A step closer to relegation for London Welsh?

London Welsh’s thrashing at Exeter at the weekend, coupled with a win for London Irish meant Lyn Jones’s side hovered precariously just one place outside the Aviva Premiership relegation zone.

But, with six games (four of which are away) to go, and with the Exiles being just three points ahead of bottom side Sale, there comes news which could spell doom for Welsh’s hopes of top-flight survival.

And what a way to go it would be. Here’s the statement from the London Welsh website:

London Welsh RFC are to appear before an RFU Competitions Hearing charged with fielding an ineligible player in a number of Aviva Premiership matches this season. The matter was brought to the RFU’s attention by London Welsh after the club conducted an internal investigation earlier this month.

The case relating to the registration of scrum half Tyson Keats will be heard on Tuesday, March 5 by a panel of Jeremy Summers (chairman), Premiership Rugby Chief Executive Mark McCafferty and Dr Julian Morris at the offices of Slater & Gordon, Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1HL.

The club’s former Rugby Manager Mike Scott is the subject of  a separate RFU Disciplinary Hearing relating to the registration of the same player and has been charged under RFU Rule 5.12  for ’conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union or the Game’. That case will be heard at a later date.

The club would like to stress that no fault in this matter resides with the player.

London Welsh CEO Tony Copsey said: “This is obviously a serious matter which the club has not only brought to the attention of the RFU but is also working closely with the RFU to provide full cooperation whilst the case is being prepared and ultimately heard next week.

“Due to the sensitive nature and the impeding hearing the club is unable to make any further comment at this time.” 

Becky James makes her SPOTY bid

It would be nice to think this weekend has ensured a Welsh sports star will be on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year shortlist in 10 months’ time.

Not anyone to do with Swansea City, who won their first major (English) trophy yesterday, nor a rugby player (though with a Lions tour coming up that’s not totally out of the question).

Becky James, from Abergavenny, picked up four medals – two gold and two bronze, exactly the same record as France – in last week’s 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus as Great Britain continued their dominance on two wheels (if not quite as comprehensively as during the Olympics).

James won two individual rainbow jerseys, in the sprint and keirin, an individual bronze in the 500m time trial and a further bronze alongside Victoria Williamson in the team sprint. GB finished with five golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

It’s great to see a young Welsh star (she is only 21) emerge as such a force on the world stage – and if you had any doubts as to the magnitude of her achievement, you only need to see the reaction of her track rivals, including Anna Meares, Victoria Pendleton’s long-time adversary (ignore the fact she’s forgotten some past champions):

JAMES! BECKY JAMES!!!!A handful in Delhi, now she isWORLD CHAMPION at 21. Congrats @becksjames Has Wales had a cycling World champ b4?

— Anna Meares (@AnnaMeares) February 24, 2013

DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION!!!! Words can’t even describe how happy I am! 🙂 Thank you for all the support everyone! #whataweek x

— Becky James (@BecksJames) February 24, 2013

 

Wow! @becksjames double world champ! Incredible performance in Keirin. Becky, Wales salutes you #worldchampion #girlpower

— Laura McAllister (@LauraMcAllister) February 24, 2013

So happy for @becksjames ! What a girl!!DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION!! #soproud #onfire #sorryaboutthat 😘😜 xx

— George North (@George_North) February 24, 2013

Decent weekend for Welsh sport

Swansea cup winBecky James double world championWales beat ItalyWrexham head to WembleyWins for Cardiff & NewportWhat a weekend!

— BBC Wales (@BBCWales) February 24, 2013

Swansea City 5-0 Bradford City

Congratulations to the Swans, who are the first Welsh side to win a major trophy in the English system since 1927.

Five nil against a side ranked three tiers below them might not seem like a particularly noteworthy result, but don’t forget the calibre of teams, including three in the Premier League, which Bradford have sent packing on the way to the final.

Swansea have now won their last two visits to Wembley, going one better than bitter rivals Cardiff City managed last year.

They’ll be in Europe next season, which will be fun. It’s great to see both Brian Laudrup picking up where Brendan Rodgers left off at the Liberty Stadium, and Swansea avoiding an outbreak of “second season syndrome”, which often hits promoted teams 12 months into their time in a higher tier than they are used to.

I remember some Cardiff fans predicting Swansea would, after their success in the Championship play-off final in 2011, be in the top flight for four seasons – summer, autumn, winter and spring.

Those jokes ring hollow now Swansea are League Cup champions and firmly established in the Premier League – although Cardiff’s 2-1 win at Wolves today only extends the Bluebirds’ lead at the top of the Championship, and heightening the prospect of a couple of spicy Welsh derbies next season.

The perils of being a Welsh fan in Leicester

I spent all day yesterday in Leicester, watching the Six Nations games in a pub then heading off to watch the Premiership clash between the Tigers v Saracens at Welford Road in the evening.

