Rugby / Statbunker News

Leeds Carnegie

 

·         Leeds Carnegie win promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt just like they did three seasons ago after a five year stint in the top league in English rugby

·         With 28 wins and just two defeats they finish with 10 points more than when they won the title three years ago

·         They took 20 try bonus points which was the same as the Chiefs

·         Argentine fly half Alberto Di Bernardo was again the top points scorer with 211 which was an improvement on last season’s 127

·         He kicked 64 conversions which was the most in the division but eight short of the club record set by Richard LeBas back in 2000/01

·         They also had another player reach 100 points, Jason Strange with 118 which included 40 conversions 

·         In the try scoring stakes full back Leigh Hinton led the way with 15 which the same as Richard Welding scored when they last won the National One title three seasons ago when he finish top try scorer       

·         Hinton has now scored 426 points for the club in three seasons in 64 starts and three matches as a replacement 

·         Hinton holds the unique record off having scored 300 points in a season for three different clubs, Orrell, Bedford Blues and Leeds Carnegie  

·         Just behind Hinton was winger Tom Biggs with 13, Biggs had been their top try scorer in their last two Premiership campaigns when they were relegated with seven and eight tries respectively 

·         Biggs is now the all time top try scorer for Leeds Carnegie in league rugby with 39 tries passing the previous record of 29 set by Sateki Tuipulotu, his tries have come from 73 starts and 10 matches as a replacement  

 

 

Exeter Chiefs

·         Exeter Chiefs were again runners up in National One some 14 points behind the Champions and have been runners up in three of the last five seasons 

·         They collected 20 try bonus points which was the same as Champions Leeds Carnegie and three losing bonus points in their five defeats

·         They topped 1000 league points in a season for the first time finishing with 1077 which beat their previous best of 940 back in 2002/03

·         Gareth Steenson led the scoring with 228 in his first season at the club, which the third highest total in the division he has now had three different clubs in three seasons and has notched up 779 points from 67 starts and 17 matches as a replacement playing for Rotherham, Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs    

·         The battle to finish leading try scorer was a close one with three players battling it out and in the end two of them, Sean Marsden and Matthew Jess, finished joint top with 16, one more than Paul McKenzie – last season Jess was leading scorer for Launceston with 17 in this division   

·         All time leading scorer Tony Yapp ended up playing late in the season and added 20 points to his points tally moving on to 1526   

·         No 8 Richard Baxter made the most starts with 27, whilst Flanker Tom Johnson and fly half Steenson played in 27 matches

·         Prop Chris Budgen was the only player in his position to score a hat trick of tries during the season

 

Bedford Blues

 

·         Bedford Blues finished in third place some points behind runners up Exeter Chiefs and improved three places on last season and their best finish since being runners up in the 2005/06 season

·         Canadian International full back James Pritchard topped the points scoring list for a third successive season and the fifth time in eight years with his 216 points and took his all time Bedford record to 1306 and his League total to 1566 having also scored points for Northampton Saints and Plymouth Albion and averages over 10 points a game with 144 appearances including 139 starts 

·         He took Andy Finnie’s record for career penalties moving onto 205 two more than Finnie’s old record 

·         In the try scoring stakes fly half William Twelvetrees led the way with 18 which also the joint most in the division, and was a new Bedford Blues record for a season, one more than Ben Whetstone scored in 1996/97 

·         Twelvetrees started most matches, 28 two more than flanker Gregor Gillanders Gillanders did though come on in the other four matches and took part in all 30 league matches   

·         In matches against the other top four sides they managed two wins and slipped to four defeats, but one of the wins was against the Champions, Leeds Carnegie      

·         Their 64-0 away win at Sedgley Park was their record biggest away win beating the 60 point win at Fylde back in December 1997

·         They finished the season with 10 successive wins after losing at Exeter Chiefs in early January 

 

 

Nottingham

·         They dropped from third last season to fourth this season collecting 10 points less than last season

·         They did though score over 150 points more and had a better defensive record 

·         Full back/wing David Jackson led the way with both points and ties with 261 and 18 respectively

·         Only Doncaster’s Jamie Lennard scored more points and he finished joint top try scorer with Bedford’s William Twelvetrees 

·         Jackson moved passed 600 league points for the club and finished the season with 622 and that is second on the all time list behind Richard Southam’s 651

·         Jackson is now the all time leading try scorer for the club in the league with 59, 10 more than Richard Lloyd’s record 

·         Fly half Tim Taylor was also in the top ten points scorers in the division with 176 which included a club record 29 points in a match in the home win over Otley and was made up of a try nine conversions and two penalty goals and was four points more than the previous record held by Guy Gregory going back to 1993

