Bristol v Moseley

Bristol skipper Jason Spice has spoken of how the standards they set in the second half at Camborne last Sunday must become a benchmark for the rest of the season.

Four tries in 23 minutes after the break turned a tense match into a comfortable victory for the West Country side and Spice, who joined the club in the summer from Cardiff Blues, told the Evening News how that came about.

He said, "In the first half, we probably could have held on to the ball a bit better – but the conditions were a lot tougher than our coaching staff probably gave us credit for.”

"But after half-time we were clinical – and it was probably overdue. We are trying to play an attractive brand of rugby – but at the same time we are trying to play a winning brand of rugby.”

Looking ahead to the challenge posed by Moseley tonight for former New Zealand All Black added, “We have been guilty of throwing a lot of ball away this season – but in that second half in Cornwall we were holding onto it and going that extra phase.”

"The fact we were then scoring off those plays has certainly made the players more aware of what we can do – it's as if evidence has been presented to them.

"If we can put that together for the whole game, then I don't think there will be too many teams who will be able to hang in there against us."

Full story.. www.thisisbristol.co.uk/bristolrugby

Evening Post analysis of Moseley… www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Moseley

Moseley will face two heroes of their Twickenham EDF National Trophy triumph last May as centre Jack Adams and wing Dan Norton prepare to line up for Bristol tonight.

Bristol team.. www.bristolrugby.co.uk/

Meanwhile the Billesley Common side hope to give Henry Trinder his first start oif the season with an outside chance that James Rodwell could also return.

Full story..www.birminghampost.net

Coventry v Nottingham

A severe bout of sickness and diahorrea in the home camp threatens to wreck Coventry`s preparations for tonight`s fixture against Nottingham at the Butta Park Arena.

The Midlanders have had up to 13 players and staff affected by the virus this week and director of rugby Phil Maynard told the Evening Telegraph,

“Things started on Saturday and then on Sunday and Monday it got really bad. As a result it’s been a quiet week and we have not been able to prepare as well as we would have liked.”

He continued, “ Having lost three players before kick off in Cornwall then conceded three tries against Moseley and now with two-thirds of our squad with dysentery we can at least comfort ourselves our bad luck must be at an end.”

Maynard has delayed naming his team for tonight but one player definitely missing will be fly-half George Crook. He has been recalled by Worcester Warriors to play in the Amlin Challenge Cup against Madrid.

Full story.. www.coventrytelegraph.net

Nottingham director of rugby Glen Delaney has his sights firmly set on his team topping the table tonight if they beat Coventry.

The Green and Whites are only three points behind first-placed Exeter and Delaney is determined for his team to beat opponents who usually prove problematical for his side.

He told the Evening Post, “Coventry away is always a tough game. We know how hard it is to win there. They are always a problem, they are a feisty group of players and at home are a particularly tough team to beat.”

"We've won a couple of games down there in the last couple of years. We know it will be difficult and if we go there halfway complacent expecting things to happen, then they just won't happen.”

"You've got to work incredibly hard and we've done that in the last couple of years so we are just focusing on being efficient, being direct in the right parts of the field looking for opportunities to win."

With hooker Tom Youngs recalled by Leicester Tigers to warm the bench against Viadana, Adam Rostron comes into the team.

Lock Ian Nimmo will be out until Christmas after breaking a fibula in training this week.

Full story.. www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/rugby

Birmingham & Solihull v Exeter Chiefs

On paper this should be a routine five-pointer for the Chiefs at Sharmans Cross Road but Bees centre Cameron Mitchell is un-fazed by tomorrow`s opponents.

He told the Birmingham Post, “Exeter are nothing special. Their matches are a war of attrition and if you make mistakes they punish you for it.”

“That’s been the biggest difference, if we conceded a try last year we always backed ourselves to out-score the opposition. This year you have to be clinical in defence and attack.”

With the Bees having less than two weeks to find a solution to their massive financial woes, local lad Mitchell took a swipe at those players who have left the club in their hour of need.

He said, “You have got two different types of people in rugby, mercenaries who are only in it for the money and who migrate from club to club.

And then you have got other people who play for the love of it. I consider myself to be in the latter category.

I will be here until the bitter end with Bees.”

