Hull relinquishes Saxons post

Paul Hull has stepped down from his role as Assistant Coach to the England Saxons.
Hull took up the post of Assistant Coach, working alongside Head Coach Stuart Lancaster, in January 2009.

Together Lancaster and Hull guided the Saxons to a 66-0 victory against Portugal in the 2009 Six Nations before travelling to Denver for the Churchill Cup, beating Argentina Jaguars (28-20) and USA (56-17) on the way to the final where they lost out to Ireland A.

After arriving home from the USA, Hull returned to Bristol Rugby to resume his new position as Head Coach after the departure of Richard Hill in February 2009.

Explaining his departure from the Saxons, Hull said, "I gave a lot of thought to the decision to leave the Saxons set-up. I met with Stuart and we went over the schedules for both Bristol and the Saxons and it became apparent that my time would be spread too thinly."

"When I took up the role in the Saxons I was Assistant Coach at Bristol and was able to combine the two roles without it affecting one another. However, now as Head Coach, the job is significantly more demanding and I want to give it my full attention. I'm dedicated to Bristol Rugby and our campaign to achieve promotion."

"I also have a young family, and recently learnt that we have another addition on the way. Obviously your family always comes first and with my commitment to Bristol Rugby, both myself and Stuart decided that it would be logical for me to step down from the Saxons."

"I would however like to thank Stuart and the coaching team at England Saxons for inviting me to the position at the beginning of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Saxons coaches' and players' and my time with them has provided invaluable experience as I continue my development as a coach and I wish them all the best in their next campaign."

Said Lancaster, "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Paul for his contribution to the Saxons last season. The management and the players' valued his contribution both on and off the field and wish him and Bristol well for the rest of the season."

An announcement regarding a new Assistant Coach for the England Saxons will be made in due course.

(Source: RFU.com)

Delaney to coach Baa-baas

NOTTINGHAM'S director of rugby Glenn Delaney will coach the Barbarians for the second time in the annual Remembrance Match against the Combined Services at the Army Rugby Stadium in Aldershot on November 11 (7.15pm).

New Zealander Delaney took charge of the Barbarians for the first time for their victory over a Bedford Blues XV in last season's Mobbs Memorial Match and he will coach a squad containing players from seven different countries.

Coventry winger James Lewis will make Barbarians' history when, along with his identical twin Robert, they become the first twins to represent the famous invitation side.

The Lewis twins also become the third generation of their family to have an involvement with the Barbarians. Their father Steve, former chief executive of the Welsh RU, played for the Barbarians against Leicester 30 years ago. Their grand-father Ernie, who played for Abertillery, was a touch judge for the Barbarians famous meeting with New Zealand in 1973.

The Lewis twins will be making their first appearance for the Barbarians along with Coventry prop Rob Dugard and Nottingham hooker Tom Youngs, who is on loan from Leicester.

Nottingham captain Craig Hammond, who played two games on trial for Leicester over the weekend, returns to Barbarians colours but club-mate Ben Johnston, the former England centre, misses out because of injury.

The Combined Services squad includes three players who have recently seen active service in Afghanistan - scrum-half Ian Martin, prop Melvin Lewis and replacement lock Chris Scarf.

Combined Services coach Andy Price, a warrant officer in the Welsh Guards, has also just returned from a six months tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Barbarians squad v Combined Services:
Backs -
Craig Morgan (Cardiff & Wales),* David Slemen (Esher),
Simon Webster (Edinburgh & Scotland), *James Lewis (Coventry),
Tal Selley (Tonmawr & Wales), *Frankie Neale (London Scottish), Richard McCarter (City of Derry), *David Blair (Edinburgh),
*Chris Pilgrim (Newcastle Falcons), *Robert Lewis (London Welsh)

Forwards -
*Ryan Grant (Edinburgh), *Rob Dugard (Coventry)
Danny Porte (Plymouth Albion), *Tom Youngs (Nottingham)
Chris Ritchie (Rosslyn Park), *Tim Schumacher (Leidsche & Netherlands), *Steven Turnbull (Edinburgh)
Henry Head (Richmond), John Dalziel (Melrose),
*Sean-Michael Stephen (Plymouth Albion & Canada)
*Rhys Shellard (Cardiff), Craig Hammond (Nottingham).

