Purdy: Welsh are ready to meet Scottish fire in the Battle of the Exiles (From Your Local Guardian)

Purdy: Welsh are ready to meet Scotttish fire in the Battle of the Exiles

1:32pm Friday 17th February 2012 in Rugby Union By Damian Dolan

London Welsh lock Martin Purdy knows what to expect from neighbours London Scottish, but he is confident his side have what it takes to win the Battle of the Exiles part two.

The two teams go head-to-head at the Athletic Ground on Sunday, with Scottish out to avenge a 24-14 defeat to fellow strugglers Esher last weekend, which Welsh spent kicking their heels due to the freezing conditions.

Head coach Lyn Jones’ men needed a last-minute kick from Gordon Ross to claim an 18-16 win the last time the two teams met at Old Deer Park earlier in the season.

Both outfits have beefed up their squads in recent weeks for their respective Championship promotion and relegation play-off campaigns.

Welsh, who struggled in the scrums against the Scots, captured Leo Halavatau, Adrian Duncan, Nick Scott and Sam Egerton last week, and Purdy is confident Jones’s men will meet fire with fire as they step up preparations for an assault on promotion to the top flight.

“They will throw everything at us but, with a bit of luck, the scrum will go better than last time,” said Purdy.

“We’ve worked on it a lot since then and we’ve had quite a few good scrummaging performances. I think our scrum’s got a lot better in general, so hopefully we’ll be able to at least gain parity there.

“Around the rest of the park, our game has come on since then. I don’t know how much better they’ve got but I’m sure they’ve improved as well, so it should be an interesting game.”

Welsh saw Saturday’s visit of Doncaster Knights, originally scheduled for February 4, postponed less than an hour before kick-off due to the freezing weather.

And Purdy, pictured right, insisted that only benefited the Welsh.

“It’s been a bit frustrating, getting your kit on and getting ready for a game, and then it not happening at the last second, but then again I can completely understand not playing it,” he added.

“It’s been a little difficult to get the training in, but it’s given us the chance to do a bit more conditioning.”

After Scottish on Sunday, Welsh then play host to Leeds Carnegie and still have the visit of Doncaster to fit into their schedule before the play-offs, hence they will be looking to gain some momentum.

“If we’re not playing well by the play-offs, we’re not going to win,” said Purdy.

“We need to make sure we get a roll on in these three games, so each game is as important as the next.

“You have to be playing well each week.”