And it was a good rugby day out, set up by a Welsh victory in Italy which means it’s now four consecutive away wins for Wales in the Six Nations.

The first half was not pretty, albeit in torrential Roman rain, but Wales never really looked like losing.

“Well it wasn’t a bad little bantamweight skirmsish that, was it…but we can’t condone a punch on the international field.” – Huw Llewelyn Davies in his previous incarnation as a BBC commentator

Unfortunately, the pub I was in had no sound for that game, meaning I only found out at half time (via Twitter) commentator Andrew Cotter decided he was sick of the game just 10 minutes in. The lack of sound was a shame, because I like listening to Jiffy, who stood in for Cotter, and particularly Huw Llewelyn Davies, who was drafted in from S4C at the interval.

I sometimes listen to commentary on S4C when it’s Huw Llewelyn Davies behind the mic simply because the sound of his voice is for Welsh fans (me at least) almost akin to Bill McLaren. As a side note, I mentioned HLD’s name in passing in a blog post a couple of weeks ago after I watched a re-run of France v Wales from 1999, and as a result of his promotion yesterday, I had one of the most popular days on this blog ever.

Anyway, the Wales game was satisfactory, especially as it meant a group of English fans were not able to point and laugh at us, as they threatened to do each time Italy went forward.

So in that context, you’d have thought they wouldn’t have reacted as angrily as they did to us politely applauding a superb solo try from France’s Wesley Fofana during “Le Crunch”.

But no, an almost-perforated eardrum as the large Englishman screamed in celebration directly into my good ear following the Manu Tuilagi try tells a different story. At that stage, I didn’t fancy pointing out to him the try should blatantly not have been awarded for a clear offside as the ball was hacked through. Coupled with his interpretation of the breakdown and after the 2011 World Cup final, the French would be forgiven for thinking Craig Joubert once suffered an Andrew Cotter-like reaction to garlic snails during a trip to Paris.

This from Stephen Jones of the Sunday Times:

Just off to Paris for the Freedom of the City ceremony for Craig Joubert

— Stephen Jones(@stephenjones9) February 23, 2013

@ppblackman he was absolutely shocking and all one way

— Stephen Jones(@stephenjones9) February 23, 2013

 

Even so, the best thing about the English victory is that it sets up what could be a Six Nations showdown in Cardiff in three weeks’ time – and even if Wales would probably have to win by at least 20 points in order to win the title, denying England a Grand Slam would probably be sufficient for most of the Millennium Stadium.

London Welsh 25-26 Sale Sharks

I’ve been banging on about for them basically since this blog started, but yesterday, finally, I made it to a London Welsh game.

Frustratingly, despite Welsh scoring 13 straight points in the second half to take a 25-20 lead, bottom-of-the-table Sale managed to sneak a 26-25 win.

The stand I was in was much more full, honestly

It was a priceless four points for the Sharks, and although the Exiles picked up a losing bonus point, London Welsh face a seriously tough fight in the battle to avoid relegation. After the weekend results, they remain 10th on 22 points, just two ahead of London Irish in 11th and three ahead of Sale. The Worcester Warriors, with 26 points, are far from safe in ninth with seven games remaining.

But Welsh now face a run of four consecutive away games, where standing points will be at a premium. A win for Irish and Sale and Lyn Jones’s men could be bottom.

Not that the games at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium can feel much like home in themselves. It’s a great ground for a team of Oxford United’s stature (talk about damning them with faint praise…), and is obviously much bigger than London Welsh’s Old Deer Park home.

But with no real links to Oxford, it’s hardly a surprise the Exiles’ home games have the lowest average attendance of any Aviva Premiership team. Yesterday’s crowd of 4,082, slightly lower than that average, should not be sniffed at considering the difficulty in attracting a new fan base to an out-of-town stadium in a new city, but it meant the Kassam Stadium was two-thirds empty.

Those 4,082 witnessed a see-saw contest between two lowly sides and two celebrity-conscious, former international outside halves who have had more than their fair share of off-the-field problems in the form of Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani.

But while Cipriani’s kicking from hand was decidedly dodgy, Henson was superb, thoroughly deserving his man-of-the-match award and the subsequent plaudits from national reporters.

His control of the backline was phenomenal. His passing was excellent, floating some wide, flicking others out of the back of his hand, but always accurate, setting up an attack, exploiting half-gaps and setting up the hosts’ sole try, scored by Canada international Phil Mackenzie. He really was a class apart, and did not deserve to be on the losing side.

In fact, he shouldn’t have been. With Sale looking to run out the clock, they lost the ball deep in London Welsh territory. But the backs spread the ball quickly, and left wing Nick Scott had acres of room to run into, plus an overlap. But instead of passing, he inexplicably cut inside. The move soon broke down and London Welsh lost – Scott will be hoping against hope his decision does not cost his side its Premiership place.