Opportunity knocks for Hull Ionians

As we begin the final month of the National One season, the relegation battle is at the heart of all the stories in this division as three sides are still fighting to avoid the drop.

Blaydon, Hull Ionians and Macclesfield can still escape the trapdoor, but this weekend, the incentive may well be on Hull Ionians. Both Blaydon and Macclesfield have home fixtures against Plymouth Albion (2^nd) and Ampthill & District (3^rd) while the I’s welcome Cambridge (12^th) to Brantingham Park.

With the Yorkshire outfit just two points adrift of safety and seemingly having the ‘best’ fixture on paper this Saturday, they will feel like they have a great opportunity to move out of the relegation zone. Of course, Cambridge along with Macc and Blaydon will have something to stay about that and rightly so as we begin a crucial part of the campaign.

At the right end of the table, newly crowned champions Hartpury College will be presented with their trophy this weekend when they take on Loughborough Students, but they may well be thinking that they can go the rest of this season undefeated after racking up 26 straight wins.

Elsewhere in National One, fourth placed Birmingham Moseley go to Blackheath while fifth takes on sixth as Rosslyn Park travel to Coventry. Other fixtures on Saturday include Esher’s home game against Darlington Mowden Park while Fylde welcome Old Albanian to Lancashire.

Hartpury College v Loughborough Students

Even though there are still four games left of the National One season, newly crowned champions Hartpury College will be presented with the league trophy on Saturday following the conclusion of their fixture with Loughborough Students.

Added to that, they were able to secure the league and cup double on the university front on Thursday afternoon as they beat Exeter at Twickenham so more silverware will be on show tomorrow afternoon.

It has been a mightily impressive campaign from John Barnes’ men who will be able to celebrate their success further tomorrow, but College might still be aiming for an invincible season in the third tier of English rugby. Hartpury have won all 26 of their National One matches this term and you would not bet against them completing this term undefeated.

But trying to dampen the party atmosphere will be Loughborough Students. Loughborough, like Hartpury, have a very strong university side but after falling short in the semi-finals, they will be hoping their National One team can end this season on a high.

As things stand, the Midlands side sit level on points with eighth placed Darlington Mowden Park and considering Loughborough have diced with danger over the last couple of seasons, a top-half finish would be an excellent achievement in this campaign. Students head to Gloucestershire tomorrow on the back of a victory over Blackheath which ended a six game losing run, but they will know they will have to be at their very best to stop the new champions of National One.

Macclesfield v Plymouth Albion

Macclesfield Head Coach Giles Heagerty told the club’s website this week that his side will ‘fight for every last remaining point in every remaining game’ in this final month of the season and after last weekend’s valiant display against Birmingham Moseley, the Blues still have the slightest chance of pulling off the greatest of escapes.

As things stand, Macc are 15 points from safety after securing two bonus-points from their trip to the Midlands but it will take something spectacular for them to dig themselves out of this hole. The Cheshire side know that they must match or better the results of relegation rivals Blaydon and Hull Ionians this weekend to avoid the drop but that is easier said than done as they welcome an in-form Plymouth Albion side to Priory Park tomorrow.

Macc have won all three of their matches on home turf this season but they host an Albion side in a rampant mood at present. Plymouth, who lie second in the table, have won their last nine matches and Kieran Hallet and his team remain firmly on course to secure the silver medal spot in National One this term.

Albion reached a century of points last weekend following their comprehensive victory over relegation threatened Blaydon and the odds seem stacked in their favour to produce a similar performance against the divisions’ bottom club tomorrow. The men from Brickfields have won seven times on the road this term and they are firm favourites to add to that record in Cheshire this weekend.

Blaydon v Ampthill and District

Following their humbling defeat away at Plymouth Albion last weekend, it doesn’t get much easier for Blaydon in Round 27 as they welcome third placed Ampthill and District to Crow Trees. Blaydon were beaten 45-0 at Brickfields which means they still remain two points clear of the bottom two as we kick-off the final month of this season.

Their fixture this weekend against Ampthill is arguably their toughest between now and the end of the month, but they will be keen to secure a positive result this weekend as any number of points could be crucial in their fight for survival. Mickey Ward’s men head into this fixture having won one of their last five games, but they have secured five victories on their own patch this term. Can they use home advantage to spur them on this weekend?

In terms of the visitors Ampthill and District, they take the long trip north this weekend still harbouring ambitions of a top two finish. The Bedfordshire side continue to play catch-up with Plymouth Albion as they are eight points behind the south-coast club so any sort of slip-up for the A’s this weekend would probably end their hopes of finishing as runners-up to Hartpury College.

Ampthill finished fourth last season following promotion into this division in 2015, so they are on course to better their achievement from 12 months ago. The men from Dillingham Park returned to winning ways at home against Hull Ionians last weekend and they’ll be hoping to dispatch another relegation threatened side this Saturday.

Blackheath v Birmingham Moseley

Birmingham Moseley were given a scare last weekend by bottom of the table Macclesfield, but they did manage to secure their 18^th win of the season. Kevin Maggs’ side will now be aiming to end a tough year in National One in a positive fashion as they look to build their way back into the second tier of English rugby.

