League leaders prepare for latest test

After eight rounds of National Two South action, Chinnor are currently out in front following seven wins in a row, but the longer the run goes on, the tougher it is to keep an unbeaten record intact.

Their assignment this weekend is a home fixture against Bury St Edmunds and Chinnor will know any mistake against Gavin Hogg’s side could open the door for the Old Elthamians.

The OE’s have been keeping pace with Chinnor up to now as they sit just a point behind the Black and Whites after seven straight victories. Gavin Lach’s men take the tough trip to Henley Hawks tomorrow looking continue their flying start.

Elsewhere in the top half Taunton, Redruth, Bishops Stortford and Cinderford will be keen to extend their winning runs in what has been a relatively successful last couple of weeks for all four of these sides.

The theme continues this weekend from National One and National Two North as the bottom six in National Two South also go up against one another this Saturday all looking to pick up vital wins which could prove pivotal later on in the season.

Chinnor v Bury St Edmunds

Chinnor may not have been considered as one of the pre-season contenders for promotion from National Two South. Matt Williams’s side enjoyed a strong end to an injury hit season where the club won seven of their last nine games and it appears they have continued with that momentum as so far Chinnor sit top of the tree after seven matches.

After picking up impressive victories over London Irish Wild Geese, Henley Hawks and Redruth in the first few weeks of the season, the Black and Whites have pushed on and they head into this Saturday’s clash with Bury St Edmunds having won all seven of their matches thus far. They look unstoppable at present and will be hoping to continue their winning run this weekend.

As for Bury St Edmunds, they have had a mixed bag of results so far in this National Two South campaign, but they might well be satisfied with that as they sit eighth in the table at this early stage. Bury were promoted into this league in 2015 and had an impressive first season so will be looking to further cement their place at this level this term.

Will seven games gone, Gavin Hogg’s men have won three of their matches but do head to South Oxfordshire without a win to their name away from home. In fact, Bury have won just five of their last 18 games on the road and that needs to change if they have aspirations of finishing in the top half of the table for the second year running.

Henley Hawks v Old Elthamians

Henley Hawks’ turnaround in form suffered a blip last week. The Hawks had started the season slowly after relegation from National One in May, but headed into their fixture with Cinderford six days ago on the back of three wins from their last four matches. However, that sequence of results was dented as they fell to a 30-23 defeat in Gloucestershire.

After that loss to Cinderford, Nigel Dudding’s men now sit ninth in the table after three wins from their first seven matches so they will be keen to return to winning ways when the Old Elthamians visit Dry Leas this weekend. The Hawks have been victorious in their last two games at home and have actually won 14 of their last 18 matches in this division on home soil.

The Old Elthamians are looking to maintain their sensational start to the season as their winning run as seen them stay towards the top end of the National Two South table. After seven matches played, the OE’s sit second in the division having won all seven of their games so far.

The men from College Meadows have had a spectacular rise under the guidance of Gavin Lach and this season could well be another chapter in their story. They are riding high at the moment as they sit just a point behind Chinnor and confidence seems to be flowing. An away win here could well be on the cards but it will a tough test for the OE’s who are aiming to make it eight out of eight.

Taunton Titans v Clifton

Taunton Titans don’t want to miss out on a shot at promotion to National One once again this season. The Titans finished fifth last term after an explosive start to the campaign and the year before they missed out on a promotion place by just two points. This time around, Andy Yapp’s men are showing the qualities needed to challenge for a top two spot again in National Two South.

Taunton have lost just once this season – that coming two weeks ago against the Old Elthamians – and as such, currently sit third in the table with just three points separating them from leaders Chinnor. Taunton are back at Hyde Park where they suffered their first defeat two weeks ago so they will be itching to return to winning ways in front of their own supporters.

Clifton head to Somerset this weekend in an upbeat mood. The Lavender and Black’s picked up only their second win of the season last Saturday when they beat Worthing Raiders 33-22 at Station Road which leaves them currently sitting in 13^th place in table.

Although that is obviously not the greatest position to be occupying – one place above the relegation zone - Clifton are slowly trying to turn a corner after a 12 months of rugby that has seen the South Gloucestershire side win seven of their last 29 matches. That said, after victory over Worthing, they may feel like causing an upset when they take on Taunton tomorrow.

Redruth v Cinderford

Redruth endured a strong season last year in National Two South as they finished fourth in the division. Now, the Reds are hoping to match that or take that extra step and challenge for promotion this term and judging by their early season form, they are more than capable of doing just that.

Marek Churcher’s side welcome Cinderford to the Recreation Ground having won six of their first seven games of this campaign leading to them currently occupying fourth spot in the table. Redruth’s only defeat came against league leaders Chinnor in Round Three so they’ll be hoping to keep up their high standard of performances as they aim to pick up another victory in this game on Saturday.

