London Welsh and Cornish Pirates to play Championship Final – Rugby News Update
The Championship, first tier of club rugby in England, is reaching the end of its season, with the London Welsh club and Cornish Pirates side claiming a place in the final. The two-legged final will be played on May 23 and May 30.
The result of this match will not only determine who wins the Championship but will also have a bearing on the Newcastle Falcon teams, who finished bottom of the Aviva Premiership, the top tier of English rugby.
The Aviva Premiership has strict minimum standards a team has to adhere too before they can be promoted to the top tier. Bristol was the only team that met the minimum criteria but they lost the two-legged semi-final to the Cornish Pirates, leaving them
to fight another year to earn promotion.
The Pirates have not put themselves forward for an entry audit, meaning that even if they win the final they still stay in the Championship, but that is not the case with London Welsh. The Exiles are hoping that they can be promoted if they win the final,
and they have put forward a case with the Rugby Football Union, to allow the team entry into the Premiership.
They have been in talks and are looking at stadium sharing with other clubs that will give them the leverage to meet the requirements. The grounds under consideration for sharing are the Stoop, the home of the Harlequins, Brentford FC's Griffin Park and
Oxford United FC's Kassam Stadium. They still have one last hurdle to overcome, winning the final.
Both the teams lost their second leg semi-finals but in spite of that, qualified for the final. The London Welsh were playing Bedford Blues, defeating their opponents 30-27. They won the first leg 13-3 but lost the second 24-17.
The Cornish Pirates won their first leg of the semi-final by a thumping 45-24 victory but in the return leg they were defeated 29-18, giving them an aggregate victory of 63-53.
Both teams will be gunning to win the first leg of the final, to take a healthy lead into the second leg, with one hand on the trophy.
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