Battle of London - Part One

Article by Gary Jordan

One of the highlights of the Brit Ball calendar returns this Sunday, and as the two sides take the field it will arguably be the one game that all eyes turn to when looking for results come Sunday night.

Yes, it’s the first outing of the London Warriors and London Blitz.

This meeting of the Leagues perennial front runners will set a marker down for the rest of the season, of course they will face off again at least once more, and unless there is a changing of the guard somewhere between now and the first weekend of September they will more than likely square off again for a third time in the Brit Bowl.

Recent history suggest that the Warriors go into the game as favourites. And why not as they have beaten their rivals in the last two finals and last suffered a regular season loss to them back in 2011. It is also being played in the Warriors home patch, so do the Blitz have a chance?

 

Both have played in Europe this season, The Blitz have qualified to the Final Four of the Champions League, which they are due to play next month. The British Champion Warriors had a tough outing in Austria just a couple of weeks ago in which they lost to one of Europe’s elite club sides, despite a slow start in that game they showed the form that has brought them respect as back-to-back British titles.

There’s no doubt that this is the top rivalry in the league at present and all other teams aim to break their monopoly of the top two places, some will like their chances this year. The North has seen last year’s challengers East Kilbride slip up twice so far this year which could see them miss out at a chance to knock off the Londoners, so hopes now fall on Tamworth and Lancashire. Do they have enough to topple these giants? Only time will tell.

Back to this Sundays game though, the Streatham and Croydon Rugby ground is the venue with kick off at 2.30pm, and in an interview online in the Islington Gazette on June 17^th, Blitz chairman Ed Morgan went on record saying that this game is more important than Euro glory next month.

“We always look at Europe as something extra to the domestic stuff. It doesn’t mean anything to us winning a European title if we can’t be British Champions.” he told reporter Ben Kosky. “We don’t have that personal rivalry when we play against French and Spanish sides.”

Morgan is Blitz through and through having played eight seasons on the team, and was on the team that won its last title back in 2012, “A lot depends on the mentality and who starts the best. I feel we probably respect them more than they respect us.”

 

Of course the number one seed in the Premier South will not be decided on this one game alone, yes it is fairly certain that these two teams will come out of the Premier South, who goes through as the top team will not be known until the final weekend of the season when the two play again in the reverse fixture at Finsbury Park. Should the teams split the series it will come down to the point’s difference in their games.

“It’s just the game that stops you travelling during the playoffs…as it also helps keep the costs down” Warriors Vernon Kay told us. When pressed on how much it means to get one over their old rivals again Kay responded, “After Austria it’s not important…we just want to get better.”

So with the stage set and the majority keeping an eye out for the score as it develops through the afternoon, we can only hope the game lives up to its top billing.