WEEK 14 CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND UP

Pat Sanderson 

Pat Sanderson, commentating for Sky Sports at the Memorial Stadium last Friday night said, “You don’t see passages of play that good, that often".

Bristol had just shunted the Bedford pack some 30 metres up field from a lineout for Jack Tovey to release Fautua Otto who finished the move beneath the posts for the home side’s second try.

Unsurprisingly, Sanderson singled out two-try Otto as Sky Sports’ man of the match; however, as is often the case, it was the Bristol forwards who put down the foundations for a decisive win that took the west-country side seven points clear of the chasing pack.

Tristan Roberts of Bristol

James Merriman and Tristan Roberts were also outstanding and Bristol - who played the conditions much better than the visitors - thoroughly deserved to complete the double over second-placed Bedford.

Bristol can look forward to Friday night’s clash against Nottingham at Meadow Lane with confidence following this performance. “We’ve put the Bedford game behind us now”, said veteran lock Roy Winters. “We’re expecting a really tough test.”

On Christmas Eve, the Cornish Pirates notched up a bonus point win against their neighbours from the other side of the Tamar. For highlights, click here: 

Poor discipline from Pete Drewitt’s men, which culminated in a second yellow for Gareth Evans, contributed to their 33-12 defeat. Although Albion are already virtually consigned to the relegation dogfight, signs are emerging however, that they have the ability to avoid the drop.

The Pirates travel to Goldington Road to take on Bedford on New Year’s Day, while Plymouth are at home to Doncaster on Friday, kicking off at 7.45.

Also on Christmas Eve, a Dave McCall try and four penalties and a conversion from Garry Law were enough to see Rotherham home against Nottingham 19-11. The visitors managed a try from No8 Alex Shaw, and a penalty each from Kieran Hallett and James Arlidge. This was the Titans’ seventh win in a row and they retain their unbeaten home record. They travel to Molesey Road to take on an emergent Esher on New Year’s Eve.

Esher’s Boxing Day 13-13 draw at the Old Deer Park ended a 14 match losing streak. They could have taken all four points had Mark Atkinson’s injury time penalty attempt not faded short of the bar. Esher, who were down to 13 men at one stage in the first half, were only 5-3 behind at the break. The Exiles were far from their best and tries from Hudson Tonag’uiha and Vili Ma’asi and a Gordon Ross penalty matched a try from Esher’s Stuart Mackie, converted by Atkinson who also added a penalty.

London Scottish displayed no Christmas hangover symptoms recording a comprehensive 16-29 win over Moseley at Billesley Common on Boxing Day.

With a strong wind behind them, the visitors raced to a 23-0 lead, and held on to move above their hosts into ninth place in the Championship. However, they are still 15 points adrift and a relegation scrap looks inevitable for both clubs. The Exiles’ backs have clearly benefitted from coaching sessions from Scotland backs coach Gregor Townsend. The result was two slick tries from Ben MacDougall and Willie Lipp. They take on Leeds on New Year’s Day while Moseley travel to London Welsh.

Finally, Leeds coach Diccon Edwards felt that a 9-9 draw at Castle Park was two points gained rather than two points lost but was unhappy with the levels of his players’ performance.

It took a massive defensive effort in the last five minutes to deny Doncaster victory in this Yorkshire derby. Three David McIlwaine penalties for the home side and two penalties for Leeds from Tommy Ball and a Joe Ford drop goal left things level after 80 minutes. For highlights, click here 

All this leaves the Championship table looking like this: