Play Off Fixtures Confirmed
By Dragons' Den
February 25 2012
Twenty two games completed and the ‘business end’ of the season is now upon us. Five of the six matches played this weekend could have had a bearing on the play-off pools and for London Welsh the final outcome is fourth position and a place in Pool A alongside Bristol, Nottingham and Doncaster. We have the full fixture list for all pools.
The Pools, together with the points carried forward from the main season, are as follows:
Pool A |
|
| Pool B |
|
| Pool C |
|
Bristol | 3 |
| Bedford | 3 |
| L Scottish | 6 |
L Welsh | 2 |
| Pirates | 2 |
| Moseley | 6 |
Nottingham | 1 |
| Leeds | 1 |
| Plymouth | 6 |
Doncaster | 0 |
| Rotherham | 0 |
| Esher | 4 |
Pirates and Bedford find themselves in the same pool for the third consecutive season and, as per last season, London Welsh start this part of the campaign welcoming Nottingham to Old Deer Park and finish it at Meadow Lane.
Moseley may have earned themselves an unwanted reputation as relegation pool specialists having graced Pool C for all three seasons of the Championship. For Esher and Plymouth this is their second consecutive year battling against relegation and this experience may help lift them ahead of newcomers London Scottish.
The dates and times of the play off fixtures may take a few days to resolve with clubs trying to avoid clashes with the Six Nations games and also waiting to hear which matches Sky decide to televise. If our unique Championship Relegation And Promotion Extrapolation Equipment is to be believed then the full fixture list is as below. If this is wrong then the unfortunate initials of this device will prove far more accurate than its forecasting abilities.
The full fixture list for all three play-off groups appears to be:
| Pool A | Pool B | |||||||
| 9, 10, 11 | Doncaster | v | Bristol | Rotherham | v | Bedford | ||
| March | L Welsh | v | Nottingham | Pirates | v | Leeds | ||
| 16, 17, 18 | Bristol | v | L Welsh | Bedford | v | Pirates | ||
| March | Nottingham | v | Doncaster | Leeds | v | Rotherham | ||
| 23, 24, 25 | Nottingham | v | Bristol | Leeds | v | Bedford | ||
| March | L Welsh | v | Doncaster | Pirates | v | Rotherham | ||
| 30, 31 March | Doncaster | v | L Welsh | Rotherham | v | Pirates | ||
| or 1 April | Bristol | v | Nottingham | Bedford | v | Leeds | ||
| 13, 14, 15 | Doncaster | v | Nottingham | Pirates | v | Bedford | ||
| April | L Welsh | v | Bristol | Rotherham | v | Leeds | ||
| 21 April 3pm | Nottingham | v | L Welsh | Bedford | v | Rotherham | ||
| Bristol | v | Doncaster | Leeds | v | Pirates | |||
| Pool C | ||||
| 9, 10, 11 | Esher | v | L Scottish | |
| March | Moseley | v | Plymouth | |
| 16, 17, 18 | L Scottish | v | Moseley | |
| March | Plymouth | v | Esher | |
| 23, 24, 25 | Plymouth | v | L Scottish | |
| March | Moseley | v | Esher | |
| 30, 31 March | L Scottish | v | Plymouth | |
| or 1 April | Esher | v | Moseley | |
| 13, 14, 15 | Moseley | v | L Scottish | |
| April | Esher | v | Plymouth | |
| 21 April 3pm | L Scottish | v | Esher | |
| Plymouth | v | Moseley | ||
Semi Finals weekends of 5th & 12th May
Finals WEDS 23rd & WEDS 30th May
Dates and times will be updated as soon as they are announced by the clubs.
If rumours are true then this could be the last time we encounter this end of season format. It has been suggested that next season will see the bottom team facing automatic relegation and only the top four going through to play for promotion. The shortfall in the fixture list will be made up with further games in the unloved and barely attended B&I Cup. With the RFU’s track record on making decisions Dragons’ Den suggests that you don’t hold your breath waiting for news on this possible development.
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Bristol away is most likely to be a Friday eve or Sunday game as the Saturday is the final day of the 6N. Nottingham away has to be on the Saturday at 3pm to meet league rules. Notts County have a home game that afternoon also due to kick off at 3pm.... A repeat of last season's chaos at Meadow Lane?
Quote:nld
Bristol away confirmed Sunday 18th March @ 3pm.
That's handy. Somewhere to break the journey on the way back from celebrating our GS win the night before!
Will be updated when all final details announced.
LW games: [www.london-welsh.co.uk]
Match eventually started at about 3.15.
Nottingham faffed and fussed last season before realising that the ko time could not be altered so they are well and truly aware of the situation.
If Nottingham RFC choose to be tenants in a football stadium and Notts County choose to take the rent & other income then they have to accept that in return they may need to put up with occasional inconveniences.
Interestingly (or possibly not) Nottingham are showing the venue for all their home play-off matches as 'TBC'. We might even strike it lucky and avoid a visit to Meadow Lane!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:02:28:17:07:55 by nld.
[www.nottinghamrugby.co.uk]
And to provide access to some coming back from over the Bridge?
Nottingham are selling tickets for two stands, which seems a bit adventurous unless either they expect a huge carry-over of soccer supporters from the game against Bury FC or somehow by 21 April they're still in there with a serious chance and it's them v us for one of the semi slots. Perhaps we can strike a deal with Bury folk to back London Welsh.