Maggs aiming to leave Moseley on a high

The shock news to come out of National One this week was Birmingham Moseley’s decision not to renew the contract of current Director of Rugby Kevin Maggs, but the former Ireland international will be doing his upmost to help the Midlands side finish as runners-up this term.

Following relegation from the Championship last season, the club have made a decision to relieve Maggs of his duties due to financial stability, but the man who has been charge at Moseley for six years will see out the rest of his contract.

His final objective at Billesley Common will be to guide Moseley into second place in the table as league leaders Hartpury College have all but won this division as they hold a 26 point gap at the top with 12 matches left to play.

Moseley have a tough assignment this weekend when they host Ampthill and District. The A’s are also competing for second spot which is currently occupied by Plymouth Albion who travel to the Old Albanian tomorrow.

Table toppers Hartpury College have a tough test at home to Coventry as they look to stretch their winning run to a remarkable 19 matches, while at the wrong end of the table, Macclesfield and Blaydon battle it for a crucial victory and Fylde travel to Esher looking to distance themselves from the bottom three.

Hartpury College v Coventry

Hartpury College will be going in search of win number 19 this weekend, but another victory will not be straightforward for the runaway league leaders as they welcome a strong an in-form Coventry side to Gloucester this weekend.

John Barnes’ men continued their outstanding run of victories last Saturday when they beat Fylde while Rowland Winter’s Coventry stretched their unbeaten to five matches as they eased past Blackheath at the Butts Park Arena.

The title and promotion to the Championship is all but confirmed for Hartpury but they will be keen to stayed focused and secure their 19^th straight victory tomorrow, but sixth placed Coventry will have other ideas.

The West Midlands side have been superb at home this season winning nine of their 10 fixtures, but in contrast, their away form as seen them pick up just two victories against relegation threatened Macclesfield and Hull Ionians. Cov will be hoping for a third away triumph this weekend as they look to become the side that ended Hartpury College’s sensational winning streak.

Old Albanian v Plymouth Albion

Second placed Plymouth Albion travel to Old Albanian this weekend looking to stay in control of the silver medal position in National One. The sides directly below Hartpury College have all but conceded the fact that promotion will not occur for them this season and have switched their focus to finishing second in this division.

Currently, it is Kieran Hallet’s Plymouth that occupies that position and the men from Brickfields will be hoping to stay there. Albion head into this fixture with OAs on the back of victory against Esher last Saturday, but have lost their last two away matches as Hallet looks to steady the ship after Dan Parkes’ departure from the club. A victory on their travels this weekend would secure Hallet’s third win in charge of Albion.

As for Old Albanian, their solid season after promotion via the National Two South play-off has continued in 2017 as James Shanahan’s men look to avoid an immediate return to the fourth tier of English rugby. OAs currently sit ninth in the table and they are 16 points clear of the drop and it does seem unlikely that the men from Woolams will become embroiled in a relegation battle.

A victory over Cambridge and loss against Rosslyn Park is how OAs have begun the New Year, but they are still sitting around the mid-table places which is key for the side from St Albans. They host Plymouth Albion this Saturday having won their last three home matches and they will be hoping for a fourth tomorrow.

Birmingham Moseley v Ampthill and District

The major news to come out of National One this week was the announcement made by Birmingham Moseley that Director of Rugby Kevin Maggs will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Since relegation from the Championship last term, Moseley have had to address the financial stability of the club going forward which has impacted on the their ability to retain Maggs.

The former Ireland international has agreed to stay on until the end of the season and accepts the decision made by Chairman Dave Warren and now Maggs is attention will be on his sides’ home fixture with Ampthill this weekend. This will only be Mosley’s second in game in five weeks after their fixture with Blaydon was called off last weekend and the Midlands side will be looking to wrestle second place off Plymouth Albion by maintaining their unbeaten home record and securing their ninth straight win at Billesley Common this term.

With Moseley’s last game being the victory over Hull Ionians 13 days ago, Ampthill & District may fancy their chances of capitalising on their rusty hosts when they take the 78-mile trip north-west this weekend. Ampthill beat Moseley 26-8 earlier in the season and since that encounter, the A’s have continued to push on.

Currently, they lie one place and one point ahead of Moseley heading into this fixture and have secured seven wins in their last eight matches. Their away form hasn’t been too shabby either as the Bedfordshire side have collected seven wins from their nine matches on the road and they will be full of belief that they can become the first team to win away at Birmingham Moseley this term.

Blackheath v Hull Ionians

Blackheath will be eager to put a disappointing defeat to Coventry behind them this weekend as they return to Well Hall to take on a Hull Ionians side currently embroiled in a relegation battle. The visitors to the capital on Saturday are sitting in the bottom three as things stand and are five points adrift of safety, but they do have a crucial game in hand.

The Yorkshire side weren’t in action last week as their crunch match with Macclesfield was postponed so they will be fresh and raring to get going against ‘Club’ this weekend. The I’s have won on five occasions this term, but only one of those victories have come away from home. That triumph came against Macclesfield at the end of September and a second win on the road could ignite a revival for the men from Brantingham Park.

In terms of their hosts, their patchy form continued last weekend as Blackheath fell to a heavy defeat against Coventry which dented Club’s aspirations of a second place finish this term. Blackheath head into this fixture having won three of their last five matches, but they are still only four points behind Plymouth Albion.

Club have won  seven of their eight matches at their new home this season with their only defeat coming against Loughborough Students back in October so with Well Hall starting to become a fortress, Blackheath may fancy adding to their tally of victories this weekend.  

Darlington Mowden Park v Rosslyn Park

Two sides in great form meet at the Northern Echo Arena this weekend as Darlington Mowden Park host Rosslyn Park. The away side in this fixture are currently lying in seventh place in the National One standings having accumulated 10 wins from their 18 matches so far this season.

Park will be full of confidence as they take the long trip north having won their last four matches which highlights the great progress the London club has made after a very shaky start to the season where they won just one of their five opening games. Since then, Park have lost three of the following 13 matches and will be keen for that run to continue as they go in search of their fourth away win of the season tomorrow.

In the reserve fixture between the sides back in October, DMP were beaten 36-16 and that defeat came at the start of a disappointing sequence of results for the north-east club. They went on a run of six consecutive defeats, but they have managed to turn their fortunes around in recent weeks.

DMP are now unbeaten in their last four games and as a result, they have moved themselves up to 10^th in the table and are now 13 points clear of the relegation zone. Last weekend, they earnt a hard-fought win over Cambridge and the north-east outfit will be aiming to extend their excellent recent run in front of their own supporters this Saturday.

Loughborough Students v Cambridge

Loughborough Students welcome Cambridge to Epinal Way this weekend with the visitors currently struggling to find form. Cambridge were promoted as National Two South champions last May, but they are now entering a huge part of this season having lost their last four matches ahead of this fixture with Loughborough.

Despite being ahead in their last three matches, Ross Stewart’s side have been unable to stay in front in those fixtures against Rosslyn Park, Dalrington Mowden Park and Old Albanian. Stewart suggested players would be dropped if performances didn’t improve and 12^th placed Cambridge will be hoping a third away win of the season is on the horizon this weekend.

This fixture is massive for Cambridge especially with four of the five sides directly below them in league playing each other this weekend, but Loughborugh Students won’t be offering a helping hand to their visitors this Saturday as they look to stabilise their campaign. The Students are having a solid term so far as they currently occupy eighth place in the table, but they will be keen to find some positive consistency in their results.

They head into this fixture with Cambridge having won four and lost four of their last eight matches which has seen them not push on from their current mid-table position. However, one positive for the Midlands side is that they have lost just one of their last six matches at home and they will fancy themselves to improve on that record against a struggling Cambridge side this Saturday.

Esher v Fylde

Esher host Fylde at Moseley Road this weekend looking to put a stop to their freefall down the National One table. The Surrey-based side have struggled massively in recent weeks and as a result, they have slipped down to 13^th in the standings and are now only five points clear of the relegation places.

Eight defeats in their last nine matches is the reason for Esher’s decline and they now face a crucial game against a Fylde side that is only three points ahead of them in the table. One of the positives to come out of Esher’s season so far has been their home form where all five of their victories have come this season. A sixth victory at Moseley Road is much needed this weekend for Esher as they look to keep themselves afloat.

Fylde are not yet embroiled in a scrap for safety, but if they are unable to turn their away form around then they might get dragged into a relegation battle. The Lancashire side travel south this Saturday having won just one of their last 22 away matches – a run which stretches back to October 2015 when they beat Coventry.

All six of Fylde’s wins have come on home soil this season and those victories mean Paul Arnold’s men currently occupy 12^th place in table as things stand. They are only eight points clear of the drop so a maiden away win of the season and their first in 15 months would certainly ease the nerves of the men from Woodlands.

Macclesfield v Blaydon

Both Macclesfield and Blaydon had their feet up last Saturday as their matches against Hull Ionians and Birmingham Moseley were cancelled due to the weather, but after a week out of action, the serious business of survival in National One continues this weekend at Priory Park.

Macc Director of Rugby Giles Heagerty was left frustrated by comments made towards him and his side after the postponement at Hull last week. It was suggested that they had purposely had the game called off due to the pitch at Hull being too hard to play on just so they could be fresh for this weekend’s clash with Blaydon.

Heagerty said in an interview this week that those accusations were ‘ludicrous’ and now he and his side are fully focused on this Saturday. Bottom of the table Macc have secured only two victories this term, but both have come in Cheshire and third home victory for the Blues could spark a remarkable revival as they look to overturn a 15 point deficit between themselves and safety.

As for visitors Blaydon, they are three points better off than Macclesfield, but they too find themselves with a lot of work to do if they are to pull off a great escape. The Crows are 12 points adrift of 13^th place and head to the north-west this weekend having lost their last six games.

Their last victory came in the middle of October against relegation rivals Hull Ionians and the north-east side will be hoping for a similar outcome tomorrow. Blaydon are yet to win on the road this term, but a defeat for either side in this contest could well spell the end of their time in National One.