Player/Coach Russell Earnshaw misses the match through injury whilst former Coventry utility back Ronnie McLean is likely to start at centre. Simon Hunt will play at full-back and Chris Brightwell is likely to feature in the back row after a recent trial with Gloucester.

Full story.. www.birminghampost.net

Bees Team.. www.beesrugby.com

Exeter Chiefs Head Coach Rob Baxter has made thirteen changes from his squad from last weekend for the trip to the Midlands. As the Chiefs continue to avoid the crippling injuries plaguing so many other clubs Baxter had quashed any suggestions that his team rotation policy borders on arrogance.

He told the Western Morning News,

“I am very aware that we have probably written Birmingham's team talk for them. I am also aware that some people may think because we've made all these changes, it's us being arrogant and not taking the game seriously.

"My opinion is we have set ourselves various targets over the first six weeks of the season and we are very much on course with all of them. Perhaps one of the things that we haven't quite managed to do is share the game time around as much as I would have liked.

"So far we have relied on quite a strong core of the squad to get us through most of the fixtures. Of course it would have been easy to carry on picking the same 22 week in, week out, but the season is not about that.”

Full story and Chiefs team.. www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk

London Welsh v Cornish Pirates

Match preview can be found here.. www.cornish-pirates.com

London Welsh will be without skipper Jon Mills for tomorrow`s clash at Old Deer park but welsome back former Ospreys and Sale Sharks back row Nathan Bonner-Evans.

Bonner-Evans has been out since the start of the season with a foot injury but two succesful outings on loan to Blackheath have convinced head coach Danny Wilson that the time is right to throw his experienced forward back into the fray.

Of last weekend`s narrow loss at Sandy Park Wilson told Rugby Times,

“We won a hell of a lot of ball and I was very pleased with our set-piece, but we didn`t execute our plays well enough in the wide channels and put far too much ball on the floor.”

Plymouth Albion v Doncaster Knights

The winless Knights travel to Brickfields looking to build on their first point of the campaign, earned during last Saturday`s narrow 17-14 home loss to Coventry.

The Knights have thirteen players currently sidelined with injury including fly-half James Brooks whose hip injury will keep him out for three weeks. Centre Chris Briers is suspended following his red card against Nottingham but head coach Lyn Howells is remaining positive.

He told the Doncaster Free Press,

“We'll go there and have a real go. We played a lot better than we have been playing against Coventry and if we go into our shells on Saturday then we'll take a backwards step.”

"We've got to go there and play positive rugby. It's not an easy place to go - we've only won there once. But it's a game the boys are really looking forward to - despite the start we've had.

"Everybody is just desperate to get that first win. Perhaps playing away from home there'll be a little less pressure on the boys. When you play at home everybody expects you to win and that's what we've built up at Castle Park over the last two years.”

Full story.. www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk

Albion chairman of rugby told The Herald what he thought of the likely challenge from Doncaster (before he heard their early team news!).

He said,

“ They haven't made a good start, but you shouldn't take much notice of that or the league table. They haven't been beaten by much in any of their defeats. They pushed Exeter really close in a match which was lost by a penalty late in the game.

"I can't say too much about their performances this season because I have only seen them once at Exeter. But they played well that day – they looked pretty good. A lot depends on James Brooks, their number 10. He is a key player for them – he really pulls the strings."

Full story.. www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/albion/

Albion team news.. www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk

Rotherham Titans v Bedford Blues

The Titans are aiming to bounce back from their seven-try thrashing at Nottingham by bringing Bedford down to earth at Clifton Lane.

Coach Craig West hinted that he has made several changes to his squad including a recall for former Cornish Pirates centre Nick Buckley.

He told the Sheffield Star, "I am sure we are good enough to beat Bedford at home if we are fully committed.”

"The number of mistakes we made at Nottingham was unacceptable, as was the number of missed tackles, which led to five tries by them. What we have to do is to make sure we get the ball to the ball-carriers and then we can go forward."

Full story.. www.thestar.co.uk/rugbyunion

The Titans have also announced that former Argentina Under-20 prop Mauro Sperandio has joined the club on a one month trial.

Bedford Blues are the latest Championship side to be blighted by injuries. Flanker Sacha Harding broke a bone in his arm against the Bees last week and joins a casualty list including Gregor Gillanders (fracture), Brendan Burke (knee), Marco Cecere (shoulder), Mike Guess (ankle) and Mike Howard (back).