds Carnegie v Cornish Pirates, Plymouth Albion v Bristol Rugby, Bedford Blues v Rotherham Titans, Nottingham Rugby v London Welsh, Esher Rugby v Moseley
Round 15 (December 24): Cornish Pirates v Plymouth Albion, Doncaster Knights v Leeds Carnegie, London Welsh v Esher Rugby, Rotherham Titans v Nottingham Rugby, Bristol Rugby v Bedford Blues, Moseley v London Scottish
Round 16 (December 31): Leeds Carnegie v London Scottish, Plymouth Albion v Doncaster Knights, Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates, Nottingham Rugby v Bristol Rugby, Esher Rugby v Rotherham Titans, London Welsh v Moseley
Round 17 (January 7): Cornish Pirates v Nottingham Rugby, Doncaster Knights v Bedford Blues, London Scottish v Plymouth Albion, Rotherham Titans v London Welsh, Bristol Rugby v Esher Rugby, Moseley v Leeds Carnegie
Round 18 (January 14): Plymouth Albion v Leeds Carnegie, Bedford Blues v London Scottish, Nottingham Rugby v Doncaster Knights, Esher Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Rotherham Titans v Moseley, London Welsh v Bristol Rugby
Round 19 (January 28): Cornish Pirates v London Welsh, Doncaster Knights v Esher Rugby, London Scottish v Nottingham Rugby, Leeds Carnegie v Bedford Blues, Bristol Rugby v Rotherham Titans, Moseley v Plymouth Albion
Round 20 (February 4); Bedford Blues v Plymouth Albion, Nottingham Rugby v Leeds Carnegie, Esher Rugby v London Scottish, London Welsh v Doncaster Knights, Rotherham Titans v Cornish Pirates, Bristol Rugby v Moseley
Round 21 (February 18); Cornish Pirates v Bristol Rugby, Doncaster Knights v Rotherham Titans, London Scottish v London Welsh, Leeds Carnegie v Esher Rugby, Plymouth Albion v Nottingham Rugby, Moseley v Bedford Blues
Round 22 (February 25); Bedford Blues v Nottingham Rugby, Esher Rugby v Plymouth Albion, London Welsh v Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans v London Scottish, Bristol Rugby v Doncaster Knights, Cornish Pirates v Moseley
B&I Cup Fixtures
Pool 1: Ayr, Cornish Pirates, Moseley, Neath
Pool 2: Bristol Rugby, Cross Keys, Plymouth Albion, Munster
Pool 3: Aberavon, Bedford Blues, Leinster, London Scottish
Pool 4: Esher Rugby, Llanelli, London Welsh, Melrose
Pool 5: Currie, Doncaster Knights, Rotherham Titans, Pontypridd
Pool 6: Leeds Carnegie, Nottingham Rugby, Swansea, Ulster
Round 1 (September 21): Cornish Pirates v Bristol Rugby, Moseley v Plymouth, London Scottish v London Welsh, Bedford Blues v Esher Rugby, Nottingham Rugby v Doncaster Knights, Leeds Carnegie v Rotherham Titans. (November 19): Neath v Munster, Ayr v Cross Keys, Aberavon v Llanelli, Leinster v Melrose, Currie v Ulster, Pontypridd v Swansea
Round 2 (October 12): Plymouth v Cornish Pirates, Bristol Rugby v Moseley, Esher Rugby v London Scottish, London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Doncaster Knights v Leeds Carnegie, Rotherham Titans v Nottingham Rugby. (December 10): Munster vs. Ayr, Llanelli v Leinster, Ulster v Pontypridd, Cross Keys v Neath, Melrose v Aberavon, Swansea v Currie
Round 3 (November 12): Cross Keys v Moseley, Munster v Cornish Pirates, Bristol Rugby v Neath, Plymouth v Ayr, Melrose v Bedford Blues, Llanelli v London Scottish, London Welsh v Aberavon, Esher Rugby v Leinster, Swansea v Rotherham Titans, Ulster v Doncaster Knights, Leeds Carnegie v Currie, Nottingham Rugby v Pontypridd
Round 4 (December 17): Moseley v Munster, Cornish Pirates v Cross Keys, Neath v Plymouth, Ayr v Bristol Rugby, Bedford Blues v Llanelli, London Scottish v Melrose, Aberavon v Esher Rugby, Leinster v London Welsh, Rotherham Titans v Ulster, Doncaster Knights v Swansea, Currie v Nottingham Rugby, Pontypridd v Leeds Carnegie
Quarter finals: January 21
Semi finals: April 7
Final: April 28
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:06:17:13:14:37 by Dragons' Den.
Quote:CwmRheidol
How does this work? We are in the same pool as Esher, but play London Scottish in the first round, or are there 2 different competitions. am I missing something?
