Post by Jamie Crawford on Oct 20, 2015 10:48:31 GMT
Following last weeks’ home win against the Pirates that hail from Cornwall, the Knights have their second consecutive home game, this time against the Scottish exiles. Round 1 saw the Welsh exiles win by two points 33-35 but now the Knights are third in the Championship and have more self-confidence than the opening game against the ex-Premiership team. London Scottish are two places or two league points below the Knights with the same win:loss record. It’s only our fantastic number of bonus points scored (almost one for every game played) that puts us third; the Titans in seventh have the same win:loss record but they’ve only scored two bonus points.
Bedford Blues are the sandwich filling between the teams, lying one point above Scottish and one point below us.
The Scottish will be frustrated about losing by one point at home against Nottingham. Nottingham’s Fly-Half Dan Mugford scored a drop-goal in the 80th minute. Nottingham had overcome a 15-0 deficit to be trailing 17-15 with two minutes to go. The Scottish went on to lose 17-18. Virtually nothing spurs a team on more than losing a game that they thought they’d won until the last minute of normal time.
Scottish Peter Lydon has only scored seven fewer points than our own Dougie Flockhart, who has dropped to third place in the top points-scorer table. Similarly London Scottish Kiwi (three Nations!) Back Row Mark Bright has only scored one less try than Latu Makaafi. Latu has again been replaced at the top of the Championship top try-scorer’s table by Nottingham’s Paul William Grant (Back Row).
The Knights have scored 22 tries to Scottish’s 19 this season. Obviously given Mark Bright’s try-scoring prowess, the Scottish Back Row have scored the majority of Scottish tries scored by position and virtually half of their total. Scottish wings and centres are the next highest try-scoring positions.
On the flip-side to scoring, Scottish have defended their try-line the most resiliently as they have conceded the fewest tries in the Championship. Their try-line has only been breached on 15 occasions this season. The Knights have only conceded five more tries and only both teams of exiles (Scottish & Welsh) have conceded fewer. Carnegie and Bristol have conceded one and two more tries consecutively than the Knights. The Knights defence is definitely getting stronger but no other team have conceded fewer points than the Scottish. Scottish have only conceded an average of 18.3 points/game compared to the Knights’ 25.3. That said, Carnegie have only conceded six fewer points than the Knights over seven games played.
Therefore the Scottish defence is superb as is their discipline as they don’t give away kickable penalties.
The Scottish have an excellent away record, equal second with Carnegie, having won two and lost one away. Only Bristol are better after winning all three of their away games. However the Knights are beginning to make Castle Park a fortress. They are joint top in the home league table with Bristol and Carnegie after only losing one of their four home league games played this season. That defeat to the Welsh was the first game of the season against the ex-Premiership side, so how much (undue?) credit did the Knights give to this ex-Premiership team with their massive playing budget following the RFU’s parachute payment?
Elsewhere:
Friday:
Nottingham (8) buoyed from their single point win over Scottish fly to play Jersey (9), who are one place or two league points below them.
Jersey can’t catch the Knights in one game and Nottingham would have to beat Jersey with a bonus point and by scoring 19 points or more than Jersey score to go above the Knights on Friday before we play.
Saturday:
Cornish Pirates (11) welcome top-placed Bristol
Bottom-placed Ealing Trailfinders face the Blues from Bedford (4)
Both Celtic exiles from London make the trip up to Yorkshire when London Welsh (6) play Rotherham Titans (7) at Clifton Lane. The Titans are a single league point below the Welsh.
Sunday:
Moseley (10) travel to Yorkshire to play second-placed Carnegie
DONNY, DONNY, DONNY…
