Cambridge are Christmas Number One

It will certainly be a Merry Christmas for Cambridge this year as they sit top of National Two South, even if it is only on points difference.

The Old Albanian are going toe-to-toe with Cambridge in the battle for the title as both sides are sitting pretty heading into 2016.

Below are the challengers. Taunton are the strongest contender to overhaul the top two while Bishops Stortford may fancy themselves as an outside shot at promotion.

As for the bottom half of the table, that is much more compact. Four teams are currently on the same points as they battle it out for a place in the top eight while the relegation fight is closer than ever.

Here is a round-up of all the action in National Two South including reports on each team and their progress at the halfway mark of the season.

Cambridge 27-10 Bury St Edmunds

Cambridge remain on top of National Two South after securing their 13^th win of the season with victory over Bury St Edmunds at Volac Park.

Tries from James Stokes and Lawrence Hutchinson helped the hosts pull level after an Adam Marshall score and five points from the boot of fly-half Scott Lyle had put Bury in front.

But the second half belonged to the league leaders as Thomas Jones, Ean Griffths and George Bretag-Norris all crossed as Cambridge head into Christmas on top of the tree.

It has been an unbelievable season for Cambridge so far. They started 2015 mid-table and they are ending it at the top. A seventh place finish last term now seems to have been a stepping stone for the Blood and Sand who are on course for bigger and better things in 2016.

They may have been tipped to struggle after promotion into this division, but Bury St Edmunds well be very satisfied with how their first half of the season has panned out. Six wins from 15 games leaves them eighth in the table and more importantly five points clear of the relegation zone in what is turning out to be a very tight bottom half of the league.

Old Albanian 25-7 Barnes

It was also another victory for the Old Albanian this weekend and they remain level on points with Cambridge after their win over Barnes.

A penalty from Christopher May and a try through Oliver Cooper-Millar edged the OA’s in front at half-time with Fraser Carlisle replying for Barnes.

That gave the away side hope heading into the second period, but tries from William Johnson, Harry Bate and Johannes Lombaard ensured the Old Albanian’s win.

Victory saw the OA’s go into 2016 second in the table, but they are only behind Cambridge on points difference. That difference is just five as the OA’s are still right in the hunt for a return to National One after relegation last term.

Barnes are 11^th in the division but are on the same points as Bury St Edmunds who are eighth. They have also collected the second highest amount of bonus points (10) this season which could prove vital come the end of the season for the newly promoted side.

Taunton Titans 22-7 Clifton

Taunton are still in touch with the top two sides as they maintained their 100 per cent home record with victory over Clifton.

After an early penalty from Gary Kingdom, Matthew Tichias ran in a fine try to give Taunton a 10-0 lead at half-time.

Winger Aron Struminski, along with Kingdom, crossed after the break to seal the win while Alex Giltrow scored a consolation for Clifton six minutes from the end.

Taunton looked like they may run away with the title after seven wins from their first eight matches, but they are now third. The Titians have dropped points in recent weeks which now means they have to claw back a nine point deficit in the second half of the season if they have any chance of winning the title in April.

Four defeats in their last five games seems to have knocked the confidence of Clifton, but this has still been a positive campaign for them so far. After finishing 12^th last season, they are now sixth in the table with eight wins to their name which is only three off what they achieved in the 14/15 campaign.

Bishops Stortford 28-15 Southend Saxons

Bishops Stortford beat Southend to keep up their 100 per cent home record in National Two South.

A double from Wilson Baxter and tries from Samuel Winter and Dominic Morris earned Stortford their seventh win at Silver Leys this campaign.

Stortford were actually 7-15 behind at half-time with tries coming from Bradley Burr and Mark Billings for Southend, but the visitors were unable to add to their points total after the break

Bishops Stortford were one of the favourites for promotion after their play-off defeat last season, but they have been overshadowed by Cambridge and the Old Albanian so far. They are still in contention, but it is going to take a big turnaround if they are to move into the top two.

Southend are one of the other sides who are on 32 points and level with eighth place. The Saxons slot into 10^th position at present and will be pleased with their first half of the season after escaping relegation on the final day of the last campaign. They haven’t lit up this division this season, but are just one of two teams to have taken points off the Old Albanian this term.

