National One Round 22 & 23

Talking Rugby Union have spoken to Coventry Captain Cliffie Hodgson, Fylde's Oli Brennand and Richmond's Matt Chambers ahead of Round 23 of National League 1 and have also had a brief look back at round 22.

Blackheath 24-24 Richmond

The hosts remain unbeaten in 2015 after taking a share of the spoils against local rivals Richmond, but have Ryan Squires last ditch penalty to thank.

Coventry 35 Macclesfield 15

Winger Dan Rundle scored his second hat-trick in successive home games as Coventry got back to winning ways with a bonus point victory against bottom of the table Macclesfield.

Ealing 24-19 Esher

Ealing had to work hard to secure a bonus-point win against their rivals Esher in a match where both teams give everything until the final whistle.

Fylde 10-33 Darlington Mowden Park

Henry Robinson bagged two tries as Darlington Mowden Park recorded a bonus point victory against an underwhelming Fylde at Woodlands.

Loughborough Students 29-15 Wharfedale

A dominant second-half display from the Students saw them secure the bonus point win and allowed them to leapfrog Wharfedale in the process.

Old Albanians 19-18 Blaydon

Dan Watt kicked the hosts to the narrowest of victories to edge them closer to safety, which ensures their run-in will be more comfortable then in recent times.

Rosslyn Park 24-7 Cinderford

Park remain unbeaten in 2015 as they added another comfortable bonus point victory to their tally.

Tynedale 16-23 Hartpury College

Despite a much-improved performance a battling Tynedale went down to a in form Hartpury College side.

Round 23 Preview: Friday

Richmond (7^th, 60pts) vs. Rosslyn Park (3^rd, 91pts)

Matt Chambers is hoping Richmond can continue to build momentum when promotion chasing Rosslyn Park come to the Athletic Ground on Friday night.

The hosts come into the game following a dramatic draw with neighbours Blackheath, while Park strolled to a comfortable victory against relegation threatened Cinderford. And Chambers, who joined from Old Albanians in the summer, is excited for the local clash.

‘It’ll be a great game on Friday night, under the lights, and both sides will no doubt be well supported.’ said Chambers.

‘Rosslyn Park are a very good side. They have a great set piece and some strong backs that we will have to try and contain.

‘Our defence has been better the last few weeks and the boys will look to build on this and keep improving.’

Richmond have taken a share of the spoils against Coventry and Blackheath, who are both above them in the table, in their last two games and Chambers believes they could, maybe should, have got more from both games.

‘I don’t think these two results actually do us much justice!’ admitted Chambers. ‘They were both matches decided with the last kick of the game, and naturally we were disappointed to only come away with the draws.

Having said this there are plenty of positives to take from both games, Coventry and Blackheath have both been on a good run and  our performances against them were a step in the right direction for us.

‘This is a really competitive league, but we have good strength in depth and I think we are a tough fixture for all teams in our league.’

Saturday

Blaydon (11^th, 46pts) vs. Fylde (5^th, 68pts)

Winger Oli Brennand is hopeful Fylde can get back to winning ways when they travel to face Blaydon at Crow Trees on Saturday.

The Lancastrians are on their worst run of the season, losing four consecutive games, but Brennand reaffirmed that the spirit in the dressing room remains high.

‘The spirit is good’ said Brennand. ‘But the confidence has dropped a bit, and the style of rugby we play thrives on confidence so when your not confident and running with the ball in hand you get stuck in a bit of a mismatch in how you want to play.’

And Brennand, who is one try off becoming the clubs all time top scorer, has been to Blaydon a few times and knows just how difficult it can be.

‘Going up to Blaydon will be tough’ said Brennand. ‘But there is absolutely no reason why if we go there and play at our best why we cannot beat them.’

Cinderford (14^th, 34pts) vs. Loughborough Students (10^th, 47pts)

Luke Cole makes his return as hooker for Cinderford this weekend in their crunch match the Loughborough Students after playing for Gloucester in the LV= Cup last week.

But the hosts remain in deep relegation trouble, and following Old Albanians home win last week, as the Stags are now six points from safety. Loughborough won comfortably 25-15 when the two sides met earlier in the season and will be confidant heading into the game following their home win against Wharfedale last weekend.

