Kieran pleased to watch his youthful side powering on
WITH a late change in the club’s coaching staff and a youthful squad, the wheels could have come off at Rosslyn Park this season, but Kieran Power’s side look set to win the competitive battle for third place in National One.
Director of rugby Power sees this season’s third tier as ‘enthralling’ like most, with the division dividing into three mini leagues.
Rosslyn Park secured five wins on the spin to put some breathing space between themselves and fourth place, until their formidable run came to a close away at Cinderford last weekend with a 29-28 loss.
Nevertheless, Power is delighted with how his troops have performed in what could have been a tumultuous campaign.
Power told The Rugby Paper: “We are pleased as the season could have gone wrong with us being a new team and coaching staff. Danny Ward was the head coach and he left to go back into Super League in the middle of August, so there were a few disruptions with that. We also lost Steve Walsh, our head of conditioning in November.
“So the coaching group had to get tighter with a young playing squad and we’ve grown really pleasingly over the course of the year. We’ve even surprised our own supporters with how we’ve played.
“Cinderford is notoriously a difficult place to go. They are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table, and it’s a great club to go to with a great crowd and strong rugby culture. The sheer desire from Cinderford got them that win, otherwise we’d be looking at six in a row.”
Winger Charlie Walker has been the standout in the statistics with 19 tries scored, but Power is full of praise for numerous players who have stepped up this season, starting with skipper Arthur Ellis, right.
He said: “I think you can
always rely on your stalwarts; Arthur taking over the captaincy has really shone and grown with that through the season, Matt Bolwell, another back row, has been an ever present figure, but also Jasper Cameron came in at hooker this year and has played a pivotal role within the squad. Tom Stanton, Matt Gordon and Luc Smith in the backline have been the nucleus of our squad for the year, performing really well.”
Seen by many as the most exciting league in English rugby due to its jeopardy at the top and bottom of the table, Power says each side has had to be cautious going into any encounter, as if you’re off your game an upset is often on the cards.
He added: “There’s been three leagues within one. Top spot has been going on for a while between Chinnor and Rams, two teams that would be well geared to go into the Championship.
“There’s been a race for the third spot between ourselves, Birmingham, Plymouth, Richmond. But there’s also been a race at the bottom end which has been going on throughout, with some great clubs involved like Cinderford, Bishop’s Stortford, Leicester Lions and Taunton.
“Three leagues have been carved out since the middle of November which has made it more interesting for people to watch. We’ve played some great games against our third-place rivals and have got Plymouth in our final game that we eagerly anticipate after a close game earlier in the season. There’s only been one or two landslides because the competition has been so good.”