Challengers for top places clash in National One
Esher will be looking to build on their victory last weekend while Blackheath (pictured) are aiming to continue their good form
©Blackheath Rugby Club
Hartpury College have been the main talking point of the season so far in National One and rightly so, but Round Seven sees a few of their challengers for promotion go head-to-head this weekend.
College currently top the table by seven points following a perfect start to the season with Birmingham Moseley sitting in second place. The teams sitting below them in the league have served up some entertaining rugby thus far this campaign and now they go up against each other.
Blackheath (3rd) travel to Ampthill and District (4th) while Plymouth Albion (6th) host Darlington Mowden Park (5th) so expect some pulsating action in these two games.
Elsewhere in the division, Fylde will be looking for three straight wins when they travel to Coventry, the Old Albanian and Loughborough aim to return to winning ways while the likes of Cambridge, Macclesfield, Hull Ionians and Esher will all be keen to build some momentum.
Blaydon v Hartpury College
Heading into this fixture and taking a glance at the National One table, the odds would be firmly in Hartpury College’s favour to secure their seventh bonus-point win of the season when they travel to Blaydon on Saturday.
College have looked unstoppable this campaign in the first six rounds as they currently sit seven points clear at the top this division and they are the only unbeaten side in the league
Their hosts on Saturday are Blaydon who currently lie bottom of the division without a win to their name all term. They have secured five points so far this year with three of them coming in a 24-24 with Macclesfield two weeks ago. They’ll be hoping to upset the applecart this weekend, but it seems they could be faced with an impossible task.
Rosslyn Park v Birmingham Moseley
This weekend second place Birmingham Moseley travel to London to take on Rosslyn Park. Kevin Maggs’ side got their National One campaign back on track with an exceptional result against Cambridge last Saturday where they ran in 11 tries to claim their fifth win of the season.
As for Park, they currently sit in 14th place on nine points following one win and a draw, with both of those results coming in the last two weekends. It suggests Rosslyn have turned a corner after a below-par start to the season so Birmingham Moseley will have to warn against complacency in this fixture tomorrow.
Ampthill and District v Blackheath
Following a convincing win over Blaydon last weekend, third placed Blackheath are on their travels this Saturday.
They will be taking the 74 mile trip to Bedford this to play fourth placed Ampthill and Distrcit who are looking to continue their strong start to the season. The A’s have won five of their first six matches having achieved a fourth place finish in the last campaign and will be a formidable opponent for Blackheath tomorrow.
In terms of ‘Club’, they too have won five matches this term and both sides head into this fixture level on points. This will be a tough one to call at Dillingham Park this weekend, but there is no doubting that both of these teams will be battling towards the right end of the table come April.
Plymouth Albion v Darlington Mowden Park
Darlington Mowden Park will take the 750 mile round trip to Brickfields this weekend to take on Plymouth Albion.
One of the longest journeys in National One sees fifth placed DMP looking for back to back wins following victory 22-9 win over the Old Albanian last week. Darlington have won four of their six games so far this season with Albion having identical success as they sit a place below the North-East side.
Albion will be looking to respond from their narrow defeat to Fylde last weekend and will also want to avoid another defeat in this fixture which they suffer in November 2015 when DMP came away from Plymouth a 25-15 victory.
Old Albanian v Loughborough Students
This Saturday sees Loughborough Students head down the M1 to take on the Old Albanian at Woolams. The hosts have currently lost the last two matches after a positive start to life in National One following promotion from National Two South in May. The OA’s currently sit seventh in the table and will be looking for a reaction from those recent defeats against Plymouth Albion and Darlington Mowden Park.
As for Loughborough, they have risen up the table to eighth place over the past few weeks thanks to just two defeats in their last five games. A draw against Rosslyn Park in their last match might have been disappointing for the Midlands side, but they will head south looking to build on what has been a pretty positive start to the season for the team.
Coventry v Fylde
Following a tricky start to the season for Fylde where they lost their first four matches, Paul Arnold’s men travel to the Midlands this weekend oozing confidence following two straight wins. Defeats against Birmingham Moseley, Hartpury College, Blackheath and Macclesfield had been a disappointing beginning for the Lancashire side but excellent wins over Esher and Plymouth Albion have breathed new life into their season.
In terms of their hosts Coventry, the opposite has happened. After a promising start, Cov have only managed one win in their last five matches and welcome Fylde to the Butts Park Arena on the back of three straight defeats. Rowland Winter and his side will be keen to put that right this weekend.
Hull Ionians v Esher
Hull Ionians host Esher this weekend at Brantingham Park looking to bounce back from a tough defeat against Hartpury College six days ago. The loss against the league leaders leaves Hull Ionians 12th in the table with just two wins to their name. On a positive note for the I’s, their home performances have been strong with narrow defeats against Birmingham Moseley and Blackheath occurring in their last two outings. Can they be on the end of the right result this weekend?
As for Esher, they sit a place above Hull Ionians as they head up north on Saturday. The Surrey based-club picked up a much needed victory at home to Coventry last weekend and will now be eager to build on that after what has been a disappointing start to the term.
Cambridge v Macclesfield
The current National Two South champions welcome the National Two North holders to Volac Park this weekend as Cambridge host Macclesfield. Both sides lifted silverware in May to gain promotion to National One, but both are finding life tough at this level so far.
Cambridge are 13th in the table as things stand having won two of their six matches. Ross Stewart’s side dramatically beat Loughborough Students in their last game at home, but were thumped last weekend by Birmingham Moseley so the Blood and Sand will be looking for a positive response tomorrow.
In terms of Macclesfield, they currently occupy 15th place and have only picked up one win this season – that being a 44-22 victory of Fylde in Round Two. Since then, the Blues have lost three and drawn one of their matches and head to Cambridge this weekend in search of their first away victory of the season. Macc have also welcomed Sale Sharks' Curtis Langdon on a dual reg contract this week.
