Round 5 Matches and Predictions
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Forum Name: The Championship
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Topic: Round 5 Matches and Predictions
Posted By: castleparknight
Subject: Round 5 Matches and Predictions
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 07:38
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Round 5 Hartpury vs Nottingham Ampthill vs Cornish Pirates Doncaster Knights vs London Scottish Ealing Trailfinders vs Coventry Bedford Blues vs Cambridge Caldy gets a rest ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Replies:
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 07:42
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Hartpury 4 vs 1 Nottingham - close match calling home advantage Ampthill 5 vs 1 Cornish Pirates - Ampthill riding the crest of the wave Doncaster Knights 5 vs 0 London Scottish - Bounce back after the Coventry humiliation Ealing Trailfinders 5 vs 2 Coventry - match up of the week, Coventry going to make Ealing work hard Bedford Blues 5 vs 1 Cambridge - Blues will have too much in the tank but Cambridge to get a Try bonus (perhaps) ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Posted By: *Stalwart
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 09:42
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Hartpury 4 vs Nottingham 1 Ampthill 4 vs Cornish Pirates 1 Doncaster Knights 5 vs London Scottish 0 Ealing Trailfinders 4 vs Coventry 1 Bedford Blues 5 vs Cambridge 0 ------------- *Stalwart |
Posted By: Runitback
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 11:35
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Hartpury 2 vs Nottingham 5 . .. could be very exciting lots of tries Ampthill 4 vs Cornish Pirates 1 - Sarries 2nds to prevail Doncaster Knights 5 vs London Scottish 0 - A bonus point depends on the number of Quins playing ( but experiment seems to be failing for Scottish!) Ealing Trailfinders 5 vs Coventry 1 - Battle Royale Bedford Blues 5 vs Cambridge 0 - Yes a big win at home Caldy . . an expensive weekend with no 1ST XV rugby!! ------------- Run with it |
Posted By: AnIdiotAbroad
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 12:20
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Hartpury 1 vs 5 Nottingham Ampthill 4 vs 0 Cornish Pirates Doncaster Knights 5 vs 0 London Scottish Ealing Trailfinders 5 vs 1 Coventry Bedford Blues 5 vs 0 Cambridge ------------- Transparency avoids ambiguity |
Posted By: Old Gold
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 13:16
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Hartpury 1 - 5 Nottingham Ampthill 4 - 1 Cornish Pirates Doncaster 5 - 0 London Scottish Ealing 5 - 2 Coventry Bedford 5 - 0 Cambridge ------------- #AClubForLife💛❤️🖤 |
Posted By: John Butler42
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 16:01
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I am hopefully, optimistic that if Cov Rugby play & perform as per Doncaster, that might just mean Ealing have to perform rather more than by just working hard themselves. Won there last season, why not now !    ------------- John Butler |
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 18:00
If you can sustain that you have every chance. ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
John Butler42 wrote:Posted By: corporalcarrot
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 18:31
------------- Dont kick it. Pick it up and GO FORWARD. |
Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2023 at 20:58
No such thing this year as far as I can tell. A shame too, as it is a double header, and they could stream two matches with one crew.
