Leeds aiming to pip Bristol for final place in Championship play-offs

The battle for the final place in the RFU Championship’s promotion play-offs has come down to a straight shootout between Leeds Carnegie and Bristol.
Chris WalkerChris Walker
Chris Walker

Leeds, winners of the inaugural Yorkshire Regiment Trophy on Sunday when they defeated Rotherham Titans, may be outside the top four at present but they are in the box seat.

The Headingley club trail Bristol by two points with 15 points up for grabs from their remaining three fixtures. By contrast, the West Country club have played a game more and can only claim a maximum of 10 points, but perhaps more significantly, their final game is away to unbeaten runaway leaders Newcastle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The club that will be managed by former England Andy Robinson next season also has to go to in-form London Scottish.

Leeds’ run-in is no shoo-in, with a trip to Bedford to come and a final game at home to Nottingham – the teams in third and second – and before then their game in hand on Friday night at lowly Moseley.

On paper, it is the easier set of the fixtures, but despite the permutations of the play-off race, Leeds’ back-row forward Chris Walker knows it would be churlish to look too far ahead.

“The Moseley game is going to be really tough for us,” said the 21-year-old from Keighley.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s a notoriously tough place to go and they’ve had some good results of late, we need to take each game as it comes.

“It’s important to put in a good performance because if you put in an average performance against anyone in this league then you will get punished, as we found out when we played Doncaster earlier in the season – we weren’t firing and got beaten.”

Leeds have failed to win on both the previous occasions this season when they have had a five-day turnaround between games, but Walker believes that pattern will not be continued on Friday.

“The short turnaround hasn’t got anything to do with it,” he said. “We prepare the same for every game and if we prepare correctly we’ll come out with the right result.”