National Two South: Who will hold their nerve as pressure mounts at the top?

As we approach the first break of the season, the top of National Two South is as tight as it has been all season.

Taunton have led the way since Week One and now will be aiming to enter the final seven weeks before Christmas as league leaders.

They are under heavy pressure though from Cambridge, who are level on points with thE Titans, as well as the Old Albainian, Clifton, Bishops Stortford and even Redruth.

Elsewhere, the Old Elthamians wil be looking to keep up their good form along with Barnes and Bury St Edmunds while Chinnor and Launceston search for their first wins of the season.

Taunton v Bishops Stortford

After losing their perfect 100 per cent start to the season last weekend, Taunton now face another tough fixture as they welcome Bishops Stortford to Hyde Park this Saturday.

The league leaders were beaten for the first time last week by second place Cambridge and they certainly know what Stortford are capable of as both sides battled it out for a play-off place last season.

Taunton have won all four of their home matches this campaign and have lost just once in their last 15 competitive matches on home soil.

Bishops Stortford beat Taunton to that play-off position last season, but lost out to Ampthill and District. Now, the side from Silver Leys currently sit fifth in the table after three wins in their last four.

It hasn’t been a clean-cut start to the season for Stortford, but they know a win could possibly take them top on Saturday - depending on other results.

Stortford have won two of their four away games so far this season, but did lose this fixture 22-17 last season.

Worthing Raiders v Cambridge

Cambridge are a side that seem to have no boundaries at the moment. Five straight wins is currently the best form in the league and they rightly sit level on points with Taunton at the top of National Two South.

Their seventh place finish of last season seems to be merely a benchmark of what this side can achieve and that was highlighted with their win over Taunton last week.

They travel to Worthing, who surely would’ve harboured ambitions of a promotion challenge after finishing fifth last campaign, but three straight defeats leaves them languishing in 11^th place. Worthing have won 13 of their last 18 at home, but with the form both of these teams are in, it’s hard to look past a win for the visitors.

Old Albanian v Redruth

After two straight wins, the Old Albanian find themselves just two points off  top spot as they aim to return to National One at the first attempt after relegation last season.

The OA’s have lost just one of their last five and have won all three of their games at home so far this season.

They welcome a Redruth side who have returned to winning ways recently. Two straight defeats have been followed by back to back wins which leaves the Reds just a bonus-point win behind the league leaders.

Redruth have won three of their four away matches so far this season – which is more than in the whole of the last campaign, but this fixture with the OA’s is sure to be their toughest test yet on their travels.

Clifton v Bury St Edmunds

What a turnaround it has been for Clifton. After finishing 12^th last season, just three points clear of the relegation zone, they currently find themselves in fourth place having lost just once so far this campaign.

It really has been an impressive opening seven weeks for Clifton who now host Bury St Edmunds this weekend.

Clifton have won all four of their games at home this season and like the Old Albanian – sit just two points behind the leaders.

As for their opponents Bury St Edmunds, they will be delighted with the start they have made to the season after being promoted from National Three last year.

They sit 10^th in the table on 17 points with three wins to their name. Two of those wins have come in their last three matches, both at home. Bury have won once on the road this season and that came against Chinnor in Round Two so it shows they do have the pedigree to win away.

Old Elthamians v Southend Saxons

The Old Elthamians made a disjointed start to this season, but head into round eight of fixtures with the second best form in the league alongside league leaders Taunton. Four wins in their last five games sees them in seventh place with the OE’s having won all three of their home games so far this season.

Just below them are Southend, who have made a solid start to the campaign after escaping relegation on games won last campaign.

The Saxons have won three times this season and are performing better on their travels with two victories so far. They have lost just one of their last five, but will be wary that they lost this fixture with the OE’s 51-28 last season.

Barnes v Redingsensians

Both of these sides in this fixture this weekend were promoted from their respective National Three Leagues last season, but it is safe to say the home side are enjoying life slightly better than the Redingsensians.

Barnes are the form team in the bottom half as three straight victories gives them the chance to move into the top half with a win over The Rams on Saturday. Considering they had lost their previous four matches before this purple patch, it shows great character from this Barnes side.

They host a Redingsensians who were unlucky not to get anything more than a bonus point against the Old Elthamians last week, but The Rams will be looking for their second win of the season this Saturday.

Their only win came three weeks ago against Worthing, but they are still searching for their first away win of the season as they currently sit in the relegation places.

Canterbury v Chinnor

Three wins from three was the perfect start to the season for Canterbury, but since then, things haven’t been quite a rosy for the City Men.

In fact, four straight defeats as seen them slide down the table to 11^th – where they finished last season - and they will be hoping to rekindle that early season form against an out of sorts Chinnor this Saturday.

Chinnor travel to Canterbury in their worst form since November 2008. Seven straight defeats leaves them second from bottom and their sixth place finish of last season is a distance memory. This will be their fifth away game of the season and they did narrowly lost this fixture 23-22 last season.

Launceston v Dorking

Launceston picked up their first points of the season last week after a battling performance away at Barnes which shows that even though this side is bottom of the table, they have the capabilities to cause sides problems.

They are still winless and actually haven’t won a league game in nine matches (including two at the end of last season). They finished 10^th last campaign after a spurt of good results at the start of the year guided them to safety and they need that sort of run again to inspire them to avoid the drop this time around.

They host a Dorking side that is still struggling to find any real momentum this season. 2015 has been a year to forget for the team that looked nailed on for a play-off spot in January and now they sit 13^th with just two wins from seven this season.

Dorking have won 11 of their last 18 away games, but are yet to win on the road this season. They did draw this fixture 17-17 back in January.