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Posted By: Cherub
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 08:03
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Hartpury 1-5 Nottingham. The result here will see if Nottingham are really on the up. Ampthill 5-2 Pirates. The As are full of confidence and if they win this one then it will send watch out signals to the rest of the Championship sides. Doncaster 5-0 London Scottish. A home banker with Doncaster looking to set things right again after last week. Ealing 5-1 Coventry. Another tough game for Coventry on the road. I think they might score four tries but I don't think they will be within 7 points of Ealing's total. Bedford 5-0 Cambridge. A good crowd should witness this new local derby but I think the Bedford backs will run Cambridge ragged. ------------- Always trying to stay bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. |
Posted By: corporalcarrot
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 08:28
https://www.championshiprugby.co.uk/live-streams" rel="nofollow - Live Streams (championshiprugby.co.uk) ------------- Dont kick it. Pick it up and GO FORWARD. |
Posted By: Kimbo
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 12:03
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Cov have lost prop Joe Jones to Scarlets. That's unfortunate. Would have been nice to keep him for just one more match. ------------- Our Club |
Posted By: Kimbo
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 12:07
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Coventry: Wilson; Hutler, Wand, Rigg, Martin; Pellegrini, Chudley; Cordwell, Poole, Salt; Tyas, Nkwocha; Ball, Kvesic, Nayalo. Replacements: Stewart, Southworth, Ford, Smith, Ryan, Lane, Bartlett, Mitchell. ------------- Our Club |
Posted By: The Blues
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 13:42
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Blues as expected are giving a few first starts or games. 15. Dean Adamson, 14. Sean French, 13. Jamie Elliott, 12. Michael Le Bourgeois, 11. Jake Garside, 10. Louis Grimoldby, 9. Alex Day (C); 1. Jamie Jack, 2. James Fish, 3. Bryan O’Connor, 4. Jordan Onojaife, 5. Alex Woolford, 6. Joe Howard, 7. Jac Arthur, 8. Cameron King 16. Craig Wright, 17. Joey Conway, 18. Oisin Heffernan, 19. Robin Williams, 20. Henry Pollock, 21. Archie McParland, 22. Will Maisey, 23. Jordan Venter |
Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 13:45
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Ealing Trailfinders to face Coventry Rugby: Strong squad. I don't think I'd change much here given who is available.Note - Rayn Smid is making his 150th appearance, a club record. 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke 2 Mike Willemse 3 Biyi Alo 4 Bobby de Wee 5 Andrew Davidson 6 Will Montgomery 7 Richard Hardwick 8 Rayn Smid 9 Craig Hampson 10 Craig Willis 11 Tom Collins 12 Billy Twelvetrees 13 Reuben Bird-Tulloch 14 Jonah Holmes 15 Cian Kelleher 16 Matt Cornish 17 Kyle Whyte 18 Ross Kane 19 Barney Maddison 20 Simon Uzokwe 21 Jordan Burns 22 Max Bodilly 23 Ollie Newman |
Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 13:58
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Hartpury 1-5 Nottingham - I don't believe that Hartpury can keep up with Nottingham's impressive backs. Ampthill 1-4 Pirates - I have trouble picking amateur sides over professional sides. Doncaster 5-0 London Scottish - Does Harlequins A count as a semi-pro side? Not sure. Who will turn up for them? Not sure. Do I think they'll lose...yes. Ealing 5-1 Coventry - I'm interested to see which Ealing team shows up. We have some amazing backs, but lots of scores have been coming through the forwards. This should tell me if Ealing is more than just the sum of its parts. Bedford 5-0 Cambridge - Bedford will introduce Cambridge to the magic and mystery of the slope. |
Posted By: Paul10
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 14:19
Saints academy starting to be shared around. Pollock and McParland very highly thought of apparently.
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Posted By: All the Way
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 15:12
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Hartpury 2 - 5 Nottingham Ampthill 4 - 1 Cornish Pirates Doncaster 5 - 0 London Scottish Ealing 5 - 2 Coventry Bedford 5 - 0 Cambridge |
Posted By: Camquin
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 15:52
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Interesting that Jake is on the wing, he was a 9 when he played for us. 15- Eli Caven 14- Kwaku Asiedu 13- Tom Hoppe 12- Sam Hanks 11- Matt Hema 10- Jamie Benson 9- Sam Edwards Huw Owen Morgan Veness Billy Walker Kieran Frost Gareth Baxter Ben Adams © Matt Dawson Geordie Irvine 16- Willie Priestley 17- Harry Morley 18- Jake Elwood 19- Noah Sloot 20- Jared Cardew 21- Kieran Duffin 22- Steff James 23- Joe Green ------------- Sweeney Delenda Est |
Posted By: Kimbo
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 16:36
Good cover at half-back. ------------- Our Club |
Posted By: Donnyknightfan
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 17:58
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Predictions: Hartpury 5 - 1 Nottingham Ampthill 4 - 1 Cornish Pirates Doncaster 5 - 0 London Scottish Ealing 5 - 2 Coventry Bedford 5 - 1 Cambridge ------------- Donny Knights - best team in Yorkshire |
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 20:12
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Hartpury 14 - 0 Nottingham 20 mins ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 20:28
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Hartpury 14 - 5 Nottingham 33 mins ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 20:28
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Hartpury 17 - 5 Nottingham 39 mins[/QUOTE]
------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Posted By: castleparknight
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 21:14
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Hartpury 20 - 20 Nottingham 65 mins ------------- Onward and Upwards C'mon Donny! |
Posted By: greenpower
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 21:17
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ampthill 5 1 pirates doncaster 5 0 scottish ealing 5 1coventry bedford 5 0 cambridge
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Posted By: maire23
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2023 at 21:49
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Full Time- Hartpury 20 Nottingham 32 Well done to Notts who had a corking second half.