* indicates new Barbarian

(Source: RFU.com)

Earnshaw blames scrum for Knights setback

Bees player/coach Russell Earnshaw has blamed his team’s weekend defeat at Doncaster on a faltering scrum.

Earnshaw told the Birmingham Post, “ We moved the ball well, our lineout was good and defensively we were pretty solid. We created a number of opportunities, took one but unfortunately not more.

“But we really struggled in the scrum, if we’d had parity in that area it would have been an entirely different game.”

Earnshaw also claimed he was confused by the decision to award two penalty tries against his side.

Full story.. www.birminghammail.net/

Carlisle thanks Cov for game time

Coventry`s on-loan fly-half Joey Carlisle has spoken of his delight at getting regular first-team game time since his move to the Butts Park Arena.

The 21 year-old Worcester Warriors play maker has been unfazed by the disappointing results of the Midlanders since his move. He told the Coventry Telegraph, “It’s good to get some game time. I have learned a lot off [backs coach] Tommy Hayes already.”

“It’s about gaining confidence and form because I missed the first seven or eight weeks of the season. I thank Coventry for allowing me to play and I am getting better game by game.”

“I have been told I am here for a few weeks and if my form picks up a bit I will be back in the mix at Worcester.”

Full story.. www.coventrytelegraph.net

Usasz earns Eagles call-up

Nottingham scrum-half Tim Usasz has been called up by the USA for their tricky two-leg World Cup qualification play-off against Uruguay next month.

The 26 year-old featured in Churchill Cup action for the Eagles during the summer as well as the World Cup qualifiers against Canada which the Canucks won.

He told the Evening Post,

“We've got another shot this month against Uruguay, who we have to beat if we want to be involved in New Zealand. I think it'll be a tough couple of games but I'm really looking forward to it because it will be really good to catch up with the boys and play a bit of rugby out there.

"We play both home and away so I won't be back here until the end of November so will miss out on the Bristol and Heriots games over the next couple of weeks. I will be back in action for the British and Irish Cup game against Neath on November 29.

It's not ideal to be unavailable for big games like Bristol but it's a huge honour to go out and represent your country."

Full story.. www.thisisnottingham.co.uk

Steeno ready for Pirates challenge

Exeter Chiefs fly-half Gareth Steenson is relishing Saturday`s derby at Sandy Park against his former club, the Cornish Pirates.

The 25 year-old Irishman has notched 117 points in ten league outings to date and told the Western Morning News,

“It is always nice when you play against your old club and it is going to be a great game – a big local derby. I have seen what it is like on both sides, so I know how they are going to feel coming into the game.”

"It is going to be a big game for them, but equally it is just as big a game for us. We want to put in a good performance on our own patch, and if we can get the result we want, we will have put in a big statement for the rest of the season."

He continued, “We have got ourselves into a great position. We have taken the scalp of three top-four sides in the division, all away from home, so there is confidence around the boys, but there is still a lot we can improve on, and a lot of work to be done."

Full story.. www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk

Mensah-Coker key to Moseley revival

Moseley skipper Neil Mason has praised the efforts of wing Justin Mensah-Coker after the Canadian’s impressive start to the new season.

Mensah-Coker, who moved to Billesley Common from Plymouth Albion in the summer, has operated as an auxiliary forward as Moseley have recovered from a poor start to the season.

Mason told the Birmingham Mail,

“ As well as doing well out wide he gained some real hard yards in the tight. As a forward to see him coming off his wing and taking the ball up is brilliant. It takes so much pressure off you as a pack, you have to love wingers that do that.”

“He is coming into his own. He is going to be a prolific player in this division. I don’t think him coming inside is going to hurt his strike-rate at all. It’s going to open up spaces out wide and he’ll be back in position to finish them off as well as create.”

Full story.. www.birminghammail.net