Caldy hoping for double joy in the Midlands

Current league leaders Caldy will certainly be focused on extending their advantage at the top of National Two North this weekend when they take on South Leicester, but they will also be eager to see what occurs six miles away.

Second placed Sale FC are level on points with Caldy heading into Round Eight and they travel to South Leicester’s neighbours Leicester Lions this weekend, hoping to keep the pressure on the table toppers.

Unbeaten Sedgley Park may also have one eye on proceedings in the Midlands as they travel to an in-form Sheffield Tigers side while Stourbridge will be aiming to return to winning ways when they welcome Wharfedale to Stourton Park.

Towards the other end of the table, the six of the bottom seven sides all go head-to-head this weekend searching for victories which could become a turning point in their season.

South Leicester v Caldy

South Leicester’s start to the National Two North season has been very mixed after seven games. Paul Westgate’s team have won two, drawn one and lost four of their matches this campaign and as a result, South sit eighth in the table at this early stage of the term. However, considering they were flirting with relegation for large chunks of last season and recruited heavily in the summer, South maybe satisfied with the start they have made.

South head into this game with Caldy without a win in their last three matches which comes after back to back victories over Harrogate and Sale FC.  It may not be surprising to hear that South’s record at home reads: Played 3, Won 1, Drawn 1 and Lost 1 so they will be hoping to improve on that in the Midlands this weekend. 

After a defeat to Sedgley Park on the opening day of the National Two North season, Caldy have found some recent form and confidence is certainly high at Paton Fields. They head to South Leicester as the form side in the division having won their last six matches meaning the Wirral outfit currently sit top of the division as things stand.

Caldy have been clinical of late and are once again back on the road this Saturday. This will be their sixth away game of the season but Caldy will feel capable of getting another positive result on their travels considering they have won four of their five away matches thus far. Simon Verbickas’ men are only top on points difference so a win here could give them some breathing space at the summit.

Leicester Lions v Sale FC

Leicester Lions have had another strong start to the National Two North season. Wins at Westleigh Park over Tynedale, Stourbridge and Scunthorpe were certainly positive results for the Lions, but a rare home defeat to the Luctonians and a shock defeat to Harrogate last weekend does leave Andy Key’s men playing catch-up at this early stage.

The Lions will be pleased to be currently sitting fourth in the table, five points off the top two places, but they will be desperate to get a reaction following their loss to Harrogate six days ago. A victory over Sale FC would see Leicester go level on points with the Manchester-based club and with them being at home this weekend (where they have lost just two of their last 19 games,) the Lions will certainly fancy their chances of doing just that.

I am not sure many people would have expected Sale FC to be joint of top of National Two North at this stage of the season, but Jonathan Keep’s men are continuing to impress as the weeks go by. Last Saturday’s narrow win over Stourbridge could arguably have been Sale’s biggest victory of the season as it sent out a message that six wins from their first seven matches isn’t a fluke.

With that record in mind, Sale currently sit level on points with Caldy and this trip to the Midlands will be another test of how far the Manchester outfit can go this season. On their last visit to this part of the country, they came unstuck against South Leicester so Sale will want to avoid a repeat of that result as they look to once again signal their intentions this weekend.

Sheffield Tigers v Sedgley Park

Sheffield Tigers made a shaky start to life in National Two North at the beginning of this season. The Yorkshire outfit were promoted from National Three North after being crowned champions in May and it appeared in the first couple of weeks of the term that the Tigers were just struggling to find their feet at this level after one win from their first four matches.

Since then however, the men from Dore Moor have shown shoots of recovering as they have won two of their last three matches with those victories coming against Harrogate and Wharfedale in their last National Two North fixture. Sheffield currently occupy ninth spot in the league and with confidence high following this short spell of form, they will be aiming to upset the odds when they welcome Sedgley Park tomorrow.

Sedgley Park have started the season in typical fashion. Dean Schofield and his players tasted bitter disappointed in the last campaign by losing in the National Two play-off to the Old Albanian and subsequently missing out on a place in National One for yet another term. Although they have been close to moving up into the third tier of English rugby over the last couple of years, Sedge look like they can take the extra step this time around.

The men from Park Lane are the only side still without a defeat to their name in National Two North after five wins from their first seven matches. Sedge would have been pleased to end a run of two consecutive draws last weekend when Jonny Matthews’ five tries helped them thump the Luctonians and with spirits seemingly high, they will be confident of maintaining their unbeaten start to the season this Saturday.

Stourbridge v Wharfedale

Stourbridge are hoping for another positive season in National Two North after a pretty strong term last year. Stour got this campaign off to an excellent start by winning their first four games of the season, picking up victories over South Leicester and the Luctonians along the way.

After losing for the first time away to Leicester Lions in Round Five, Neil Mitchell’s men recovered by edging out Harrogate, but then followed that up with a narrow defeat against Sale FC six days ago. Stour now sit fifth in the table and six points off the top spots at this early stage so they’ll be hoping to bounce back from two losses in their last three matches in the best possible way this weekend.

