CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP – WEEK 19

To enjoy rugby at its best you have to endure it at its worst. Despite positive intentions from both sides at Headingley on Sunday, neither Leeds nor Bedford could lighten the gloom of a drab January afternoon in an error-filled encounter. There was about as much chance of a try bonus point for either side as there was of the sun coming out, writes Richard Grainger.

The visitors arrived in second place behind league leaders Bristol but returned to the East Midlands with just a losing bonus point, thanks to a near faultless goal-kicking display from Carnegie fullback Tommy Bell.

Leeds started the brighter and established base camp in the Bedford red zone on several occasions. But failure to adjust to the slippery conditions meant that ambition was not matched by execution, and the visitors were seldom required to defend more than eight phases before Leeds surrendered possession.

Bell put Leeds on the scoreboard with the first of his seven penalties before James Pritchard replied when Leeds went offside.

The visitors went ahead when Ian Vaas scored in the corner following an offload from Josh Bassett that appeared to have been knocked on. Referee Dave Pearson thought otherwise but Pritchard was wide with the conversion.

Bell pulled three points back before the break to leave the home side trailing 6-11 at the interval.

A steamy day at Headingley

Joe Barker replaced Joe Ford at fly-half early in the second period. Ford was not at his best with kicks from hand but was not helped by his front five’s insistence on cluttering up the midfield to reduce his options and present slow ball.

Barker’s game management and sharpened tactical awareness soon paid dividends and Leeds began to kick-chase effectively and force Bedford into conceding penalties at the breakdown.

Leeds secure lineout ball

Bell took full advantage of the Blues’ indiscretions and chipped away, eventually putting Leeds 18-14 ahead with 12 minutes to go before Mr Pearson’s patience was finally exhausted and Brendan Burke was sent to the sin bin.

Pritchard managed to reduce the gap to a point before man-of-the-match Bell completed his almost perfect seven to see Leeds complete the double over Bedford with a 21-17 win. To watch  - albeit fairly limited - highlights of the game, click below:

On Friday evening, Moseley held on against Plymouth to win by 9-3 in a try-less encounter at Billesley Common. Glyn Hughes kicked three penalties in the first half hour, but despite being dominant for most of a scoreless second half, Albion could only muster a losing bonus point from a James Love penalty.

Doncaster saw off improving Esher’s challenge winning 41-24 at Castle Park on Saturday thanks to a hat-trick, four conversions and a penalty from former Esher man Dougie Flockhart. Esher played their part in a scintillating game with three tries but headed back south empty-handed.

The Cornish Pirates exploited Bedford’s defeat to leapfrog them into second place with a 27-6 win at the Mennaye Field. Sunday wasn’t a day for running rugby in Cornwall either, but the Pirates’ pack managed to breach the Exiles’ line twice in the first half for Rudi Brits then Dave Ward to touch down.

By the interval, the visitors were 20-6 adrift and things didn’t get any better after the break when Matt Evans hacked and won the race to the line. The Welsh weren’t helped when Gordon Ross was binned in the 54^th minute. For extended highlights : click here

London Scottish remain second from bottom despite a spirited performance against Nottingham at Richmond on Sunday. Tim Streather’s late try sealed it for the Green and Whites; with a game in hand, they now look certain to finish Stage One in the top eight.

Finally, leaders Bristol dispatched Rotherham 37-3 in front of 4,822 at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday to underline their promotion credentials. Tries from Will Helu and Fautua Otto in a dominant first period, and from James Merriman, Ross Johnston and Jack Tovey in the second half clinched the bonus point. click here  to see the tries: 

This leaves Bristol nine points clear at the top. For how the table looks after week 19, click here: 

With the most intriguing Six Nations for years kicking off this weekend, week 20 of the Championship promises equal intrigue with Bristol at home to Moseley and Bedford, who will be keen to get back to winning ways, hosting Plymouth.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP, WEEK 18

Results from the second tier of England Rugby’s professional structure continue to be as difficult to predict as an English winter, writes Richard Grainger.

With only four rounds remaining in Stage One, it is still a mathematical possibility than all bar one of the 12 clubs could make the promotion play-offs. Although Esher are adrift at the bottom with only ten points, their recent run of form, aided by the return from injury of key players, would suggest that they will not enter the relegation scrap as whipping boys.

They could consider themselves unlucky not to take five points from a nine-try thriller against fourth placed Cornish Pirates at Molesey Road on Saturday. However, they did enough to grab both a try and a losing bonus point despite going down 30-36.

Mark Atkinson

Mark Atkinson had an off day with the boot and had the ball bounced kindly for winger Charlie Walker in the last minute, Esher would have achieved the win that head coach Mike Schmid believed they deserved. However, Schmid is happy that his side is competing now and this performance emphasizes how far they have come since Christmas.

For the first time this season, all but one Championship clashes kicked off at the traditionally appointed time for rugby - Saturday afternoon. Nottingham were scheduled to host Doncaster at Meadow Lane on Sunday but the game was called off at 2.15 due to a frozen pitch. Ironically, Meadow Lane is one of three grounds that currently meet most of Premiership Rugby’s criteria.

The formbook received its first reversal at the Old Deer Park, where London Welsh brought Bristol’s seven-match Championship winning run to an abrupt end. The visitors were first on the scoreboard when Tongan international Will Helu finished a move initiated by a line break and a sublime offload from Jack Tovey –  click here to see 

Matty James

However, Bristol were never in the ascendancy as London Welsh displayed the form that had made them Premiership contenders until they were ravaged by injuries. Their last Championship win was against Bedford on 3^rd December. Saul Nelson who had moved from Bristol to join the Exiles was delighted to bag the decisive score, but Bristol were so far off the pace that they were did well to leave with a losing bonus point. They had Matty James’s two late penalties to thank for that. For highlights: click here to see

The formbook was further upturned at Brickfields where Plymouth achieved their first five point win of the season against an erratic Leeds Carnegie.

Diccon Edwards’ outfit made another strong start but missed the three loan players who had returned to their clubs – in particular, George Ford. Two tries from hooker Gareth Evans, and a try a-piece from Paul Roberts and Wayne Sprangle were enough to see Albion home with the bonus point.

Leeds’ poor discipline proved costly again. Flanker Ryan Burrows was yellow-carded before the interval and Albion took full advantage to draw level. When Leeds were reduced to 14 for the second time with replacement Craig Hampson in the bin, Evans scored his second try to seal the victory. Joe Ford’s penalty got the losing bonus point for Carnegie with the last kick of the game.

Bedford will still fancy their chances in the play-offs having reduced the gap behind Bristol to seven points with a seven try thrashing of London Scottish at Goldington Road.

Darryl Veenendaal scores twice against London Scottish

The Championship’s top try scorer, Josh Bassett scored a hat-trick and Darryl Veenendaal bagged a pair to add to fine individual efforts from Jake Sharp and Don Barrell. This heavy defeat will almost certainly leave the Exiles in the wrong third of the table unless they can extract close to maximum points from their final four fixtures.

Finally, in another nine try thriller, Rotherham managed to hang on to claim five points despite a late Moseley surge, which earned them a try bonus point. The small crowd at Clifton Lane were treated to a fine display of open rugby but were disappointed that the Titans could not build on a 33-17 half time lead.

To see how all this leaves the Championship,  click here.