After a fantastic result last Cardiff Doncaster Knights are now top of their British and Irish Cup pool and 7 in the RFU Championship.  After another outstanding result at Bedford  The Knights now don’t have to worry about being in the relegation zone but want to finish the season on a high, as their current form has shown they are capable of. This Wednesday things get even tougher with a game against Bristol Rugby.

The Knights are one of the 2 teams to beat Bristol this season, with Exeter being the other. Exeter couldn’t manage to do the double over Bristol but they did manage to beat them at the Memorial Stadium, so the Knights have the distinction of being the only team to beat Bristol away from home this season in normal league action.

Just 4 days after playing Bedford and only a week after playing the Bees, the Knights travel to the Memorial Stadium in Bristol. It’s a place where the Knights fans will have watched many top players play for and against Bristol in the Premiership and the Heineken Cup last season on Sky. In the 2007/08 Heineken Cup, Bristol nilled Stade Francais at the Memorial Stadium and in both of their losses; the Harlequins only amassed a total of 10 points. At the end of the 2001-02 season Bristol reached the Premiership final, after ending the season with more bonus points than any other team.

Bristol top the Championship, still with a game in hand and they are favourites to bounce back up to the Premiership although Exeter Chiefs might have something to say about that! They have only been beaten twice, winning 18 league games over the season; they have the best defence in the league (Knights have the 2nd best) and have scored the second highest amount of points after Exeter. They have scored the most tries in the Championship (2 off double that of the Knights).

As mentioned, Bristol’s 2 losses this season have been away to the Knights and at home to the Chiefs, over both defeats Bristol were only beaten by a total of 13 points. These defeats were early in the season, last October but since then Bristol have ‘got into their stride’. Bristol have already avenged their defeat by Exeter and so will want to exact revenge on the knights. Bristol have scored 12 try bonus points in 20 games, scoring 75 tries (ave. nearly 4/game). The Knights have averaged scoring 2/game. Unfortunately for the Knights, Bristol have scored over 55% of their tries at the Memorial Stadium. Try scoring is fairly evenly high throughout the match with a slight increase in the 2nd quarter. Bristol wingers are their most prolific try scorers, scoring twice as many as the front row or back row, who are both equal 2nd. In fact the Knights only better Bristol on the number of penalty tries awarded to them.

Unsurprisingly given those stats, Daniel Norton (Bristol’s wing) is the equal 2nd best try scorer in the Championship, Tom Arscott (also wing) is only 2 tries behind. Jack Adams (centre) and James Phillips (No.8) have both scored half a dozen. Bristol’s fly half, Adrian Jarvis (ex-Harlequin) is the Championship’s 2nd top points scorer, only 4 behind Exeter’s Gareth Steenson in top-lace. Jarvis averages scoring 8.5 points/game.

As eluded to, Bristol have only had on average more than 1 try scored against them half a dozen times over their 20 games and better news for the Knighs, about 57% of these tries were scored at the Memorial Stadium. 42% are scored in the last quarter. Forwards have only scored 5 tries against Bristol and they haven’t had any penalty tries awarded against them (the only other team to have no penalty tries awarded against them are the Knights.) Given the few forwards tries scored against Bristol, just over 80% of tries scored against them have been by backs. The spread amonst the backs is quite even except the a back has only scored 3. This might indicate that although Bristol’s defence is very strong, perhaps their forwards dominate their back’s defence and if tries are going to be scored, shipping out to the backs to either break the defensive line or wingers to go around it, especially in the last quarter have historically been the best opportunities. Defensively the Knights have to be in a similar form as they were against Bedford and watch out predominantly for Bristol’s wingers, centres, front row and back row.

Although being top is now not a prerequisite for promotion every team wants the distinction of being the best in the division over all games, it also helps to sell tickets and sponsorship.... Neither team NEED to win to either finish top or not be in the relegation play-offs (both teams have a game in hand). Winning would certainly help each team’s aim and there is pride and prestige at stake.