English Championship Preview
It’s another huge Saturday of English Championship rugby. Here, The Rugby Paper looks ahead to some thrilling ties in the second division of English rugby.
Ampthill v Cornish Pirates – 13:30
Second placed Cornish Pirates travel to ninth place Ampthill looking to put pressure on table toppers Ealing Trailfinders. Pirates comfortably defeated Doncaster Knights 29-7 last Sunday.
Ampthill will be looking to bounce back from their 54-17 hammering by Ealing last Saturday.
The hosts will also be providing a live stream of the match on their club website, so you don’t miss any of the action!
Doncaster Knights v Nottingham – 14:30
Second bottom Nottingham will make the trip up the M1 to face fourth placed Doncaster. Prior to defeat in Cornwall last time out, Doncaster had won five games in a row – which included beating table toppers Ealing Trailfinders and third placed Jersey Reds.
Nottingham’s fixture with Jersey Reds last Friday night had to be postponed following four positive Covid-19 cases in the East Midlands outfit. In their last outing two weeks ago, the East Midlander’s were comfortably beaten by Bedford Blues.
Bedford Blues v London Scottish – 15:00
Bedford Blues host bottom of the table London Scottish hoping to get back to winning ways following last Saturday’s one point defeat to Coventry. The Blues currently sit sixth in a congested mid table.
London Scottish did not play last weekend due to the odd number of teams in the Championship. However, last time out – Scottish won their first game of the season by defeating Coventry 36-23. Prior to that, they were in wretched form, losing their first eight games. Scottish currently sit seven points adrift of second bottom Nottingham.
Jersey Reds v Coventry – 15:00
Third placed Jersey Reds host seventh place Nottingham. Fresh from a week off due to Nottingham’s covid outbreak, the Channel islanders will be looking to pile the pressure back on Cornish Pirates and Ealing Trailfinders.
Coventry narrowly edged past Bedford Blues by one-point last Saturday. Coventry’s ill-discipline led to four players being sin binned during the 80 minutes. Director of Rugby Rowland Winter praised the “Cov Dog” character of his team in the slender victory.
Richmond v Ealing Trailfinders – 15:00
Table toppers Ealing travel to Richmond for an all-West London affair. Ealing will look to extend their lead at the top with Cornish Pirates breathing down their neck. The Trailfinders first half blitz resulted in a 54-17 battering of Ampthill last time out.
Eighth placed Richmond were comfortably defeated by Hartpury 38-20 last time out. Despite being winless in four, victory of the table toppers would be heck of a scalp for Richmond who will be wanting to kick start their season again.
This Sunday, The Rugby Paper will have exclusive match reports and reactions to Saturday’s Championship action.
Here’s the Championship table heading into Saturday’s fixtures:
