Rugby Union round-up: Poor weather a blessing in disguise for under-strength Sheffield RUFC

Sheffield Tigers RUFC 1st XV head coach Thiu Barnard

Sheffield RUFC had to call off their game against bottom of the table Burnage due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Abbeydale side were billed to play one of the two games they hold in hand over the teams above them in the league. The cancellation is now their third since the new year.

Wins for Wirral and Hull mean that Sheffield slip to fifth in the National League Three North, just one point behind fourth with a game in hand.

The only silver lining to the postponement is that Sheffield would have been dealing with a player selection crisis for the game due to player unavailability - which will likely not be an issue for the replay.

Sheffield travel north to mid-table Ilkey in a bid to recapture their winning form in their next match on Saturday.

No match took place in Steel City on Saturday as the Sheffield Tigers were given the weekend off having no matches to be replayed.

The Tigers hold an impressive nine point lead at the top of the table - whittled down from a commanding 14 points by a win for second placed Wirral.

Thiu Barnard, Tigers’ coach, said: “I am not bothered by Wirral winning, we have to lose three games for them to go past us and I can not see that happening.

“They would also have to go unbeaten so we are not worried, we are just going to look after ourselves.”

The Dore Moor side will be out for revenge when they host third placed Firwood Waterloo on Saturday, the team that ended a six game winning streak for the Tigers at the start of the season.

Barnard said: “It could be a tricky game if we do not play well, the conditions have not been the best to train in but we’ll have to do the best we can with the situation we are in.

“We have to just look after ourselves, stick to what we do and hope it all comes together.

“When we lost to Waterloo earlier in the season it was because we conceded an 82nd minute try.

“I thought we were the better team on the day and we will be hoping to rectify the defeat this weekend.”