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 14:27
| Ampthill 14 Pirates 8 on 26 mins |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 14:39
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 14:43
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 15 Donny 0 LS 7
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 14:54
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 15
Donny 0 LS 7 Ealingv7 Cov 0
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 14:56
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 15
Donny 7 LS 7 Ealing 7 Cov 5 |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:01
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 15 Donny 10 LS 7 Ealing 7 Cov 5
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:03
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 22 Donny 10 LS 7 Ealing 7 Cov 5
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:09
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 22 Donny 10 LS 7 Ealing 7 Cov 5 Bedford 0 Cambridge 7
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:11
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Ampthill 17 Pirates 29 Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 5 Bedford 7 Cambridge 7
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:16
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 29 Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 8 Bedford 7 Cambridge 12 |
Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:18
| Ealing 7 - 8 Coventry HT |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:19
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 36 Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 8 Bedford 7 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:32
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 36
Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 8 Bedford 14 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:35
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 43 Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:41
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 7 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:45
| Ealing 14 - 8 Cov |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:46
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 14 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:48
| Eal 21 - 8 Cov |
Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:49
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:49
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 10 LS 14 Ealing 21 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 15:56
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates Donny 17 LS 14 Ealing 21 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:00
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 17 LS 17 Ealing 24 Cov 8 Bedford 17 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:01
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Eal 24 -8 Cov. Every scrum an Ealing penalty.
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:03
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 17 LS 24 Ealing 24 Cov 8 Bedford 24 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:06
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates Donny 22 LS 24 Ealing 24 Cov 8 Bedford 24 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:08
| Eal 28 8 Cov |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:08
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 22 LS 24 Ealing 31 Cov 8 Bedford 24 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:10
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 22 LS 24 Ealing 31 Cov 8 Bedford 31 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:12
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates Donny 29 LS 24 Ealing 31 Cov 8 Bedford 31 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:13
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 29 LS 24 Ealing 31 Cov 13 Bedford 31 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: OldNick
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:13
| Eal 31 - 13 Cov |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:15
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 29 LS 24 Ealing 31 Cov 13 ft Bedford 31 Cambridge 12
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:18
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Ampthill 24 Pirates 46 ft 5pts for pirates
Donny 29 LS 24 ft 5pts to 1 Ealing 31 Cov 13 ft Bedford 31 Cambridge 17
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Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 16:31
Ealing scrum made the difference. At least 10 penalties won.
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Posted By: MarkyMark
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 17:16
| Bedford finished 59-19 |
Posted By: cheshire exile
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 17:49
| Three tries for Pirates hooker Morgan Nelson; looks like the driving maul is back with a vengeance. |
Posted By: Geoff DC
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 18:49
| And a League Debut try for Frankie Nowell |
Posted By: Donnyknightfan
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 19:57
Unlucky Scottish, guess you’ll just have to have 15 Quins players next week. What a complete mockery our league has become. ------------- Donny Knights - best team in Yorkshire |
Posted By: Runitback
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 21:45
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How many Quins did they have in the Squad? ------------- Run with it |
Posted By: The Blues
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 21:55
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Cambridge, didn’t play badly against Blues, they just couldn’t live with the offloading out of tackles and the Blues backs finding the holes as we attacked down the slope.
