High drama expected in National One

The first four weeks of the season has flown by and already we have seen some cracking rugby. However, Round Five in National One could well be the best weekend of action so far with some mouth-watering fixtures taking place.

League leaders Hartpury College have arguably their toughest test of the campaign thus far as they look to maintain their perfect start away at a strong Coventry side who are yet to suffer a defeat at home this term. Also, Birmingham Moseley take their unbeaten record to sixth placed Ampthill & District who are itching to return to winning ways in Bedfordshire.

Blackheath are one of the form teams in this division and will be looking to extend their winning run to four matches when they go to Hull Ionians while Darlington Mowden Park and the Old Albanian will be aiming to do the same.

Elsewhere, Cambridge, Macclesfield, Esher and Loughborough Students will be desperate to start October with a victory as will Bladyon, Fylde and Rosslyn Park who are still awaiting their first wins of the new campaign.

Coventry v Hartpury College

Coventry welcome league leaders Hartpury College to the Butts Park Arena this weekend as they look to respond to their second away defeat in a row. Cov were beaten comprehensively by Blackheath six days ago, but will now want to maintain their 100 per cent home record for the season as they meet Hartpury College for only the fifth time on Saturday.

Hartpury College are the current leaders in the division having accumulated a maximum of 20 points from their first four matches. The club was formed 12 years ago and their rise since then has been a remarkable one as they currently sit at the summit of the third tier of English rugby. They have already seen off potential promotion candidates Blackheath and Plymouth Albion so they come into this clash with Coventry oozing confidence that their winning start can continue.

Ampthill and District v Birmingham Moseley

Ampthill and District welcome Birmingham Moseley to Dillingham Park tomorrow looking to return to winning ways on home soil. Last time out, they were beaten by Darlington Mowden Park which was a rare defeat for the A’s as they now aim for a response on Saturday. Paul Turner’s side finished in an impressive fourth place last year and currently sit sixth in the standings in this early stage of the season as they look to continue their rise through the leagues.

Birmingham Moseley travel to Bedfordshire this weekend with four wins from four to their name to begin the season. They had to rely on a sensational second half display against Blaydon last Saturday to maintain their unbeaten start to life in National One following wins against Fylde, Coventry and Hull Ionians. Kevin Maggs’ side maybe targeting an immediate return to the Championship, but for now, they are happy to consolidate their position at the top end of the table.

Rosslyn Park v Darlington Mowden Park

Rosslyn Park host Darlington Mowden Park this weekend looking to improve on what has been a tough start to the season for them. They have lost all four of their games thus far against Ampthill, Cambridge, Plymouth Albion and the Old Albanian, but three losing bonus points from those games does suggest shoots of recovery are there for Andy Holloway’s men.

In contrast, Darlington Mowden Park are having a much better time of things. They made it three wins in a row with the 37-12 victory at home against Cambridge last weekend which means DMP currently sit third in the table. Consistency is key in this division to gain promotion and Darlington will be fully aware of the challenge that faces them this weekend.

Plymouth Albion v Old Albanian

After upheaval off the field towards the end of last season and over the summer, it seems like Plymouth Albion are beginning to steady the ship. Their decent start under new boss Dan Parkes has certainly played a huge part in that as Albion looked to have found their feet in recent weeks. Back to back wins against Rosslyn Park and Esher are just reward for some good performances by Plymouth and they will look to continue their winning ways back at Brickfields this weekend.

Having spoken to coach James Shanahan in the week, he is very satisfied with the way his Old Albanian side have started the new season and rightly so. Following promotion from National Two South in May, the OA’s are looking to cement their place at this level and are going the right way about that having secured three wins so far this term. This will certainly be a tough away trip for the OA’s, but they travel to the south-coast full of confidence looking to extend their good run of form.

Hull Ionians v Blackheath

Hull Ionians take on Blackheath this weekend at Brantingham Park on the back off an impressive win against newly promoted Macclesfield six days ago. That was the I’s first win since the opening day of the season when they beat Darlington Mowden Park on home soil and they will be looking to replicate a similar result tomorrow when they welcome Blackheath to Yorkshire.

After a defeat to Hartpury College to begin the season, “Club” have not looked back. They take the trip up the A1 with three consecutive wins under their belts which include victories over Esher and Fylde as well as an excellent triumph over Coventry in Round Four. There should be an exciting game in prospect this weekend as Blackheath aim to continue their surge up the table.

Cambridge v Loughborough Students

Cambridge entertain Loughborough Students at Volac Park this weekend as they go in search of their first home win since promotion in May. The Blood and Sand were crowned champions of National Two South and have picked up just one victory on their return to the third tier – that coming against Rosslyn Park three weeks ago. Ross Stewart and his side will now be hoping that their maiden home win can come this weekend considering they won 14 of their 15 matches on home soil last season.

The visitors Loughborough Students have had a mixed start to the season, winning two games and losing two. They’ve lost against Ampthill and Coventry, but would have been pleased to have beaten Hull Ionians and Blaydon – two sides they were competing against in the last campaign. Students’ University side beat Cambridge University 38-5 in the week so Dave Morris and Ciaran Beattie will be hoping their team can ‘complete a double’ on Saturday.

Fylde v Esher

Esher travel to Woodlands on Saturday to take on Paul Arnold’s Fylde side. Both clubs haven’t got off to the best of starts this season, with the hosts Fylde losing all four of their matches while Esher have won just one of their fixtures. Fylde have been scoring a lot of points so far this season, but unfortunately they haven’t been able to back that up in defence which has been their downfall.

As for Esher, they began this season positively with a win over Macclesfield, but have failed to build on that since then. Defeats against Blackheath, Hartpury College and Plymouth Albion leave them 12^th in the table and three points clear of Fylde ahead of this clash in Lancashire on Saturday.

Blaydon v Macclesfield

Blaydon host Macclesfield this weekend as they begin October aiming to have a better month to what they experienced in September. The North-East club lost all four of their matches and currently sit bottom of the National One table. Mickey Ward does have this Blaydon side well-drilled and they do have the capabilities of getting themselves out of trouble and at home, this could be the perfect chance for them to clinch their first win of the campaign.

In terms of Macclesfield, they were left frustrated last weekend when they were beaten at home against Hull Ionians. The Blues’ only victory this term came against Fylde three weeks ago and they will now travel to Blaydon hoping to double that tally. They currently sit 13^th in the table and on six points and with this fixture against bottom club Blaydon, Macc may fancy their chances of taking maximum points in the north this Saturday.