Post by Jamie Crawford on Jan 23, 2017 17:53:24 GMT
15:00
Goldington Road, Bedford
After three weeks off Championship rugby the Knights return to league action away at Goldington Lane against Bedford Blues. The Knights beat the Blues 30-22 last September at Castle Park; the Blues will want to prevent having the double scored against them. Dare I venture to say that it’s great for the Knights to be playing a proper rugby game, Griff and many others have stated that the British & Irish Cup has had its day?
Rotherham Titans wanted to gain the South Yorkshire bragging rights in the Cup and we prevented that; now let’s do the double over the Blues again this season (as we did last season) in the league. We beat them 13-18 last time out at Goldington Road so we’ve got to try to prevent them getting a losing bonus point this season.
The Knights are third in the Championship, twelve points below Carnegie in second and four points above the Ealing Trailfinders in fourth and London Scottish in fifth. Bedford Blues are ninth in the league table, six points below Nottingham and Jersey Reds. They are four points above Rotherham Titans in tenth. (edited 27th Jan)
In getting to these positions the Blues have won four and lost nine of the thirteen games played. The Knights have won seven and lost six of theirs.
The Blues have scored 302 points and surrended 329 points, the Knights have amassed 309 points and conceded 264 points. The Blues have scored 38 tries (fifth highest) of which two thirds have been at home. They have conceded 36 tries (=6th best). The Knights have scored 42 tries (third highest), almost half of which have been scored away and conceded 27 (second strongest). It’s unusual that London Welsh have conceded the fewest tries in the Championship. (Results v Welsh have been included)
The Blues are fifth in the home league table and the Knights are seventh in the away league table. The overall Championship league table places the Knights firmly above the Blues but the corresponding home and away tables place the advantage with the Blues.
As Martin C said on our Forum, “Next week it is Bedford who love to throw the ball around, our defense needs to be working and I think this Saturday (v Titans) showed that running the ball at us isn't really going to work that well so there is hope.”
The general consensus was that we need to work on our rolling maul
Stabunker records the Blues as playing 12 games, so the above stats aren’t completely accurate but it gives you a feel for how each team has fared. The Blues lost 36-21 last time out to London Irish, so the stats will be worse if anything.
Elsewhere in the Championship this Saturday:
According to BBC Teletext Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish are both four points below us but the Scottish exiles have a game in hand.
Ealing Trailfinders (4th, 4 points below) welcome London Irish to Trailfinders Sports Club
London Scottish (5th, 4 points below [with a game in hand]) entertain Carnegie (2nd) at their Athletic Ground
(last edit 27th Jan)
As stated fourth-placed Ealing Trailfinders (now four points below) welcome the Irish exiles to their plastic pitch. The winner could almost be written ahead of the game if the game was played on grass but Trailfinders have a distinct home advantage with their unusual playing surface. No disrespect to the Trailfinders but the Irish have played 13 Championship games this season, have yet to be beaten and scored four or more tries in eleven of the games.
In other words they have played every other team once and Richmond and Bedford twice without a loss.
London Irish sit firmly at the top of the Championship with second-placed Carnegie virtually unreachable for us in third. Richmond still prop up the other teams from the bottom.
COYK
DONNY, DONNY, DONNY…