ATT 2988
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Posted By: kempstonblue
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2023 at 22:31
As one Cambridge supporter said, they are adjusting to the faster pace of the league. ------------- The older I get, the more the RFU leave me confused. |
Posted By: Camquin
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 00:24
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That might have been me. Were you stood about on the downhill 22? I am the redhead, greybeard in the hat. ------------- Sweeney Delenda Est |
Posted By: kempstonblue
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 09:15
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I was at the clubhouse end, with a skier. ------------- The older I get, the more the RFU leave me confused. |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 09:31
Get over it m8, they are within the rules. On our forum they were playing 5 quins
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Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 09:32
On the knights fans forum this was discussed and someone had them at 5 Quins one falcon and an Ealing player
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Posted By: Big Eddie
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 09:38
Less expensive than if the 1st xv were playing!
------------- ''The future isn't what it used to be'' |
Posted By: ExtraB
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 10:45
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Great game between Donny and Scottish yesterday. ------------- Car'n the Rams! |
Posted By: ExtraB
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 10:49
And totally within the rules. Last week LS v Amp both sides had numerous DR’s (about 8 each apparently) so suck it up. It was a great game of rugby yesterday and Donny were lucky to win IMO. What a pity the only comment had about a great match was to moan about a partnership we have with Quins. What was great to see was the superb crowd of >2,000 watching a cracking game in the best facility in the league with great fans (perhaps not all of them). Good band as well In the bar post match ------------- Car'n the Rams! |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 10:55
Just what I said earlier up the thread m8
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Posted By: Stuartnottingham
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 13:33
| Dual reg is ok when it is about the player getting experience not when they parachute in to save a club from relegation. Just ask Richmond how they feel . |
Posted By: FHLH
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 14:14
 Surely an excess of dual registered players brings about the loss of a club's identity, a lack of cohesion and is a long way from Rugby Union as known in the vast majority of clubs. Note the word clubs as opposed to flags of convenience. Perhaps Prem 1 & 2 are the place to go for an England international training ground and rugby union, per se, aka rugger, to be played up to National One  ------------- "My father told me big men fall just as quick as little ones, if you put a sword through their hearts." |
Posted By: Stuartnottingham
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 14:51
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You get dual reg in Nat one and two . George Martin and Jack Van Portfliet at Leicester Lions in Nat 2 a couple of years ago. As long as they are buying into the club and are there for a while it can add value to both parties. |
Posted By: Camquin
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2023 at 16:35
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Yes, but at National 2 you are only permitted four players, of which three can be loan players and the rest England Academy Players. At National 1 you are permitted three loans plus up to six EAPs. And in the Championship, three loans and nine EAPs. In the National leagues, the EAPs must play for the recipient club before the transfer deadline. But that does not apply in the Championship. ------------- Sweeney Delenda Est |
Posted By: Stuartnottingham
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 12:17
| Far too many players dropping in and out of clubs in the Championship . Personally I don't mind longer term loan players who need to play . Difficult to go straight into the Tigers first team. I do object to what happened to Richmond. I met their Director of Rugby a couple of times and he seemed a decent chap . Now he has of course lost his job following relegation. London Scottish beat Nottingham at the end of the season to stay up and it was basically a Harlequins team. |
Posted By: Camquin
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 13:15
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This is the Scottish side that played Nottingham at the start of the season, and whether they played in the last match. Charlie Ingall → bench Noah Ferdinand → dropped Brynmor Bradley → dropped Robbie McCallum → dropped Joshua Gillespie → dropped Jamie Benson → dropped Luca Petrozzi → bench Fin Baxter → dropped Sam Riley → dropped Joe Rees → starter Matas Jurevicius → starter Matthew Wilkinson → dropped Brian Tuilagi → dropped William Trenholm → starter Cameron King → starter Elliot Chilvers → dropped William Hobson → dropped Angus Southon → bench Villiami Taulani → bench Dan Nutton → starter Zach Clow → dropped Cassius Cleaves → starter So 13 new players Starters Cameron Anderson Luke Mehson Lennox Anyanwu Hayden Hyde Nathan Chamberlain Will Prior Jack Musk Bailey Ranson Jack Ingall Bench Nathan Jibulu Rhys Charalambous Rhys Litterick Connor Slevin The thing I noticed was at least two of the dropped players, Benson and Hobson are Quins academy, both have played for Cambridge this season. I assume Scottish were inside the regulations, or Richmond would surely have objected to unregistered players. ------------- Sweeney Delenda Est |
Posted By: KnightsBoy
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 13:34
| Attendance at Donny for the LS game was 2264, however a question on our forum as been asked if these were all paying fans, or were freeby tickets in the total. |
Posted By: Paul10
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 13:35
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I think Rhys Litterick plays for Cardiff now. Winning try on Friday night. Aah. Last season. Ignore me....