It follows the very confusing format of the LV Cup. You play the teams in another pool and these results form the league table in your pool despite none of the teams in your pool having played each other!
If you don't try to apply any logic then it might make sense!
Found the following for our competition:
Pool Stages:
* 6 pools of 4 playing cross pool (4 matches/rounds, 2 home, 2 away) - Pool 1 v Pool 2, Pool 3 v Pool 4, Pool 5 v Pool 6
* 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 bonus point for either a) scoring 4 or more tries or b) losing by 7 points or less
Quarter finals:
*6 pool winners plus 2 best runners up progress to the quarter finals
* teams seeded based on pool performance with top four having home advantage
Semi finals and final:
* four winning quarter finalists progress to semi final draw
* winning semi finalists progress to final
against Nottingham (October 7), London Welsh (October 21), Bedford
(December 23) and Moseley (February 3) – on Friday evenings'.
I hate Friday night games......
"Their other home games will take place on Sunday afternoons, with the exception of the final game of the regular season against Doncaster, which will be played on Saturday, February 25.
Their home British & Irish Cup games will take place on Wednesday, October 12, against Moseley and Sunday, November 13, against Neath."
Hope we don't go down this route as Saturday kick offs between 2 & 3 pm is part of my DNA
Did the club ever post any response to their experiment of switching games to Sunday's last season to avoid clashing with televised internationals?
Quote:nld
I hate Friday night games......
I think that the vast majority of supporters would prefer Saturday afternoons. But to offer a balanced argument, our biggest crowd was 2,057 v Wuss in the spring sunshine in the play-offs; Esher got 2,180 for our visit on a rainy Friday night in October.
As for whether the experiment worked last season it is difficult to tell. Crowds were down and there was virtually no marketing. If you are going to move a game to a Sunday to increase crowds then you have to put significant effort in to telling people!
Maybe this season there will be investment in marketing and not just into the squad?
I'm not keen on Sunday matches but it is better than Friday evenings.
An Amateur 1st XV
An Amateur 2nd XV
An Occies XV and
A Vets XV
all playing on a Saturday.
I believe that the Ladies 1st XV may have also played a game or 2 on a Saturday but not sure.
So potentially 5 teams, plus coaches/management, plus supporters, My family and I attended a number of games.
Lets say 100+, all potential London Welsh 1st XV supporters.
That's potentially a 10% increase in the crowd and a 20%+ increase in the bar takings :-)
So might be something in it.
It would be good when the dust settles to see a comprehensive and correct fixture list for the entire Championship so I don't for example book a ticket to/from Doncaster on the wrong day.
One of the club management walked around the club house, totted up the number of people inside and multiplied it by the margin that LW make on each pint. This calculation apparently showed that the band cost more than they generated in beer profit so it never happened. So short sighted.
[www.leedscarnegie.co.uk]
Not wishing to pre-empt the Supporters Club travel, but for train travel on East Coast Lines, I've just found a £39.20 return fare (out 9.59am, back to Kings X at 9.37 pm). Bus from the station to the ground takes about 15 mins.
Not only may our gate be reduced but we lose out on the usual revenue.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:06:27:14:40:51 by londonbound.
Quote:nld
I hate Friday night games......
hard luck ....here's another one - up the M1 to Nottingum
Friday 9th December – London Welsh
OMG the M1 on a Friday night....
They are showing the fixture at ODP as being on Boxing Day but probably best to wait for an announcement from LW before making Christmas plans.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:07:08:19:49:17 by nld.
[www.london-welsh.co.uk]
Must have missed that being announced.....
Quote:DanFW3
Plymouth Albion on a Thursday 24th November? Evening fixture presumably - the only evening trains back to London are at 19.42 and 23.51 so either you miss kick-off or you return to London at 5 in the morning on a milk train. Or is it an afternoon fixture? Or was 24 a typo for 26?
Plymouth website confirms Sat 26th at 3pm.
The definite decline of Saturday rugby at this level.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:07:25:09:57:03 by nld.
Quite happy to play Leinster on the Saturday.....then it's Scarlets v Munster at Thomond on the Sunday, not a bad weekend.
Quote:adge1
not a real Monday though is it?
You're right, it's just a pretend one!
Even if you exclude that game and it is still almost third that won't be played on a Saturday afternoon.
Quote:nld
Esher on Mon 26th Dec.
What nerd thought of playing this fixture on Boxing Day. Who ever this idiot is he or she should be shot at dawn.
