Catch-up on last week’s article here, this week we’re looking at the second half of the teams.
Doncaster Knights - Grade: C
Last Season: 8th
It was an underwhelming season for the Knights last year who never quite got going. However, a strong end to the season gave them hope running into this year even as they move to a semi-professional structure.
Doncaster were pillaged in the off-season. They lost Joe Margetts, Russell Bennett, Rhys Tait, and Conor Davidson who were all in the top ten by minutes played but all are now gone. They’ve also lost hooker Ben Chapman who wasn’t in the top ten by minutes played but had the most minutes for a hooker. And Connor Edwards who had the 12th most minutes but was second among centres. That is a lot of talent out the door and so the recruitment job has been full-on.
Doncaster have done a good job of replacing the departing experience with arriving experience. In the prop department they add Cambridge starter Jake Ellwood on the loosehead side and Paul Masoe, Cambridge’s back-up tighthead, on the other side. Hooker Ben Sugars arrives from the MLR with a great try-scoring record and he will be ably supported by Nathan Langdon, brother of Curtis, who has had good moments in limited game time for both Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks. Bailey Ransom made 23 starts in the backrow for London Scottish last year, centre/winger Harry Yates made 15 for Cornish Pirates, and Tololima Savaiinaea had eight for Richmond in the centres. All eyes will be on Kieran Wilkinson who arrives from Caldy with a boatload of experience.
Doncaster are probably weaker than they were last year. Their shift to a semi-pro set-up is also not necessarily conducive to an improved performance. However, this is some serious recruitment and if they can finish the puzzle with some hefty second rows they will be close to competing at the top.
Ealing Trailfinders - Grade: A
Last Season: 1st League Phase
Last year was exceptional until the final seconds of their semi-final when Worcester Warriors pulled off a remarkable result. Ealing have seemingly limitless cash and don’t seem to have any issues being the biggest fish in a smaller pond. This year they’ll be expecting more of the same and their recruitment says that’s a distinct possibility.
Ealing’s success last year has seen Prem teams circling and prop Lefty Zigaridis and lock Josh Taylor (Northampton) and lock Josh Caulfield and fullback Tobi Wilson (Bristol) have moved on. Jordan Holgate, who played the second most minutes in the centres, is also gone. Few teams could withstand that level of departure but Ealing are a rare beast.
Sam Grahamslaw is coming in from Bristol with a bunch of replacement appearances last year. Mikey Summerfield will push him for starting time as he arrives from Bath with a handful of Worcester matches last year. Jarrod Taylor arrives in the backrow after 19 appearances for the Scarlets last year. Perhaps the biggest of the 16 new arrivals is Fyn Brown who comes down from Bedford Blues. He was exceptional as they made the run to the finals and his arrival also weakens Bedford.
Ealing have a big headstart over their opposition and there’s nothing to suggest that lead has been trimmed heading into this season. However, everyone wants to beat them and they had a number of close calls before Worcester stole their lunch in the semi-finals.
Hartpury - Grade: D
Last Season: 6th
It was an up and down season for Hartpury last year which ultimately ended in a narrow loss to Coventry in the play-offs. The good news is that the off-season hasn’t been busy and Hartpury are more or less the same team as last year. Unfortunately, the three players they’ve lost are significant.
The players moving on are Jono Benz-Salomon, Ethan Hunt, and Oscar Lennon. Benz-Salomon was the starting tight-head last time around but he is going east to Coventry, the team they lost to in the play-offs. Hunt was a regularly used back-up hooker and he will also be going to Coventry and taking the seven tries he scored last year with him. Lennon is going to the MLR after half a season starting for Hartpury. He may be back for the first half of this season but Hartpury could do with some stability at half back.
The arrivals are coming with an eye on the future. Oli Smith and Harrison James arrive from Cardiff Met and Cardiff Uni respectively. James has experience at fly-half for Wales U20s and featured once there for Gloucester last year but he doesn’t have a huge history to point to. The third arrival is Rhys Price from Gloucester. The scrum-half comes in for a position of need but it’s worth noting he played 12 times for Hartpury last season anyway so he’s not necessarily an upgrade from what they had.
This is an off-season of stability but Hartpury are less strong than they were. Tight heads are head to come by and Hartpury have seen theirs walk out the door to a division rival.
Nottingham - Grade: D
Last Season: 9th
This has undoubtedly been a brutal off-season for Nottingham who have seen some key starters leave for rivals and limited recruitment. Unless there is more to come, the Archers might find themselves in a relegation fight.
James Cherry was outrageously good last year and that wasn’t lost on Worcester who have bought him in to strengthen their back row. Cherry had the second most minutes for the club last year. The fifth most minutes went to centre Kegan Christian-Goss who is head to Blackheath as part of their astonishing recruitment. Sixth most is hooker Jack Dickinson who is joining Cherry at the Warriors. He scored 11 tries in his 25 starts. Starting prop Oscar Stott is also gone, this time to Ealing to join their stacked ranks. Nottingham are seeing five others leave but those four are significant losses.
