Good afternoon and again welcome to the Richmond Athletic Ground for our second home game of the 2019/20 season, as London Scottish welcome Nottingham for Round 2 of the Championship Cup. I will take this opportunity to welcome the officials, travelling Nottingham supporters and of course the London Scottish faithful this afternoon.
Last weekend the boys put in a physical and confident display against Cornish Pirates and we kick started this season’s campaign with a good win against good opposition!
Last year we first faced Nottingham in an away fixture in September, in which they played some great rugby in the first half and had the game won by half time. We were able to get some points on the board late on to finish the game ten points adrift 29-19.
In the reverse fixture at the RAG in January this year we conceded an early try, but otherwise controlled the game quite comfortably in what was a good team effort to win 31-10. The key players for us on the day were the back row and the outside backs, notably Charlie Ingall who was returning from injury.
I understand that we’ve made a few changes in our team from last Saturday. Some of the players who were on the bench are starting this week, whilst others are featuring for the first time this season. This will stimulate greater competition within the squad.
After this weekend’s game, we will play our final Cup game against Yorkshire Carnegie on Friday, October 4th, before heading into the Greene King IPA Championship with a match against Newcastle Falcons, who join us from the Premiership.
I hope everyone in attendance enjoys their time at the RAG, not only this afternoon but also over the course of this new 2019/20 season. Bring your friends and family and join the London Scottish clan in the stands and on the terraces, supporting our Exiles out on the pitch.