EXCLUSIVE: National League One Dream Team
The Knights gain three members in this year’s Dream Team, the same as Rosslyn Park, but Doncaster shade it with honourable mentions for scrum-half Bruno Bravo and centre Bevon Armitage as well.
The 22 try bonus points for the Knights covered for the fact that Rosslyn Park actually lost one game fewer than their title rivals and three of Park’s powerhouse pack impressed our correspondents throughout the league.
1. Aaron Liffchak – Rosslyn Park
Losehead Liffchak was at the forefront of a Rosslyn Park side that provided the dominant pack on the National One circuit, grinding down sides with their relentless forward determination.
Formerly of London Scottish and Barking, the arrival of Liffchak coincided with a Rosslyn revival that saw them come so close to promotion. All the more impressive when you consider he spends the majority of his time as director of rugby at Trinity School.
2. Adam Bellamy – Rosslyn Park
Liffchak’s partner in crime this season has been hooker Bellamy, the duo unsurprisingly earning a near unanimous choice from our correspondents.
Bellamy, who joined this season from Dings Crusaders, performed his front-row duties superbly but also had a knack of chipping in with important tries, notably against Doncaster at the turn of the year and again in the shellacking of Worthing.
3. Adam Lewis – Fylde
Another fine year for Fylde but one that pales in comparison to the Doncaster and Rosslyn Park juggernauts. But Lewis’ efforts did not go unnoticed.
The tighthead prop this season returned to the club where he made his senior debut after playing Rugby League with Swinton last year, and stood out with a string of dominant performances.
4. Matt Challinor – Doncaster
Captain fantastic of the league champions, Challinor deserves his spot for his leadership as much as his performances. The Knights Players’ Player of the Season, the second-row legend signed a new deal at the club earlier this week.
5. Will Warden – Richmond
A former Loughborough University and England Students captain, Warden was the beacon of light in an inconsistent campaign for Richmond.
A strong finish to the campaign lifted Warden and Co into the top half of the table and the lock was to the fore throughout as Richmond were rarely found wanting up front.
6. Sam Shires – Rosslyn Park
The third and final Rosslyn Park player to make our Team of the Year, Shires came agonisingly close to leading his second side in two years out of National One.
A key figure in Ealing Trailfinders’ promotion campaign in 2012-13, Shires joined Rosslyn Park last summer and looked at home straight away.
The back-rower’s pace off the mark set him aside from his rivals and he even found time to chip in with an impressive 11 tries as the Park pack decimated opponents up and down the country.
7. Dave Allen – Blackheath
For the third year in a row Dave Allen finds himself in our Team of theYear and while Club may not have been challenging at the top of the table, Allen’s individual contribution continues to be oustanding.
Last year the flanker scored 19 tries and this year he went one better with 20, two of which came inside the first quarter of their rip-roaring win over Esher in January.
8. Liam Perkins – Worthing
The Raiders player of the year for 2013-14, Perkins made big waves in his first season at the club after joining from Ealing in the off-season.
Like his former teammate Sam Shires, Perkins had a nose for the try line with nine in the league.
His consistency for the Raiders saw him edge out Park’s former London Wasp, Hugo Ellis.
9. Henry Taylor – Loughborough
The fact that Taylor has now been signed by Saracens and is currently in New Zealand with the England U20s squad tells you everything you need to about this scrum-half’s talent.
Six tries from 18 appearances while studying fine art at Loughborough University mark him out as a star of the future, definitely a name to watch.
10. Tom Barrett – Wharfedale
A mainstay for Wharfedale all season and with pinpoint accuracy from the tee, Barrett amassed 343 points in the league this year, the second highest individual haul and breaking the club’s league record in the process. Barrett’s talents have been recognised as the stand-off will be in the Championship next year with Rotherham Titans.
11. Tyson Lewis – Doncaster
He might take more pride in being in the Guinness Book of records but Lewis was a unanimous choice for our Team of the Year.
The 29-year-old scored a try after only 7.24 seconds of the Knights’ win over Old Albanians in November, beating the previous record by over a second. He ended the season with 22 tries in all.
12. Cliffie Hodgson – Coventry
The 24-year-old finished the season as the league’s top points scorer with 374 to his name and was metronomic for Coventry all season long. Equally capable at full-back, the South African lines up at inside centre in our team after setting that new club record for points.
13. Mat Clark – Doncaster
His teammate Tyson Lewis may have finished as the season’s top try scorer,but the 24-year-old Clark was only one behind him, a mark of just how potent the Knights’ back-line was all season.
Clark joined Doncaster from Leeds Carnegie in the off-season and it did not take him long to settle in at his new club, the outside centre equally adept at running through would-be tacklers as around them.
14. Will Hurrell – Coventry
Equally effective on either wing, Hurrell terrorised National One defences all season to finish with 17 tries from 29 appearances.
The 24-year-old, in his second spell with the club after playing while at Leicester’s Academy between 2008-10, joined from Stourbridge in the off-season and looked like he had never left.
15. Luke Daniels – Esher
Jack Pons at Loughborough was a tough omission from this team after his superb season, but Daniels was Esher’s heartbeat in a campaign that saw them finish fifth.
The 22-year-old Daniels compiled 267 points this season, the fifth most in the league.
Clinical with the boot but also dangerous with ball in hand, the South African grew in confidence as the season progressed.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on June 1.