Matty Ward comes in from Cornish Pirates. The winger scored 11 tries last year and is an exciting prospect if Nottingham can get the ball to him. Keep your eyes on ex-Fijian U20s backrower Simon Koroiyadi. He comes from Mogliano in the Italian first divison. The level isn’t the highest but he’s also featured for Benetton Treviso and Leicester Tigers. He’ll be looking to reaffirm his early promise. Morgan Adderly-Jones comes in from Coventry, the centre was the starter for them last year and proved to be a handful.
The loss of James Cherry is the most significant, he was the emotional heart of this side. But, if Nottingham can add a couple more players and their new arrivals can gel it’s not all bad news but it’s hard to see how they’ll improve next year.
Richmond - Grade: C-
Last Season: 12th
Richmond had a rough season but it ended in delight as they put away hated rivals London Scottish in the relegation play-off. Things are different this year though, new arrivals Rotherham and Blackheath have recruited well and it’s hard to see how Richmond will escape that bottom of the table fight.
The big losses are lock George Nugent who heads north to Ampthill and centres Ronnie Du Randt to Blackheath and Tololima Savaiinaea to Doncaster. Nugent was a true starter whereas Du Randt and Savaiinaea played plenty and will be hard to replace. Richmond were able to keep hold of most of their starters however.
Austin Hay arrives from London Scottish to add front row depth. The rest of their recruitment largely consists of unknown prospects from lower in the leagues and abroad. Richmond could’ve hit on some gems and I always appreciate recruitment like this but we’re not talking about known performers.
Richmond’s recruitment by itself isn’t the issue. They are probably only marginally worse than they were last year. The problem is that the rest of the bottom of the league looks like they’ve got a lot better. It could be a challenger year for the west Londoners.
Rotherham - Grade: B
Last Season: National One Winners
Rotherham come into the league on a high but this off-season has seen their National One rivals Blackheath surge ahead. Rotherham’s recruitment sees them maintain the team that led them to promotion with a couple of enhancements.
Zac Nearchou brings loosehead experience from Cambridge. He only played five games last year but 25 in the two seasons before that. He should move straight into the starting spot. Another man who should slip straight in as a start is fly-half Russell Bennett who comes over from Doncaster where he was the starter. His move will add even more spice to the new Yorkshire derby. Tom Threlfall also comes in from Leicester Tigers. He was a regular in their Premiership Rugby Cup squad and should go in as fullback.
While Rotherham have added more depth, the success of their off-season will largely rely on how quickly Bennett steps in and whether Threlfall and he can form a 10/15 axis. Both Rotherham and Blackheath should be aiming high for their first seasons in the new look Champ.
Worcester Warriors - Grade: A
Last Season: Champions
For long chunks of last year Worcester were poor but once they got into the play-offs they got stronger and stronger and delivered the performance of the season in the final. Worcester created a squad entirely from scratch last off-season so this time around should be a walk in the park.
Worcester have seen players head to the Prem and Top14 thanks in part to the quality of the team they assembled. They have also seen significant retirements though their new arrivals make them younger and potentially more punchy. Tim Hoyt is off to Lyon in the Top14. The Fijian prop had an interesting season which improved markedly once it was announced he’d be off though he was seen off against Bedford in the first of their three head to heads. In Ash Challenger they have a very talented player ready to step into a starting role. Powerful lock Obinna Nkwocha is off to the Exeter Chiefs. He is a young talent but he didn’t feature all that regularly for the Warriors last year. Thabo Ndimande is also off back to South Africa. He was the leading jackaler in the league but he didn’t start in any of the last ten matches. His impact will be missed however but the Warriors have options they can call on. Where they may struggle is with the retirement of Lloyd Williams who was such a core part of this team both on and off the pitch. He is almost irreplaceable. Matt Rogerson is also retiring. He struggled with injuries last season and didn’t play as regularly as he would wish but he was excellent when he was on the pitch.
Hoyt’s incoming replacement is Joe Jones who arrives from Harlequins after starting last season with Doncaster. Tightheads are at a premium at the moment and Worcester have done well to add someone with experience who was almost certainly courted by Prem teams have starting three times for Quins. Jack Dickinson and James Cherry arrive from Nottingham and they will look to immediately push for starting spots. Cherry was a star in the league and looks a natural replacement for Ndimande. Tom Savage arrives from Moana Pasifika. The 37 year old lock doesn’t have much tread left on the tyres but he has ridiculous experience and Worcester have a well stocked second row so he won’t need to play every match. He is joined by John Hawkins who comes from Newcastle. He didn’t play much last season but was a Prem regular the season before. Finishing the job is Charlie Chapman who comes in as Lloyd Williams’ replacement. He didn’t start much last year for Exeter Chiefs but he was constantly in the squad and brings experience as well at 27.
Worcester have seen a lot of changes this off-season but they are arguably a better team this time around. They are younger and better set for the future. They will also have their sights set on a better regular season to keep growing the gate they get at the impressive Sixways. The ambition has to be elevation to the Prem and a successful season and another title would go a long way to getting there.
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