National One Season: Start of the new season

It can be argued that this is the toughest division to be promoted from across the National Leagues. With one promotion place up for grabs, it really is all or nothing for teams who have their sights set on the IPA Championship.

Last season, it was Ealing Trailfinders who led the way all season. They clinched the title and that all important promotion back to the IPA Championship with a game remaining.

Down the other end of the table, the third tier of English rugby waved goodbye to Macclesfield, Tyndale and Old Albanian.

Fast-forward 132 days and it is the eve of another National One campaign. Who will triumph this year and who will be in for a long 30 game season?

It is fair to say that this league looks incredibly strong this year. Of course, it is hard to look past Ealing’s only real threat last season – Rosslyn Park - for promotion this time around.  They finished nine points behind Ealing, but were always on the coattails of the Trailfinders.

Rosslyn’s final game of last season was against Coventry who finished in third place. The Blues ended with 112 points to their name which was 24 points behind Ealing and 15 behind Rosslyn.  Despite this, I am sure Coventry will be challenging this season as their squad is one that does possess Championship quality. They also beat Ealing in their final pre-season friendly last week which is sure to boost the confidence heading into this weekend.

Meanwhile, the likes of Fylde, Hartpury and even Blackheath may fancy their chances this year, but they will need to close the gap to Rosslyn and Coventry quite significantly if they are to challenge. Fylde have strengthened over the summer bringing in Dominic Moon, Peter Altham and Lewis Allen and that showed in an impressive display last weekend against Yorkshire Carnegie.

On to the newcomers to National One and we will start with Plymouth Albion who were relegated from the Championship last season.  As always, a relegated side is expected to be one of the favourites for promotion and even the title at the beginning of a season.

 Last season was a year to forget for Plymouth who picked up just three wins all campaign and they will certainly be wiping the slate clean as they look to bounce straight back.

Coming into the division from National Two are Hull Ionians, Ampthill & District and Henley Hawks. Hull Ionians and Ampthill & District were promoted from National Two North with the Yorkshire side clinching the league crown on the final day of the season.

It meant the A’s had to settle for a play-off against local rivals Bishop’s Stortford in what was dubbed as Ampthill’s biggest game in their history.

And it was the Milton Keynes based side that prevailed winning 19-10 and earned their place in the top 40 clubs in the country.

Last time Ionians were in this division, they won just three matches so they will be hoping for a much stronger display this time around. As for Ampthill, they won 27 out of their 30 matches last season and finished with a 100 per cent home record. They have a very strong squad so they could well be the surprise package this season.

From the South, we have Henley who thoroughly deserve to be in this division after a sensational season last year. They won 24 of their matches and began the last campaign with 14 straight victories. It will be very intriguing to see how they go this year.

In terms of the other teams in this division, Cinderford clawed their way out of trouble last season finishing two points clear of the relegation zone and now things seemed to have calmed down on and off the pitch for the side.

The club lost some of its core players throughout last season and Coach Nic Corrigan also came into the club from Chester.  Corrigan believed that the club was not working as a team when he arrived and they turned that around to secure survival.

There was a nervy moment for the side when Old Albianan appealed their 5-point deduction for fielding two ineligible players in January, but they ultimately failed. Cinderford are now looking forward to a more successful campaign away from the bottom of this league.

Elsewhere the midfield battle is sure to be interesting. Can Loughborough Students, Esher and Wharfedale have more consistent seasons allowing them to push up the table? And will Richmond, Blaydon and Darlington Mowden Park go under the radar and be an outside contender for promotion?

All the action and drama kicks off this weekend.

Opening Day Fixtures

Blaydon v Blackheath

Cinderford v Darlington Mowden Park

Coventry v Wharfedale

Esher v Ampthill

Fylde v Loughborough Students

Hull Ionians v Hartpury College

Plymouth Albion v Richmond

Rosslyn Park v Henley