Moseley v London Welsh Preview
By Mark W-J
October 6 2011
Contrary to most people’s expectations, the Rugby World Cup seems to have drawn rugby supporters’ attention away from the domestic scene, with attendances down on last season throughout the senior game. But London Welsh’s Championship fixture at Moseley on Saturday afternoon could see the Exiles claim top spot in the Championship table for the first time in the 25 year history of league rugby.
Admittedly anyone glancing at the league tables in Saturday’s papers would have seen us at the top of the table following the 37-3 win at Esher on Friday night, but that was by virtue of our closest rivals - Pirates, Bristol and Bedford - not playing until Saturday afternoon, so our stay at the top lasted barely 19 hours. Following the Pirates’ 20-16 win at Plymouth and a second consecutive defeat for Bedford, 17-15 at home to Bristol, we are currently in second place, one point behind the Cornishmen and ahead of Bristol on points difference. Only Pirates (163) and Bedford (152) have scored more than our 149 points; our record of 84 points conceded is bettered only by Bristol (74); and we’ve got the second-best records for tries scored (eighteen) and conceded (seven). However, our four wins have come against teams who sit in the bottom half of the table at present, whereas the only game against top-half opposition resulted in defeat atBedford. Bristol entertain Nottingham on Friday night, while the Blues are at Camborne on Sunday, so Welsh will be looking to emulate Doncaster and London Scottish in taking the full five points from Moseley on Saturday afternoon.
Our hosts have just one win to their credit, collecting a try bonus in their 35-20 win over Esher a fortnight ago. We should, however, be wary of the fact that they’re the only team whom the Pirates have failed to beat thus far, scoring four tries to three in a 27-27 draw at Billesley on the opening day of the season. Bizarrely, the same fixture last season resulted in a 26-26 draw, with the home side again outscoring their supposedly more illustrious guests by four tries to three. But while our biggest wins both home and away came against Moseley last season (48-12 and 68-22 respectively) we shouldn’t forget the B&I Cup game at ODP in December in which they overcame a 21-5 half-time deficit to claim a try bonus in a stunning 24-21 victory. We’ve won the last six league meetings by an aggregate margin of 224-103, including the incredible 50-37 scoreline at Esher on the final weekend of the 2008-09 campaign. The previous season, however, they did the double over us, including a chastening 40-10 defeat at ODP which represents their biggest margin of victory in the 86 meetings to-date. In league rugby we lead the series 15-5, with eight wins and only two defeats on away soil.
Last season they collected only five wins and three draws in the 22-game ‘league’ season, before garnering four wins from six in the play-offs. That’s a record of four draws in one calendar year, from 11th September 2010 to 3rd September 2011 - the two against Pirates, 13-13 at home to Bristol on 18th September and 6-6 at Plymouth on 5th February. By contrast, Welsh have drawn only four league matches in the last 14 years: 13-13 at Plymouth in 2009-10; 20-20 at Doncaster in 2006-07; 27-27 at home to Donny in 2005-06; and 21-21 at home to Leeds back on 13th September 1997 in the old Jewson League One (level three).
While Welsh may claim to harbour ambitions of achieving promotion to the Premiership, it hopefully doesn’t sound condescending to suggest that Moseley’s more realistic aim is to retain their Championship status. They’ve been involved in the relegation play-offs for each of the last two seasons, seeing their near-neighbours Coventry and Birmingham-Solihull plunge into the abyss, and with a playing budget rumoured to be one of the smallest in the division, expectations for this season are not significantly greater. Former Ireland centre Kevin Maggs has stepped-up to the role of Head Coach having spent last season as Backs coach under Ian Smith, and he’s welcomed a number of recognised Championship performers to the club. Former Worcester centre Greg King made two league appearances for the Welsh in January 2009, while Colin Quigley and Anton O’Donnell complete a triumvirate of ex-Rotherham props alongside Craig Voisey. Throw in another former Roth and Donny player in full-back Anthony Carter, club stalwart Ollie Thomas at fly-half, and returning Namibian international scrum-half Ryan de la Harpe, and you’ve got a team which, on its day, is more than a match for the best the Championship has to offer.
But Moseley are nothing if not realistic, and a full-on push for promotion is certainly out of the question. Twenty-five years ago they were founder members of Courage League One, achieving a best-ever finish of 7th in the inaugural 1987-88 season. They held their place among the elite for four years before being relegated with Liverpool St Helens in 1991 to make way for Rugby and London Irish, but were a fixture in level two of the pyramid for a further 12 years, dropping down to National Two at the end of the 2002-03 season. Yet a disastrous flirtation with professionalism saw the club enter administration in January 1998, the historic Reddings being sold to Bryant Homes two years later, and they only narrowly survived a takeover from the owner of Oxford United in the summer of 2002 - our own Year of the Dragon included directions to the Oxford Eagles’ Kassam Stadium for the 2002-03 season. As a consequence, the supporters will settle for playing semi-professional rugby at the highest possible level, as long as it ensures the long-term existence of their club - a situation with which the supporters - but not, apparently, the management - of London Welsh would empathise.
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[www.moseleyrugby.co.uk]
If the link doesn't work for any reason - go to www.moseleyrugby.co.uk click on 'What's New' and the link to the preview.
Replacements: 16. Vili Ma’asi*, 17. Billy Moss, 18. Gary Johnson, 19. Ben Russell, 20. Ben Stevenson, 21. Gordon Ross*, 22. Paul Mackey.
[www.london-welsh.co.uk]
Yellow card to mose #8
Alex Davies pen. Mose 0 LW 3
Conv by Davies off the post and over.
0 - 10
Mose 3 - LW 10
Davies con
3 - 17
Davies con
3 - 24
Davies con
3 - 24
Davies con
3 - 24
6 - 24
Apols for duplicate posts!
6 - 24
9 - 24
Con wide
9 - 29
16 - 29
Con missed
16 - 34
Mose 16 LW 41
PADDYTAF