BUCS fixtures released for 2015/16 season

18 weeks ago Leeds Beckett held the Championship Trophy aloft under the lights at Twickenham as they celebrated the BUCS league and cup double.

The final was a fitting way to round off a brilliant 2014/15 BUCS rugby season and now it is nearly time for all the drama and tension to be unleashed once again.

The fixtures for 2015/16 campaign have just been announced and we are expecting another thrilling five months of university rugby. Here is Talking Rugby Union's early look at some of our featured teams in the country.

Premier North A

Leeds Beckett will start the defence of their title down the road against Leeds University on October 7th.

For the majority of last season, Beckett were the best side in the country and proved that with a stunning comeback in last year's final against Loughborough.

Their pool of talent wasn't bad either. The boot of Will Cargill and the shear-power of Sam Rodman stood out for the majority of the season but overall, they were a superb side.

They lost just twice all season and after retaining the league last year, it’s hard to bet against Beckett doing the same thing this campaign.

Loughborough were the only team to beat Leeds Beckett, but couldn't make it three in a row on the big stage at Twickenham.

Their strong end to the 2014/15 season saw them finish second for the third consecutive year so the team from Leicestershire will be hoping that they can go one step further this season. Loughborough begin their campaign away at Durham.

Durham will be hoping to put the second half of last season behind them as they slipped to a third placed finish after a positive beginning. They lost their last three games of the campaign which ended any hope of a first league title for three years.

This season will be Newcastle University's 10th consecutive campaign in the top flight of university men's rugby and they will want to have a great landmark season. They picked up six wins from 12 games last year and won their final three matches to end the campaign in fifth place. The North-East outfit take on their neighbours Northumbria on the opening day.

The University of Leeds are still a Premier North A side after they came through a play-off against Bishop Burton at the end of March. Having secured their status, they will be hoping for a much better season this time around. Leeds won just two league games last year, so we expect them to have another tough season.

Key Fixtures: 

Oct 07 2015: Leeds University v Leeds Beckett

Oct 07 2015: Northumbria v Newcastle

Oct 07 2015: Durham v Loughborough

Oct 21 2015:  Leeds Beckett v Loughborough

Oct 28 2015: Durham v Leeds Beckett

Nov 18 2015: Durham v Newcastle

Premier South A

Hearts were broken in the South at the end of last season as none of the top four teams from Premier South A reached the Championship Trophy Final.

After clinching the title on the final day of last season, Exeter were dispatched by Loughborough at the semi-final stage despite the Southern Champions winning 11 of their 12 domestic games. It was their first league title for over 10 years so they will not be letting go of it easily this season. The champions host Cardiff Met on the opening day.

Exeter were up against Hartpury for the title on the final day, but with Exeter winning, Hartpury had to settle for second place. They still made the Championship Trophy finals and were on course to retain the crown, but were halted by Leeds Beckett in the last four. There is no doubt they will be one of the favourites to appear at Twickenham in March 2016 and their road to the home of English rugby begins away at Bath.

As for Bath, it really was a tale of two halves for them last season. They ended the season in fourth place in this division having won six and lost six games. They started the year in promising fashion but unfortunately they couldn’t maintain it. They reached the Championship Trophy finals and showed what they were capable of in the quarter-finals v Leeds Beckett, but it wasn't enough for them to progress.

Key Fixtures:

07 Oct 2015: Bath v Hartpury

21 Oct 2015: Bath v Exeter

04 Nov 2015: Exeter v Hartpury

Premier North B

Bishop Burton could not win promotion to Premier North A after their defeat to Leeds University in the play-off so they will be pitting their wits against the likes of Nottingham Trent University and Manchester University once again.

Trent went into last season has holders of Premier North B, but had a disappointing end to 2014/15 as they lost three of their last four matches. That scuppered any chance they had of retaining their title and it all meant that they finished in fifth place and 11 points off champions Bishop Burton. 

Trent did reach the semi-finals of the cup last season, but I am sure that the piece of silverware they want to be lifting in February 2016 is the league crown. Trent start the new campaign away at Worcester. 

Manchester University just about beat the drop as they finished three points clear of the relegation zone last time out. It was a struggle at times for Manchester, but they showed they can beat the best with a vital win over Bishop Burton in the run in. They travel to Durham 2nds for their opener.

Key Fixtures:

14 Oct 15: Nottingham Trent v Bishop Burton

21 Oct 15: Bishop Burton v Manchester

02 Dec 15: Nottingham Trent v Manchester

Northern 1A

It’s fair to say that the University of Liverpool were always going to be second best last year as Sheffield University romped to the Northern 1A title. 

Liverpool finished a mammoth 21 points behind Sheffield, but the Yorkshire side were beaten by Loughborough 2nds in the Premier North B playoff. It means the Mereysiders will be going up against Sheffield for the title once again and they will take pride in the fact they were the only side to beat Sheffield last season.

Talking Rugby Union features a number of teams but the only side to have a 100 per cent domestic record last season was Manchester Met. They won all 10 of their league matches and won Northern 2A by 14 points. 

Obviously, this meant they were promoted to Northern 1A for the first time since 2012/13. They finished bottom two years ago and they will not want a repeat of that this season. Their first fixture back in Northern 1A is against champions Sheffield away from home before hosting Liverpool the week after.

Key Fixtures

07 Oct 2015: Sheffield v Manchester Met

14 Oct 2015 Manchester Met v Liverpool

11 Nov 2015: Sheffield v Liverpool

03 February 2016: Liverpool v Sheffield.

Northern 2A

With Manchester Met clinching the title, Keele had to settle for the runners up spot whilst UCLan secured third place. They finished last season strongly with three wins in their last five and they also ended a run of one win in 20 away matches during the campaign. UCLan start the season against Edge Hill.

Edge Hill, will want to forget about the 2014/15 season as they won just one of their last seven matches in the campaign. They were also knocked out of the cup at the quarter-final stage. Edge Hill were very much mid table last season and will be aiming to mix it with Keele and UCLan at the top of Northern 2A this year.

Key Fixtures

14 Oct 2015: Edge Hill v UCLan

21 Oct 2015: Keele v Edge Hill

28 Oct 2015: UCLan v Keele

Midlands 2A
Nottingham Trent 2nds finished in the silver medal position in Midlands 2A as they ended last season 11 points behind  champions Coventry 1sts. Coventry won promotion, so Trent are going into this campaign as favourites. They take on rivals Nottingham 4ths on the opening day.