Monday 5 December 2011

Portsmouth Destroyers 20 vs 3 OBU Panthers

Written by Chris Richards

PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE – An offseason of change for the Portsmouth Destroyers who lost so many of their 2010 Championship standouts but still pulled out a somewhat flattering 17 point victory here. Gone is the sterile, commercial mien of the Roko as the Destroyers offseason relocation three miles down the road to its Langstone Campus has led to a more collegiate atmosphere for its home fixtures.


Purists would argue this is BUAFL (and BUSA) sport at its finest with fans and fellow students strolling over from concluded intramural fixtures to lend their vocal support on a cold December day. The only people missing from the spectacle were the whistle brandishing men in zebra stripes as no referees were assigned to this clash of previously unbeaten teams. The three volunteers standing in as officials did remarkably well and it was to both Portsmouth and OBU’s credit that the match was played with a well-tempered spirit and both sets of coaches showed patience to the makeshift officiating crew. However volunteer referees lack the clarity and authority of their more qualified BAFRA counterparts and the use of neon hi-vis jackets as penalty flags sadly does a disservice to the sport at an aesthetic level.


Week 5 BUAFL Rankings 1-10

We take a look at the teams we consider to be the top 10 teams in the country at the moment in the second half of our power rankings. Despite all teams remaining unbeaten, we still see a small shuffle after this weekend’s fixtures.

1. Hertfordshire Hurricanes (4-0)

If there’s a university team in the country better than Herts I’ll eat my hat. The ‘Canes extend their run of scoring 50+ points to four straight games with a 54-6 win over LSBU this weekend. A matchup against the unbeaten Essex Blades will show if Herts are worthy of this ranking or just a bunch of hype, we expect them to still be sitting here next weekend.

2. Birmingham Lions (4-0)

With a 69-0 victory over the Staffordshire Stallions, the Lions move to the top spot of the MAC Conference, but more importantly move up to the number 2 spot in the Dbl Coverage rankings. Birmingham now have a long break to prepare for the Lincoln Colonials before two straight games against Derby and Loughborough which will define the outcome of the MAC.

Week 5 BUAFL Rankings 11-20

With a couple of big divisional matchups, we find the rankings altering once again as we just completed the penultimate week of the 2011 fixtures.

11. Cardiff Cobras (2-0)

Cardiff find themselves rising this week even though they were on another bye. With three of the teams above them in last week’s rankings losing, the Cobras now sit atop the lower half of our top 20 and a win next week could see the Cobras rising again.

12. UH Sharks (3-1)

The Sharks drop down three places after a tough loss to Hallam this weekend. With Huddersfield next up, let’s hope Hull recover in time to go into the Christmas break sitting at 4-1 and continue to stay in contention for the Championship playoffs.

NFL Daily Digest: News and Rumour

There is a ton of news after a cracking weekend of NFL action over the weekend. Lot's of injuries, a few upsets, depending on if you believe the in the Cowboys in December and a fantastic game in the New Meadowlands where two very good QB's went at it!











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