Cinderford are still trying to adjust to life in National Two South following relegation last season. The Gloucestershire side might have hoped that they could bounce back to National One at the first time of asking and so far that doesn’t look like it is going to happen, but recent form as may have given them reason to think otherwise.

The men from Dockham Road put in an excellent performance last week to beat Henley Hawks as they collected their fourth win of the season. Cinderford  now head to Cornwall this weekend on the back of two consecutive wins so similar performances in this fixture could earn them another victory and things would certainly be looking up for Paul Morris’ side.

Worthing Raiders v Bishops Stortford

Worthing Raiders may well be expecting to finish towards the right end of the table this year and it’s fair to say that the Raiders look as though they have put their tough campaign of last season behind them. They were embroiled in a relegation battle on occasions last term, but managed to steer clear of the drop in the final few weeks of the season to maintain their status in National Two South.

This campaign, the Raiders look like they are back to their old selves having won four of their first seven games. Three of those victories have come at Rugby Park and even know this will be a tough challenge against Bishops Storford this weekend, Worthing will be confident of getting the right result on home turf once again.

Bishops Stortford look as though they have recovered from a slight dip in from earlier in the season. Stortford enjoyed a strong start the campaign winning their first three matches after some excellent performances, but they then suffered back to back defeats against the Old Elthamians and Canterbury.

However, they have responded to those set-backs extremely well as Andy Long’s men head to Worthing this weekend following two strong victories against Clifton and Barnstaple. They have been closest out of any current side in National Two South to gaining promotion to National One over the last two years and Stortford must continue to add to their winning run if they are to challenge again this term.

London Irish Wild Geese v Canterbury

The London Irish Wild Geese may have been expected to occupy one of the bottom three spots in National Two South this season, but so far they are avoiding the relegation zone. Wild Geese were promoted from National Three London and South-East as champions in May and like with any new side coming up into the division, it is projected that they might struggle.

Irish have battled well at this level thus far though. Two wins from their first seven games leaves them in 12^th place and a point clear of the drop with both of those victories coming against sides lower than them in the table. Those triumphs came at the end of September so they will be hoping this fixture at Hazelwood against Canterbury on Saturday night can produce their first win of this month.

Canterbury are once again being plagued by inconsistency in National Two South this season. In the last campaign, they began the season with four straight wins, but they were unable to back that up as a string of defeats stopped them from progressing up the division. It was no surprise to see them finish mid-table last term and it looks like history could be repeating itself this year.

After seven games this season, the City Men find themselves 10^th in the table having won just two matches so far against Barnstaple and Bishops Stortford. They did begin this term by putting in some positive displays, but they seem to have disappeared in recent weeks so Canterbury will be eager to put that right this Saturday.

Redingensians v Barnes

The Redingensians put up a strong fight in National Two South last season. Despite promotion from National Three, the Rams were able to produce excellent performances in the final few months of the campaign which saw the men from Old Bath Road finish the term in a very credible seventh place.

However, Mike Tewkesbury’s men have endured a tough start to this year as they look to build on their success of last season. They’ve have won just two of their opening seven games, at home to Barnstaple and away to London Irish Wild Geese and they would have been frustrated to only draw with bottom of the table Exmouth last Saturday. On flip-side to this, the Redingensians are on a two game unbeaten run which they will be looking to extend tomorrow.

Barnes’ long wait for a victory in National Two South came three weeks ago. The South-West London club claimed their maiden win of the season against Henley Hawks, but elation has turned to frustration again at Queen Elizabeth Walk as Barnes have been unable to follow that triumph up.

Jamie Turner and his side head to Reading on the back of defeats against Chinnor and Redruth meaning Barnes have now won just one of their last 14 matches in National Two South. They are already playing catch-up as they sit 14^th in the table and a win in this game against a side three points ahead of them is needed to kick-start their season once again.

Exmouth v Barnstaple

Exmouth’s time in National Two South has been a difficult one, as expected. Jon Hill’s side won the National Three South-West title last season, but the step up in division is often difficult to cope with and the Devonshire club’s position of bottom of the table suggests that has been the case so far this term.

Having not picked up a win this season, plus a draw against the Redingensians last week, it’s clear that Exmouth are struggling to adapt to life in these early stages of the season. However, with home advantage on Saturday afternoon against a side they beat to the championship last season, Exmouth may see this as the ideal opportunity to pick up their maiden win of the season.

Their opponents this weekend are local rivals Barnstaple who ran Exmouth close to the title in National Three last season but had to settle for a play-off place. Barum succeeded in gaining promotion, but like Exmouth, they are finding it hard at this level heading into Round Eight of the season.

Barnstaple sit one place and one point above Exmouth in the table having secured one win from their first seven games. That came against Clifton three weeks ago, but they have not been able to build on that as yet. Barum lost in this corresponding fixture 38-24 in April so they will be seeking revenge as well as a second win of the campaign.