The Midlands side were relegated into this division last spring, but they will have to climb back up the rugby ladder without coach Maggs next season. The former Ireland international is parting ways with the club so he and Moseley will want to finish with a flurry. They begin their final four games of the season away at Blackheath where Moseley will be searching for their ninth victory on the road this weekend.

Like Birmingham Moseley, Blackheath will be entering a new era at the beginning of next season. Current Old Albanian Head Coach James Shanahan will be joining the club in the summer and ‘Club’ will want to end this season on a high before Shanahan takes over at the helm.

The men from Well Hall have seen their season tail off since the turn of the year. Blackheath were battling for second spot in the table at one stage, but just three wins in 10 matches has seen the London-based side slip to seventh in the division. Blackheath certainly have the quality to complete the final month of this season on a positive note and back to back home wins would be the perfect start.

Coventry v Rosslyn Park

It is sixth v fifth in the Midlands this weekend as Coventry welcome Rosslyn Park to the Butts Park Arena on Saturday with the sides separated by just a point. The hosts, Coventry, secured only their fourth away win of the season last weekend as Rowland Winter’s side beat Cambridge on his return to Volac Park.

That victory for Cov further cemented their sixth place position in the table, but they will feel confident of leapfrogging their visitors this weekend. Coventry have won their last four matches overall and have picked up 12 wins from their 13 home fixtures this season. Other than the top two clubs, that is the best home record in the division and the Midlands side will feel confident about improving on that this weekend.

However, Cov have not beaten Rosslyn Park at home since the 2011-12 season and considering the current form of the visitors this weekend, it will not be a straightforward home fixture for the Midlands club. Park travel north this Saturday having won 10 of their last 11 matches and they are on course to match their fifth placed finish of last season.

A win this Saturday would certainly see Andy Holloway’s side move closer to repeating that feat and the men from The Rock are producing all the right signals to suggest they will be a force to be reckoned with next season. For now, Park will be concentrating on their penultimate away fixture of the campaign and a seventh win on the road would put them in an excellent position to finish in the top five for the second successive year.

Esher v Darlington Mowden Park

Having not picked up an away win in the first six months of this season, Esher waited until March to secure back to back victories on the road and it seems like their triumphs on their travels has secured their safety in National One for another year.

A victory against Cambridge and a hammering of Old Albanian means the men from Moseley Road are now up to 11^th place in the table and more importantly, 15 points clear of the bottom two. The Surrey-based side will now want to return to winning ways at home this weekend where they have won seven of their nine matches this term. If they were to achieve that, Esher would officially confirm their place in the third tier of English rugby for next season.

Their visitors to Moseley Road this Saturday are Darlington Mowden Park who certainly would’ve taken some positives from their defeat against newly crowned champions Hartpury College. The north-east side performed extremely well last weekend and deservedly secured a bonus-point which just about keeps them in the top half of the table.

DMP have lost just four of their last 12 matches which is not a shabby record at all, but two of those loses have come in their last two games. The men from the Northern Echo Arena will be itching to put a stop to this mini blip when they take the long trip south this weekend and their sixth away win of the season will do just that.

Fylde v Old Albanian

Fylde welcome Old Albanian to Woodlands this weekend looking to shake off their recent bad run of form. After a perfect February where Paul Arnold’s side secured three straight victories, March was the complete opposite as the Lancashire club slumped to three consecutive losses.

Granted, two of those defeats came against sides currently in the top five so Fylde will be keen to begin the final four weeks of the season with a victory. This weekend’s fixture with Old Albanian will be Arnold’s penultimate home game in charge of Fylde as he is stepping down as Head Coach at the end of the campaign so he, more than anyone, will be eager to end his tenure at Fylde in a positive fashion.

Fylde have won eight of their 13 fixtures at Woodlands this season which is part of the reason why they have been able to stay clear of the trouble, so Old Albanian will be expecting a tough assignment when they visit Lancashire tomorrow.

James Shanahan’s side have been aiming to finish in the top eight of this division following promotion 12 months ago and the OAs still have a fantastic chance of achieving their target despite back to back defeats. They currently lie just a point behind eighth placed Darlington Mowden Park and a first win in just under a month could see them jump back into the top half.

Hull Ionians v Cambridge

Having previewed the fixtures in Round 27 for Macclesfield and Blaydon, on paper, Hull Ionians have the ‘kinder’ game this weekend as they battle for survival against the aforementioned sides. The I’s host Cambridge at Brantingham Park tomorrow just two points adrift of safety as we begin the final month of this season.

The Yorkshire side were outplayed last weekend by Ampthill and District but they are back on home turf this Saturday looking for their sixth victory in front of their own supporters. With Macclesfield and Blaydon taking on two of the sides currently in the top three of this division, this could be the perfect chance for Hull Ionians to move out of the relegation places.

The reason I say this is because Cambridge currently lie 12^th in the table, but they are a side more than capable of coming away from Yorkshire with a victory on Saturday. The Blood and Sand have had a successful season under the guidance of Ross Stewart and they have all but secured their safety in National One after promotion into this division 12 months ago.

The men from Volac Park sit 15 points clear of Hull Ionians heading into this game so if Cambridge were to avoid defeat this weekend, they will mathematically be safe from the drop. Cambridge will want to improve on their recent form too as they have won just one of their last five matches and a fifth away victory of the season will be the perfect way to start the last four weeks of the campaign.