Early wins a necessity for National One title hopefuls

Round Two of National One is upon us and after a very intriguing opening weekend last Saturday, it suggests that this league could be tighter than even this year.

Promotion hopefuls Birmingham Moseley and Coventry go head to head at Billesley Common in the pick of the fixtures while Plymouth Albion travel to serious title candidates Hartpury College.

New boys the Old Albanian will be looking to continue their great start to the season as they host a strong Ampthill and District while Esher take the trip to Blackheath and Rosslyn Park host Cambridge.

Elsewhere, Hull Ionians are aiming for two wins from two when they go to Lougborough Students on Saturday and who will claim their maiden victories of the season as Macclesfield welcome Fylde to Priory Park and Blaydon make the short journey to Darlington Mowden Park in the North-East derby.

Birmingham Moseley v Coventry

League leaders Coventry travel to Birmingham Moseley Park this Saturday as they look to build on their excellent opening day win. The new look side, under the guidance of Rowland Winter, ran in eight tries on their way to victory over Loughborough and now they will be hoping to send out a statement of intent by getting a result this weekend.

Their opponents Birmingham Moseley were relegated from the Championship last season and will fancy their chances of an immediate return to the second tier. They began life in National One with a narrow win over Fylde last Saturday and with that in mind this fixture tomorrow is bound to be a close encounter.

Hartpury College v Plymouth Albion

After defeating Blackheath last week, Hartpury College signalled their intentions for this season as they look to go for promotion once again. College came second behind Richmond last term, but with a solid performance on the opening day of this campaign, Hartpury are looking like a team that could go for the title this year.

Following Plymouth Albion’s off the field problems towards the end of last season, Dan Parks and his side began the new campaign on a positive note as they saw off the challenge of Cambridge. Albion certainly have the tools to challenge for promotion and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them batting for top spot come April of next year.

Old Albanian v Ampthill and District

Despite gaining promotion from National Two South, the Old Albanian have taken to National One like a duck to water as they prepare to host Ampthill and District on Saturday. The OA’s opened their account for the season with a comfortable win away at Blaydon and they will be looking to carry on their momentum with victory at Woolams this weekend.

Their opponents, Ampthill, are my tip for the title this year. After promotion from National Two North in 2015, the A’s finished fourth in National One last season and are a club certainly on the rise. They began this campaign with a home triumph over title candidates Rosslyn Park and this will be another tough test for the Milton Keynes based side on Saturday.

Loughborough Students v Hull Ionians

Loughborough Students are currently lying at the foot of the table after a heavy defeat to Coventry on the opening day of the season. The Midlands outfit will now want to dust themselves off and start their home campaign with a win against Hull Ionians who they did beat 28-24 in this corresponding fixture last December.

Hull Ionians did begin this season with a 16-10 victory over Darlington Mowden Park which was the perfect way for the I’s to start. The men from Brantingham Park, along with Loughborough, battled against relegation for long periods of last season so early points on the board are a massive positive for the Yorkshire side who may fancy their chances this weekend.

Blackheath v Esher

Two of the promotion candidates from last season go head-to-head this weekend, but both have had contrasting fortunes to begin this campaign. Blackheath suffered an early set-back with defeat to Hartpury College last weekend and will be keen not to lose further ground on the top half of the table even at this early stage.

As for Esher, they left it late to beat newly-promoted Macclesfield last week and they will be eager to make it back to back wins when they travel to the Rectory Field this weekend. Inconsistency plagued their promotion charge last season and Tom Williams’ side will want to avoid the same fate this time around.

Macclesfield v Fylde

After a title winning year in National Two North last season, Macclesfield have begun life in National One pretty well despite a defeat to Esher six days ago. The Blues performed extremely well and will look to carry those positives into their first home game of the season when they welcome Fylde to Priory Park.

Macc lost just once on home soil last year which gives you a sense of the challenge Fylde face in this North-West affair on Saturday. No doubt it will be a challenge Paul Arnold’s side will be relishing especially after a valiant performance in their opening game against Birmingham Moseley. Which side will achieve their maiden win of the season this weekend?

Rosslyn Park v Cambridge

Rosslyn Park suffered defeat on the opening day of the season against Ampthill and District and they will be looking to respond when they take on Cambridge at the Rock this Saturday. Park are once again a side that could challenge for promotion this season and with that in mind, they will want to taste that winning feeling this weekend.

In terms of Cambridge, they won the National Two South title last season and like Macclesfield, they performed well in defeat last Saturday. The Blood and Sand lost to Plymouth Albion and they are once again on their travels tomorrow in what is set to be another tough test for Ross Stewart’s men.

Darlington Mowden Park v Blaydon

The first North-East derby of the season takes place this weekend as Darlington Mowden Park host Blaydon. DMP had a very strong campaign last year which included a 12 match winning streak, but they couldn’t get this term underway with a victory as they lost to Hull Ionians last Saturday.

They will be hoping to capitalise on Blaydon’s home defeat when they travel to the Darlington Arena. Blaydon did just enough to avoid the drop last year, but that loss to the Old Albanian last week doesn’t suggest that Blaydon will stay way clear of trouble this time around. However, a win against their neighbours would certainly make them forget about that performance.