Mark Regan: Bristol Rugby places still up for grabs
By Clifton People | Friday, March 12, 2010, 07:00
Bristol's trip to Moseley tomorrow for their final match of the regular Championship season is an interesting one for many reasons.
Some players' names will be written in ink for the first play-off match against Cornish Pirates next Friday, while others' will be in pencil.
I would say the front row, back row and centres are the main positions up for grabs – so this game tomorrow is the final trial for quite a few players.
Some players will not be able to change Paul Hull's mind at this stage, whereas others will, and it makes for an intriguing game.
Also, Moseley still have plenty at stake – which will be exactly what Bristol wanted going into the last weekend of the regular season.
Moseley could still find themselves in either the promotion play-offs or the relegation version, so I expect Bristol to pick a strong team out of respect to the competition.
But Moseley's position underlines the craziness of the Championship. Here they are, ninth in the table with one game to go, yet they could still either be relegated or promoted. It is a situation that would not happen in any other league – or any other sport.
This is a huge game for Moseley, an absolutely massive game – and that will make them dangerous opponents for Bristol.
For Bristol, there is still a long way to go, although I fully expect them to reach the final. We might, however, see them tweak the way they play a little bit.
I would not be at all surprised if they became a little more reserved over the next few weeks and started taking the three points rather than always kicking to the corner.
It is all about winning at this stage – and Bristol are getting to the stage where they may have to kick the odd penalty to stay ahead in games, especially as Adrian Jarvis now has his kicking boots on.
Overall, Bristol are in good shape. With the exception of a couple of niggling injuries, all of their key men are available and they will approach the next phase of the season full of confidence.
I didn't manage to get off the bench to make my Clifton debut last weekend – I wasn't needed!
Still, it was great to see the boys beat Lydney – the first time the club have ever done the double over Lydney in a season. We are at Barking tomorrow.
Up at Murrayfield, England take on Scotland in what has become a hugely significant game for both nations.
Scotland have had a disastrous Six Nations so far, but they usually win at least one game – and often it is against England.
England have not played well and I am pretty disgusted they have decided to play Joe Worsley instead of Lewis Moody. It shows they are going up there to play a massively defensive game in what will be the clash of the two biggest frowns in rugby – Andy Robinson and Martin Johnson.
Instead of Worsley and Louis Deacon, I would love to have seen Steffon Armitage and Courtney Lawes given a go. The World Cup is coming up in 18 months and we are simply not blooding the exciting young talent that is coming through.
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