London Scottish sit 13th in the Champ after 14 games, but with two wins in their last three games the tide has started to turn in the favour of the Exiles. Wins against Doncaster and old rival Richmond kick started the season before the break, however, a defeat to Nottingham on the road last Friday night gave a reality check.
A reaction is therefore needed as Cambridge travel to the RAG this Saturday buoyed by a draw against full professional Doncaster and eyeing up a win that would cut the gap between them and the Exiles.
We sat down with Head Coach Joe Gray and front row forward Osman Dimen to discuss the season so far and the challenge of Cambridge this weekend.
“Last Friday night hurt a lot, we trained really well all week but just didn’t put that practice into a performance. We were great for forty minutes, defended brilliantly and took our chances well but the tide turned against us second half and we could get out of our own third it seemed.
There are plenty of fix ups this weekend, we weren’t that far away but just need to tweak a few bits and pieces and we’ll be there. We know Cambridge are going to bring a lot of energy to this one, they are coming off the back of a big performance and will target this one so we have to match that and be as desperate if not more for the win.”
Osman Dimen joined London Scottish this summer having spent the last year playing professional rugby back in France. A desire to come back to his home city of London and play for London Scottish lured him back across the boarder.
When Osman played his first home game this season, that was the first time he was able to represent a Club at home in his home city of London, a proud moment for him and his family, and he has gone onto impress greatly in the opening half of the season, being involved in all but two games so far and racking up nearly 700 minutes of rugby so far.
“Representing a team that is London based is important to me and it’s meant a lot, it’s been great. I’ve been enjoying the fact that I get to stay in London and play. I’ve played in the Champ before so I get to go back to all the old stomping grounds.
The Club has great players, great coaches and I’ve got to play a lot and get lot of minutes so I can’t complain.”
Reflecting on the trip to Nottingham last Friday, Osman shared his take on the game.
I thought we were great first half, defended brilliantly and got in with a lead. We then let it slip and that’s sometimes tough to manage. Credit to Nottingham they played a great second forty and put us under a lot of pressure, but we need to learn as a team how to cope with that pressure and come out the other side of it.”
This weekend’s visit of Cambridge poses a lot of challenges. They have the most post contact metres of any team in the league this season, showing that London Scottish will have to be on their metal in the tackle area and be dominant in the collisions to be successful.
Last round Cambridge were also great at winning turnovers which breaks the game up for their exciting brand of rugby. Scottish will have to be disciplined and measured in that area to make sure they keep control of the ball and therefore the game.
It promises to be a really exciting one at the RAG this Saturday, make sure to get down and get your tickets below.
