Play off picture becoming clearer

With Leeds Carnegie and Doncaster failing to register a league point in their respective games at Nottingham and London Welsh on Wednesday afternoon, it means the Knights are now guaranteed eighth place in the final table as they are five points behind Leeds but Carnegie have won three more games than Doncaster.

Leeds Carnegie travel to London Welsh on Saturday knowing that if they secure two points and Rotherham gain nothing from their home match against London Scottish they could finish in sixth spot and leapfrog their Yorkshire rival. However, should the Titans secure a win they will finish in sixth place at least and could rise to fifth with a four try win combined with Nottingham gaining nothing from their game at Bedford. If Nottingham, secure a single point, their superior points difference will mean they will likely finish in fifth.

London Welsh will be keen to get a win against Leeds Carnegie to try and finish in the top three. The Exiles are currently in fourth behind leaders Bristol, who can not be caught, and Bedford and Cornish Pirates, who both have 69 points. The Pirates entertain Moseley whilst Bedford host Nottingham. If they both win, Welsh will finish in fourth regardless of their result against Leeds Carnegie.

The play offs see two pools of four made up of teams from the top eight. The pools are divided up into the teams that finish in 1st, 4th, 5th and 8th in Pool A whilst Pool B is made up of 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th. Teams are rewarded for finishing higher up the table with points to start the pool stage, with the top two getting three points, third and fourth getting two points, fifth and sixth getting one point each and seventh and eighth starting the pool stage on zero points. If the table was to remain the same as at present, the pools would be as follows:

Pool A
1 Bristol Rugby 3
4 London Welsh 2
5 Nottingham 1
8 Doncaster Knights 0

Pool B
2 Bedford Blues 3
3 Cornish Pirates 2
6 Rotherham Titans 1
7 Leeds Carnegie 0

If these pools were correct, Leeds Carnegie's play off schedule would be as follows, please note that dates and kick off times will only be confirmed once the final round of games has been completed:

Pool B
Rd 1 09-11 Mar
Leeds Carnegie v Bedford Blues
Cornish Pirates v Rotherham Titans

Rd 2 16-18 Mar
Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates
Rotherham Titans v Leeds Carnegie

Rd 3 23-25 Mar
Cornish Pirates v Leeds Carnegie
Rotherham Titans v Bedford Blues

Rd 3R 30 Mar-1 Apr
Bedford Blues v Rotherham Titans
Leeds Carnegie v Cornish Pirates

Rd 2R 13-15 Apr
Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues
Leeds Carnegie v Rotherham Titans

Rd 1R 21-Apr
Bedford Blues v Leeds Carnegie
Rotherham Titans v Cornish Pirates