National Two South: Cambridge aiming to continue good form

National Two South returns this Saturday with Cambridge looking to maintain their stay at the top of the division, but face another tough challenge in Clifton.

Taunton and the Old Albanian will both be searching for away victories as they get ready to swoop in if Cambridge slip up.

Elsewhere, the Old Elthamians and Barnes will be hoping to continue their fine recent form after a week off, while it’s the battle of the bottom two with the Redingsensians hosting Launceston in what could already by a vital game in both of their campaigns.

Cambridge v Clifton

Cambridge head into November top of the league after five straight wins. They finished 7^th in table last season, but the ‘Blood and Sand’ are a team that is constantly improving.

Their run of victories hasn’t been straight forward either. The league leaders have beaten the likes of Taunton and the Old Albanian on route to the summit of National Two South. They have won all three matches at Volac Park this campaign and face another one of the highflyers this weekend - Clifton.

Clifton continue to impress in National Two South as they sit fourth in the table, just three points behind Cambridge.  After finishing 12^th last season, Clifton have won six of their eight matches so far this campaign and are unbeaten in their last two away matches.  If they were to win this fixture on Saturday, it would be a huge statement of intent made by the men from South Gloucestershire.

Chinnor v Taunton Titians

Taunton were dislodged at the top of the table by Cambridge two weeks ago only because the Titians failed to pick up a four-try bonus point  in their win over Bishops Stortford. Taunton had lost their first game of the season to Cambridge the previous week, so that was a near perfect response by the side from Hyde Park.

Chinnor may well be wary of Taunton as they are just one point behind the league leaders, but the hosts on Saturday will be focusing on themselves as they aim to make it back to back wins after securing a much needed first victory against Canterbury  12 days ago. After finishing 6^th last season, this campaign has been a stark contrast to last year as Chinnor have lost seven of their eight games and are yet to win at home. All the signs are pointing to an away win in this fixture.

Dorking v Old Albanian

The Old Albanian sit third in the table after just one defeat in their first eight games since relegation from National One last season. Tipped early on to bounce straight back, the OA’s are going about it in the right way as they sit just two points behind Cambridge.

The OA’s have won two of their four away matches this season having dropped points against Southend and Cambridge on their travels thus far.

They take on a Dorking side who are finding consistency hard to come by this season which has killed off any chances of a promotion challenge they may have had. They are currently 11^th in the table with just three wins to their name this season – two of which have been at home. Dorking have won 13 of their last 19 on home soil and with a victory last time out against Launceston on the road, they will be looking for back to back wins for the first time this season.

Bishops Stortford v Worthing Raiders

After defeat to promotion rivals Taunton last weekend, Bishops Stortford will have to dust themselves down and refocus as they welcome Worthing to Silver Leys on Saturday. Stortford sit 5th in the table but are already eight points off the play-off place after two defeats in their last three games.

They, along with the rest of the top six, have a 100 per cent record at home this season with Stortford actually winning their last nine matches on home soil.

Worthing travel to East Herefordshire having lost four of their last five matches. After a defeat to start to the campaign, things looked like they might have turned a corner for the Raiders after wins against Barnes and Launceston but since then,  any hopes of promotion have been dashed as they now sit 13^th in the table – four points clear of the relegation zone.

Worthing have won just once away from home this season and they will be desperate to double that total on Saturday. Worthing lost this fixture 29-10 last season.

Bury St Edmunds v Old Elthamians

The Old Elthamians have been impressive of late.  Four wins in their last five has seen them move up to 6^th in the table after a slow start to the season. It is their home form which has guided them that position and now they must start to get results on the road if they are sustain their good performances.

The OE’s have won only one of their first four away matches this campaign and that came against the Redingensians nearly three weeks ago. They will be hoping their second win can come at another one of the newly promoted teams this Saturday.

Bury St Edmunds have enjoyed  a solid start to life in National Two after being crowned champions of National League Three London and South East last season.  Three wins from eight games isn’t bad at all considering they are 10^th in the table and have picked up five bonus points this season.  Their last two victories came at home so this is set to be an intriguing contest between these two sides.

Redruth v Canterbury

It has been a mixed season for Redruth so far. After winning their first three games, they suffered two straight defeats before putting themselves back in the hunt for an early promotion positon with back to back wins.

However, a defeat last time out to the Old Albanian has set the Reds further back and they will be looking to reignite their challenge when they host Canterbury on Saturday. Redruth have won twice at home this season and have won 13 of their last 18 games at the Recreation Ground.

Canterbury were up there with Redruth at the start of the season after beginning the campaign with three straight wins. But that now seems a distant memory for the City Men. They have lost five consecutive matches leaving them in 12^th place and go into this fixture with Redruth with the second worst form in the division.

Canterbury do have a better record on their travels than they do at home with two wins four away matches, but they did lose this corresponding fixture 38-15 back in October of last year.

Southend Saxons v Barnes  

Barnes may not have wanted the first break of the season to come last weekend. They have won their last four games and have made an impressive start to the campaign after promotion via the National Three North play-off last season. This fixture against Southend will be just their fourth away game of the season and they have only won once so far on the road.

They travel to a Southend side who sit one place and one point behind Barnes heading into this weekend. After staying in this division by the skin of their teeth last year, they have already clocked up 21 points which is four points than this time last season. It has been a mixed bag of results for the Saxons who have won just once at home so far this campaign – that coming on the opening day of the season against Chinnor.

Redingsensians v Launceston

The battle of the bottom two takes place on Saturday as the new boys of the division the Redingsensians; welcome Launceston to Old Bath Road. The hosts have won one of their eight matches so far this season with that win coming just over a month ago at home to Worthing. Other than that, it has been tough for the Rams who have also picked up four bonus point so far.

Their opponents Launceston are the only side from National Two South up to the Championship without a win to their name so far this season. They sit bottom of this division with just three points to their name and more worryingly they already 11 points off safety.  They have lost all three of their games away from home and have lost their last 10 competitive matches.