Redruth 17-0 Launceston

Redruth ran in three tries as they secured their fourth win in their last five matches with this victory over bottom club Launceston who end the year without a win so far.

Redruth continue to make fifth place their own in this division and are now eight points behind Taunton while Launceston are a mammoth 22 points from safety.

Ashley Lawton scored the only try and points of the first half before Benjamin Priddy and Samuel Parsons crossed in the second 40 to seal the win for the Reds.

Redruth are in a comfortable position this campaign and whatever they are doing at the Recreation Ground, it is certainly working.  They have had a mixed bag of results this season, but they will be pleased to have strung together a good run of decent results heading into the New Year.

Time is running out for Launceston. They are bottom of National Two South with 14 defeats and one draw to their name. It is looking bleak for them and they will need a miracle to stay in this division. Stranger things have happened though….

Canterbury 20-9 Old Elthamians

Canterbury ended a run of 10 defeats in their last 11 matches with a superb derby win at home against the Old Elthamians.

The OE’s led at half-time thanks to two Michael Stanley penalties with Oliver Best replying from the tee for Canterbury.

After the break, replacement Sean Nixon scored the first try of the afternoon for the home side before Stanley knocked over his third penalty of the day to make the score 10-9.

Tyler Edwards was then sin-binned for Canterbury, but that didn’t see them sit back as William Ferris dotted down to stretch the lead to eight points with 17 minutes to go.

And the OE’s couldn’t put a dent in the Canterbury defensive wall as the hosts secured victory when Martyn Beaumont slotted over a penalty two minutes from the end.

After three straight wins to begin the season, Canterbury have fallen dramatically into the drop zone. Their decline has been surprising after their good start, but after a horrendous run of results, this was the perfect early Christmas gift for the City Men as they are now two points from safety.

It seems that the Old Elthamians have been great to watch this season especially at home. Five wins from seven is one of the main reasons why they sit seventh in the table. However, just one victory in their last six matches overall has seen them fall away from the top five which is something they will be keen to put right in the New Year.

Dorking 31-26 Worthing Raiders

Dorking bounced back from two straight defeats to beat Worthing at home as they now move up to ninth place in the table.

Charles Stevenson, Harry Watts and Matthew Noble as well as a Penalty Try helped the hosts to victory with Noble also landing a penalty six minutes from time.

Worthing, who had won two games on the spin heading into this encounter, grabbed tries through Daniel Sargent, Alex Wilcockson and two from Matthew McLean in a game which saw four yellow cards produced – two for either side.

This win sees Dorking move within six points of the top half in what has been a difficult year for the side. 12 months ago, they were in the prime position to be promoted and maybe go up as champions of National Two South, but for whatever reason they missed out on that shot at National One and have never really recovered. They’ll be hoping for a brighter 2016.

After finishing fifth last season, Worthing may have had ambitions of a promotion challenge this campaign but a five game losing streak in October/November put an end to that after a positive start. The Raiders were in the bottom three at the start of the month, but are now three points clear of the relegation zone. It is still too close for comfort for the Raiders who certainly have the talent to move themselves away from danger.

Chinnor 39-41 Redingensians

The Redingensians picked up a vital win in their fight for survival as they triumphed over Chinnor in a thrilling contest.

Sean McDermott scored twice in the first half for the visitors to help his side into a 21-22 lead at the break.

Fellow winger James Foxley also touched down for the Rams with Luke Flower nudging over a penalty while Chinnor responded through tries from James Townsend, Joseph Vandermolen and Marcus Beer.

It was also three tries apiece after the interval with Tom Vooght, Robbie Stapley and Ben Henderson going over for the away side with Oscar Heath, Ben Manning and Townsend again all crossing for the hosts, but it wasn’t enough for Chinnor to snatch the win.

Chinnor have had a disappointing season thus far. A credible sixth place finish last season gave them a solid platform to build upon, but they have really struggled this campaign having won just four games. They sit 15^th in the table and now two points from safety after their two game winning run was halted on Saturday.

The Redingensians are the team which Chinnor are trying to catch at the moment. After promotion last year, they have shown they are no pushovers and will fight till the bitter end. It could be touch and go for the Rams come April, but they must keep showing their grit and determination if they are to stay in this division.