When the fixture was originally shown as Saturday 24th December (my birthday) i thought this was a great day to have this game played, but now some blithering idiot has chosen a day when there is no public transport and a day when i can most certainly not attend. A not at all happy PADDYTAF
Arriva Train Wales – No service
c2c – No service
Chiltern Railways – No service
Cross Country – No service
East Coast – No service
East Midlands Trains – No service
Eurostar – A Sunday service will operate. The first train to Paris will depart London St Pancras International at 08:26 and the first train to Lille/Brussels departs at 08:57
First Capital Connect – No service
First Great Western – No train services. A two-hourly bus service will run between Reading, Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. Buses will depart on the hour, between 06:00 and 16:00 from Reading, and between 08:00 and 18:00 from Gatwick Airport
First Hull Trains – No service
First TransPennine Express – No service
Gatwick Express – A half-hourly train service will operate, first departure from from London Victoria at 05:30, and from Gatwick Airport at 06:20
Grand Central – No service
Heathrow Express – Trains will operate every 20 minutes between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 & 5. Connections are available from Terminal 1, 2 & 3 to Terminal 4
Heathrow Connect – No service
Island Line – No service
London Midland – No service
London Overground – No service
Merseyrail – No service
National Express East Anglia – No service
Stansted Express – Service operates after 06:00 from Tottenham Hale to Stansted Airport only
Northern Rail – No service
ScotRail – A Sunday service will run on routes in the Strathclyde area from approximately 10:00, except between Paisley Gilmour Street and Johnstone which are affected by engineering work. There are no other ScotRail services on Boxing Day.
South West Trains – No service
Southeastern – No service
Southern – An hourly service will operate between London Victoria and Brighton, from 10:10 until 20:10. These trains will call at Streatham Common, Selhurst, East Croydon, Redhill, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Haywards Heath and Brighton. There will also be a half-hourly service from Balham to East Croydon via Crystal Palace and from Balham to Sutton via Selhurst. There will be a connecting bus service from London Victoria to Balham
Virgin Trains – No service
Wrexham & Shropshire – No service
A bit of promotion offering a present for every child, free mulled wine and mince pie for season ticket holders, Father Christmas on the pitch at half time, perhaps some of the panto stars from Richmond Theatre popping in before the match etc. This then allows those that 'go home' for Christmas to fit in the rugby and family obligations. The players might also be able to enjoy a bit more of their lunch the following day!
I don't often have sympathy with the club, but on this occasion I'm absolutely behind them.
Possibly more critical for crowd numbers will be the date selected for Quins v Saracens at Twickenham over the Christmas weekend.
Quote:nld
Possibly more critical for crowd numbers will be the date selected for Quins v Saracens at Twickenham over the Christmas weekend.
Maybe our game on Boxing Day will actually be the curtain-raiser at Twickenham?
Quote:nld
Boxing Day 2010
Arriva Train Wales – No service
c2c – No service
Chiltern Railways – No service
Cross Country – No service
East Coast – No service
East Midlands Trains – No service
Eurostar – A Sunday service will operate. The first train to Paris will depart London St Pancras International at 08:26 and the first train to Lille/Brussels departs at 08:57
First Capital Connect – No service
First Great Western – No train services. A two-hourly bus service will run between Reading, Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. Buses will depart on the hour, between 06:00 and 16:00 from Reading, and between 08:00 and 18:00 from Gatwick Airport
First Hull Trains – No service
First TransPennine Express – No service
Gatwick Express – A half-hourly train service will operate, first departure from from London Victoria at 05:30, and from Gatwick Airport at 06:20
Grand Central – No service
Heathrow Express – Trains will operate every 20 minutes between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 & 5. Connections are available from Terminal 1, 2 & 3 to Terminal 4
Heathrow Connect – No service
Island Line – No service
London Midland – No service
London Overground – No service
Merseyrail – No service
National Express East Anglia – No service
Stansted Express – Service operates after 06:00 from Tottenham Hale to Stansted Airport only
Northern Rail – No service
ScotRail – A Sunday service will run on routes in the Strathclyde area from approximately 10:00, except between Paisley Gilmour Street and Johnstone which are affected by engineering work. There are no other ScotRail services on Boxing Day.
South West Trains – No service
Southeastern – No service
Southern – An hourly service will operate between London Victoria and Brighton, from 10:10 until 20:10. These trains will call at Streatham Common, Selhurst, East Croydon, Redhill, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Haywards Heath and Brighton. There will also be a half-hourly service from Balham to East Croydon via Crystal Palace and from Balham to Sutton via Selhurst. There will be a connecting bus service from London Victoria to Balham
Virgin Trains – No service
Wrexham & Shropshire – No service
Trainspotter alert......
nld, in your new role as peruser of the Bradshaw - could you get me the train times from Dublin down to Limerick for the Scarlets HEC match (Ko 12.45) the following day - thanks.