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Posted By: BigChief
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 13:37
and Richmond did not beat too many teams that season either..... Had they done so they would have pulled clear but they didn't - that was their own doing and cant be laid at the door of any other team. ------------- For the ordinary purposes of conversation, a superficial knowledge of many things goes further than an intimacy with one or two. |
Posted By: Stuartnottingham
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 15:44
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Friday, 28 April 2023 https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&division=39369&season=2022-2023#results" rel="nofollow - The Championship https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&season=2022-2023&team=15075#results" rel="nofollow - Nottingham  https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/match-centre-community?matchId=985989" rel="nofollow - 19 - 20  https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&season=2022-2023&team=12602#results" rel="nofollow - London Scottish https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&season=2022-2023&team=12602#results" rel="nofollow - London Scottish https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/match-centre-community?matchId=985983" rel="nofollow - 49 - 3  https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&season=2022-2023&team=17742#results" rel="nofollow - Richmond https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&team=9602&season=2022-2023#fixtures" rel="nofollow - Hartpury University  https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/match-centre-community?matchId=985978" rel="nofollow - 12 - 22 https://www.englandrugby.com/fixtures-and-results/search-results?competition=173&team=12602&season=2022-2023#fixtures" rel="nofollow - London Scottish
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Posted By: Se7en
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 16:27
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I am with you on this Stuartnottingham. I remember thinking at the time that what unfolded at the end of last year's Champ season didn't sit right with me. What ever happened to clubs developing from within, investing in mini, junior, girls and colt sections to keep the future of their club bright and sustainable? I don't know what the setup at LS is, and how many of their Champ squad came through the ranks from junior to adult rugby. I suspect it is very few. For those that say it isn't possible at Level 2, I would say look at Caldy RFC, where rhe vast majority of their squad have played together for years, a good number of which started playing as youngsters and have taken that club to somewhere no one would have thought possible years ago. Is all of this a bit idealistic and old fashioned on my part, probably, but the fact remains that the Champ remains this mix of traditional clubs trying to keep afloat alongside the more commercial squads ultimately being run as businesses. As I've said before, it is a bit like a middle ground between the fully pro Prem and semi-pro Nat 1 and whilst it remains this way, it will always have issues around clubs doing whatever is necessary to prevent relegation, as was the case with Scottish last season. This is not the fault of Scottish or any other club in their position as they haven't done anthring wrong or underhand in terms of the rules in place. It is the rules themselves that could probably do with a rethink and the Champ clubs coming together to determine what sort of league they want to be a part of. Likewise, Nat 1 is increasingly mirroring the Champ, with several clubs relying on DR/loan players to fill their starting XVs.
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Posted By: Greg
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 16:59
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Who remembers Leeds jetting in a significant number of New Zealanders to rescue them from the drop a couple of years ago? It was a short-lived success and Leeds were relegated the following season. The Leeds 'club' are still stigmatised by many for that sharp practice.
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Posted By: gerg_861
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 at 18:40
Really ruined some lives if I remember correctly, getting folks across with the promise of long term contracts, then abandoning them.
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Posted By: The Blues
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2023 at 22:29
| Blues tries https://youtu.be/8dJk4VXFYlw?si=2PqkFYtbXq086axY" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/8dJk4VXFYlw?si=2PqkFYtbXq086axY |