Sports

Hartpury Confident of Championship Survival

Hartpury currently sit 10th in the Greene King IPA Championship table and are confident that they have done enough to avoid dropping out the league, despite not yet being mathematically safe.

With Hartpury sitting 25 points clear of last placed Rotherham Titans with 6 games remaining, they could confirm their survival on March 3rd if they secure a win against London Scottish and better the Titan’s result against Ealing Trailfinders.

However, with six games and 30 points remaining, if both teams lose without a bonus point on March 3rd, Hartpury will still have a 25 point lead with the same amount of games remaining.

If the Titans finish with more points than the Gloucestershire side that weekend, the relegation battle will continue for another week.

Hartpury director of rugby, John Barnes, told Gloucestershire Live: “Once we beat Nottingham, despite not being mathematically safe, we thought we had done enough.

“You’ve got to look at the games that Rotherham have got to play, and fair play they nearly got a result [against Bedford Blues] at the weekend, with Bristol and Ealing coming up they’ve got a tough run in.

“Without being mathematically safe, we’re pretty happy with being in this league next year.

 “It is about building our game for the last six weeks with better weather, try move ourselves up the table and finish as high as we can.”
His side, which won the National League One trophy last year to gain promotion, face London Scottish at home at 2.30pm on Saturday March 3rd.
On his team’s rivals the Titans, Barnes added:“We will never say never and I am always one to err on the side of caution with that. But 25 points, for a team that has only won one game all year, is massive ask. Effectively if they don’t win, 25 points with five to go will be too much. We’re planning for being in the Championship next year.”