Darlington Mowden Park (8^th, 52pts) vs. Tynedale (15^th, 31pts)

Darlington Mowden Park will look to get revenge for a loss earlier in the season when they entertain Tynedale at the Darlington Arena on Saturday.

The hosts have now won 4 of their last 5, which includes impressive away win at Fylde, and are now up to a season high eighth. Tynedale, despite improving in recent weeks, are still winless in 13 and are now nine points from safety with ten games to go.

Esher (9^th, 52pts) vs. Coventry (2^nd, 93pts)

Coventry captain Cliffie Hodgson and Esher coach Craig Chalmers look ahead to their National League 1 crunch match on Saturday as the visitors travel to Molesey Road eighteen games unbeaten.

Hodgson believes this Saturday’s trip to Esher will be a major test of their promotion credentials but remains confident in his teams chances.

‘We know that Esher are a very good team and that it will be a big challenge for us, physically and mentally.’ admitted Hodgson, who is top of the scoring charts in National League 1 with 310 points so far this season.

‘We have prepared really well in training this week because we know it will require a professional performance to break them down on Saturday.

‘It is another challenge that we accept and will be looking forward to. It should be a good game!’

But Esher Assistant coach and ex-Scotland international Craig Chalmers is encouraged by Esher’s good home form, and believes it could give them the edge heading into the weekend.

 ‘We should have beat Coventry away so hopefully when we face them this weekend we can win.’ said Chalmers.

‘It’s a very competitive league, we are pretty good at home but we have won very few games away from home this year, but we seem do better against the better teams.’

Coventry took maximum points at home to bottom of the pile Macclesfield last weekend while Esher were lost out on a tough trip to Ealing, meaning they slip to ninth. And despite admitting he was frustrated with Esher’s current position in the table, the former British Lion is hopeful they can make a late surge up the table.

‘We are sitting mid-table, we should be higher up in the top four or five and hopefully we will be up there by the end of the season.

Coventry are on a tremendous run and are 18 games unbeaten, winning all but one when they took a share of the spoils from a difficult trip to Richmond.

‘I think the key to our great run is that we take it one game at a time and not look too far ahead of ourselves.’ said Hodgson.

'As a team we know that we have to respect every team we play against, because every week is a completely different challenge.

‘The players have been very professional in training and also enjoy playing together which always is a sign of a good balanced squad forward to. It should be a good game!’

Coventry are just two points behind league leaders Ealing, who have a game in hand, but Hodgson is certain they can continue to push the promotion favourites until the final day. 

‘There is most definitely a belief that we can go up,’ said the Coventry captain

‘The team has its set goals and we have said throughout this season that it is a challenge what we should enjoy and embrace, the players have responded really well.’

Hartpury College (6^th, 66pts) vs. Ealing Trailfinders (1^st, 95pts)

The College are unbeaten in 2015 so far but have their toughest test yet this weekend when they welcome league-leaders Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday. 

Despite having a great season though the hosts have struggled on home turf at times with just six home wins from eleven outings while their visitors have impressively won seven of their nine away trips. Both sides are therefore in fantastic form which should set up a highly entertaining game of rugby. 

Macclesfield (16^th, 13pts) vs. Blackheath (4^th, 70pts)

The Blues continue their search for a first home win when they host Blackheath this Saturday and will be looking for their first home win of the season, and to build on recent good performances.

Macclesfield head coach Giles Heagerty is also  hoping for a better result then when the two sides met earlier in the season.

‘Blackheath want to consolidate themselves in the top half’ said Heagarty. ‘They ‘nilled’ us down there so we are well aware of how good they are’

‘It’s our job to combat that and go out to win the game; we know what we need to improve on.

‘But the nil scoreline isn’t something we are dwelling on going into game.

Wharfedale (12^th, 43pts)  vs. Old Albanians (13^th, 34pts)

Wharfedale will look to get back to winning ways when Old Albanians come to Threshfield on Saturday.

It was the visitors who came out on top when the sides met in the revserse fixture back in Octrober and that OA’s will be confident after recording back-to-back home wins against Blaydon and Fylde in the last two weeks week. The two victories have allowed them to move six points clear of the relegation trouble while the Dale on the other hand have struggled of late, losing five consecutive games, and are now just one place and three points above their visitors.