Wharfedale’s start to the season has been the complete opposite of Stourbridge’s. Dale suffered a huge amount of injuries in pre-season following relegation from National One and those absentees have been highlighted by their results. The Skipton-based side have lost five of their seven games so far meaning they currently occupy one of the three relegations places at this early stage of the campaign.

Victories have been seldom for James Doherty’s side, but when they have arrived, they have both come at home which makes their trip to Stourton Park much tougher than it already is. Stour have won all four of their matches in front of their own supporters thus far and have lost just four of their last 19 games on their own patch. This will be a huge ask for Wharfedale, but they will be keen to upset the applecart.

Luctonians v Chester

The Luctonians have made a positive start to the season under the guidance of Alex Davidson. The Lucts had kicked off the campaign in decent form winning three of their first four matches, including a win away at Leicester Lions, before hitting a patchy run of results heading into this clash with Chester.

The Herefordshire side have won just one of their three matches in October and will be itching to get their season back on track especially after being thrashed last week by Sedgley Park. The Lucts occupy seventh place in the table as things stand and know a win this weekend would see them leapfrog Chester back into the top six.

Chester have turned their fortunes around in the last few weeks. The men from Hare Lane had been nowhere near their best at the start of the season as they lost back to back fixtures and the same problems that plagued them last year looked as though they were coming back to the haunt them.

However, four wins in their last five games has seen the Cheshire club recover impressively as they currently sit sixth in the table and their recent run of good form doesn’t look like it is stopping anytime soon. With confidence high amongst the Chester ranks, they are certainly capable of claiming another victory this weekend at Mortimer Park.

Tynedale v Preston Grasshoppers

Tynedale have made a mixed start to the National Two North campaign. Tyne have won two, drawn one and lost four of their first seven matches of the relatively new season and currently occupy 10^th place at this early stage – just five points clear of the relegation zone.

After dropping down to this division in 2015, the North-East side struggled last season especially after the damage caused by the floods to their clubhouse and pitches at Corbridge so this year, they will be keen to have a strong season. However, Scott Lawson’s men need to rapidly turn their results around as they welcome the Preston Grasshoppers to the north-east having not won in their last four games.

Preston Grasshoppers have struggled at the beginning of this season following a 10^th place finish in the last campaign. The Lancashire side have only managed two wins from their first seven matches this term, but will head to Tynedale in a buoyant mood after achieving one of those victories last weekend against Hinckley.

In truth, that winning feeling had been coming for the Hoppers having lost their two previous games against Otley and Scunthorpe by narrow margins. Although Garth Dew would have been delighted with the victory for his side, he’ll know they need to back it up this Saturday by picking up their second away triumph of the season.

Hinckley v Otley

Hinckley look as though they are struggling to compete in National Two North this season. Having gained promotion via the National Three North play-off in May, the Leicestershire outfit are still trying to find their feet at this level and it wasn’t helped when they fell to the bottom of the division last weekend.

After seven games, Hinckley may well be thinking they could be embroiled in a relegation battle as they have won on just one occasion leaving them six points from safety at this early stage of the season. They come into this home game on the back of a six game losing run and they will be desperate to earn their first victory since the opening day of the season this weekend.

While Hinckley are looking to get back to winning ways so are Otley because after seven games this season, the inconsistency which we have seen in patches over the last two campaigns as thwarted their start to this term. As we approach a third of the way through this season, Otley currently lie 11^th in the table – three points clear of the relegation zone – having secured just three wins so far.

All three of their victories have been at home and their away woes continued last weekend when they fell to a fourth straight defeat on the road against a spirted Scunthorpe side. Now Otley go from Yorkshire to Leicestershire in search of their first triumph away from Cross Green as Peter Clegg’s side look to improve on a mixed start to the term.

Harrogate v Scunthorpe

Harrogate are hoping their win against Leicester Lions last Saturday can be a catalyst for their season. Following a poor start which included six straight defeats, the Yorkshire side finally picked up their maiden victory at home last weekend and they will be looking to add to that this Saturday.

‘Gate have finished in the top half of National Two North in each of the last two seasons and this time around, a place in that top half will be their main target as things stand due to their slow start. Harrogate are 15^th in the table so they are still in the bottom three, but that win last weekend would have boosted their confidence heading into this fixture.

Scunthorpe are the latest visitors to Rudding Lane tomorrow afternoon. As things stand, The Greens sit in the bottom half of the table, but they will be pleased that they are not currently in the bottom three considering they gained promotion to this division in May.

They take the short-trip to Harrogate in some good form too. Scunthorpe have won two of their last three matches which leaves them 12^th in the division at this stage, but both of those victories – plus their win against Chester – have come at Heslam Park. Now, they must replicate those sorts of performances away from home and this could be a good opportunity for Tim Robinson’s side to pick up their first win on the road in National Two North.