·         The nine conversions equalled the club record held by Gregory   

·         They set a new club record for highest score and biggest win with the 95-5 win over Otley in early March       

·         Had a nine match winning run early season which was a new club record beating the previous record by one 

 

Doncaster Knights

·         Doncaster dropped a place from last season to fifth although with 105 points they had seven more than last season scoring over 100 points more but conceding 20 more

·         Jamie Lennard top scored for the club, and the division, with 298 points after his move from Rotherham Titans, just failing to become the third Knights player to score 300 points in a league season after the Liley brothers  

·         In the try scoring stakes winger Wes Brown led the way with 13 tries which was the same as Donovan van Vuuren scored last season but way off the club record of 25     

·         Davies took his tally to 30 tries in 66 starts over the last three seasons

·         Prop Ngazu Tau took his club record for appearances to 127 plus 18 as a replacement 

·         Second row Glen Kenworthy started the most matches, 29 and came on as a replacement in the other and has started 58 of the clubs last 60 league matches  

·         Winger van Vuuren set a new club record for appearances by a back as he moved onto 95, five more than the previous record held by Chris Conway

·         In matches against the top four sides they did well with three wins and a draw to go with four defeats

 

London Welsh

 

·         The Welsh finished in sixth place their best finish since they were fifth in the 2002/03 season and improved one place on last season

·         They took six losing bonus points in their 11 defeats which was the second most in the division 

·         Full back Mark Harris topped scored with 180 points, 22 more than Aled Thomas

·         Full back/wing Paul Sampson was top try scorer for the Welsh for the second successive season with 14, three more than he managed last season, it was the best return since Matt Vines scored 17 back in 2000/01 for the club     

·         In matches against the top four sides in the division they managed just one win and seven defeats with the win coming at Bedford Blues 

·         They did well on the road and had the fourth best record away from home with 10 wins and five defeats, which was one win more than they managed at Old Deer Park  

·         Sampson started the most matches for the Welsh with 29 out of 30, three more than any other player, back rower Tom Brown and prop Paul Doran Jones

 

 

 

Cornish Pirates

·         The Pirates dropped two places to seventh in the table which was their worst finish in the division since they were 10^th six seasons ago in their first season in National One 

·         They finished nine points behind sixth placed London Scottish and nine points clear of eighth placed Moseley  

·         Rhys Jones topped scored with 178 points including a division high five drop goals in his first full season of league rugby having previously played for Sale Sharks and Cardiff

·         Blues  

·         He dropped three goals in the match against Plymouth Albion which was a club record with no Pirates player scoring more than one in a match previously and his five for the season was also a club record 

·         Full back Marika Vakacegu was the leading try scorer with 13 tries two more than winger Brian Tuohy

·         Second row Ben Gulliver started the most matches 28 and came off the bench in the other two to appear in all 30 league games, the only player to do so 

·         In matches against the top four they were beaten seven times and their only win was away at Bedford 26-6  

·         Struggled at home and ended the season with a losing record, seven wins and eight defeats whilst on the road they had the fifth best record with nine wins and a draw to go with five defeats  

 

Moseley

 

·         Moseley finished eighth in the table a two place improvement on last season, their best finish in the division since they were seventh back in 1999/00

·         They took 13 try bonus points which was the sixth highest in the division

·         They also took the most losing bonus points in the division, eight in their 17 defeats

·         Their 814 points was their highest ever in a league season 

·         Tristan Roberts top scored for the club with 135 which was eight more than Richard Vasey  

·         Ollie Thomas extends his all time club record to 1084 points and improved his record for conversions and penalties to 165 and 218 respectively 

·         Centre Andy Reay started most matches, 28, one more than prop Nathan Williams who took part in 28 matches coming on as a replacement in another game       

·         But it was scrum half Gareth Taylor who took part in the most matches starting 24 and coming on in five more for a total of 29 appearances 

·         Back Andy Binns increased his club record for appearances to 247 plus 12 as a replacement

·         Second row Richard Stott extended his club record for appearances by a forward to 157 plus 25 as a replacement 

·         In the try scoring No 8 James Rodwell led the way with 17 which was only one off finishing leading scorer in the division and they came in just 21 starts 

·         Wing Nathan Bressington took his all time club record for tries to 60 with nine more

·         Second row Ali Muldowney scored five tries and they were all away from home 

·         Set a new record for most points in a home league match with 51 against Sedgley Park in mid March which was one better than the previous best 

·         They also set a new record for points in an away match when beating Manchester 50-21, a four point improvement on their previous best 

·         They equalled their biggest ever away win in the Manchester game of 29 points which they had previously achieved away at Wakefield back in 1997