Tough away days in prospect for bottom three

At this stage of the season, every point matters for sides at the top and the bottom of any division in rugby and in National One, it is no different.

With the title already going to Hartpury College, attention once again turns to the relegation battle as Blaydon, Hull Ionians and Macclesfield continue to fight to avoid the drop.

For Blaydon and Hull Ionians, safety is certainly within their grasp but for bottom club Macclesfield, anything less than two points from their away trip to fourth placed Birmingham Moseley could see the Cheshire side become the first club to be relegated in the top three tiers of the National Leagues.

Blaydon and Hull Ionians could not be separated two weeks ago when the sides met in Yorkshire and now both teams face tough away fixtures against Plymouth Albion and Ampthill & District in Round 26 as they aim to continue picking up points.

Elsewhere in National One this weekend, newly crowned champions Hartpury College go to Darlington Mowden Park while fifth place Rosslyn Park welcome Fylde to London with the visitors continuing their search for a new coach for next season.

Other fixtures tomorrow include Rowland Winter's return to Cambridge with Coventry while Blackheath travel to Loughborough and Old Albanian host Esher.

Darlington Mowden Park v Hartpury College

Hartpury College were finally crowned champions of National One two weeks ago when they defeated Old Albanian, but now the Gloucestershire side will be looking to achieve their next milestone of the season as they aim to become invincible.

So for this term, College have won all 25 of their matches on their way to promotion to the Championship and who would bet against them completing their remarkable season unbeaten. After tomorrow’s fixture against Darlington Mowden Park, John Barnes’ side take on four sides which are struggling for form at present so the chances of Hartpury ending the campaign without a loss to their name seem to be high.

But first, they must overcome the challenge of Darlington Mowden Park. The north-east side have been in excellent form recently and welcome the newly crowned champions to the Northern Echo Area having lost just three of their last 11 matches.

That run of form has propelled DMP up the table and into the top-half, but they will be aiming for a response this weekend after their away defeat to Blackheath last time out. DMP have not lost on home turf since the start of February when they were beaten by Plymouth Albion and they know they will have to put in their performance of the season if they are to avoid a home loss this weekend.

Plymouth Albion v Blaydon

Plymouth Albion remain in the silver medal spot in National One and they are complete control of second place as we enter the final five games of the season. Albion head into this weekend having won their last eight matches and credit must go to Kieran Hallet who has done extremely well stepping into the coaching role after the departure of Dan Parkes in December.

As things stand, Plymouth have an eight point gap between themselves and third placed Ampthill and Albion will be confident of maintaining or increasing that margin this Saturday considering they have lost just once at Brickfields all season.

Their opponents Blaydon will have been kicking themselves over the last two weeks. The north-east side squandered a 17-0 lead against relegation rivals Hull Ionians last time out which meant Mickey Ward’s men stay two points clear of the drop as we approach the final month of the season.

The Crows have a mixed run-in too. After their long trip to Plymouth, they take on two sides in the top five of the division as well as two teams currently in the bottom half of the table. Blaydon may see this fixture with Plymouth as ‘free-hit’, but on the flip-side, they know how important it is to continue picking up points. Blaydon have actually lost just three of their last eight games and they will have to be at their best if they are to cause an upset this weekend.

Ampthill and District v Hull Ionians

Ampthill and District have a task on their hands if they are to finish in second place this year. Their 29-19 loss to Coventry last time out means they are eight points behind Plymouth Albion, but even if they don’t achieve a top two spot, it has still been another excellent season for the Bedfordshire side.

The A’s are currently on course to better their fourth place finish of last term and they will feel confident about cementing their third place in the table when Hull Ionians visit Dillingham Park. Ampthill have won 10 of their 13 games in front of their own supporters this term and they have also picked up four victories from their last five meetings with the I’s.

Both Ampthill and Hull Ionians were promoted into National One in 2015, but they have had contrasting fortunes in the third tier. While Ampthill have challenged towards the top half of the division, the I’s have had to fight off relegation and this year, they still have job to do to avoid the drop.

Their survival chances are still intact after fighting back to draw with Blaydon at Brantingham Park two weeks ago, but Hull know they could’ve performed much better in that match. They must now put that to the back of their minds as they look to overturn the two point gap between themselves and Blaydon and their aim from their trip to Ampthill this weekend could be to try and secure a point or two as it could prove vital in their fight for safety.

Birmingham Moseley v Macclesfield

Birmingham Moseley are just about still in the race for second spot. Kevin Maggs’ side are 12 points behind Plymouth Albion and just one win in their last five matches has certainly hampered their chances of finishing as runners-up in National One following relegation from the Championship last April.

Moseley are back at home this weekend looking to respond to their defeat against the aforementioned Plymouth Albion at Billesley Common last time out. That was only their third loss on home soil this term and the Midlands side know that they cannot afford to drop any more points this weekend otherwise their aim of a second place finish will be all but over.

In truth, the points probably mean more to Macclesfield this weekend then they do to their hosts. The Cheshire side know that they need to pick up a minimum of two points from their trip to the Midlands in order to avoid relegation from National One on Saturday.

Giles Heagerty’s side currently sit 17 points from safety so if they fail to pick up the required result and Blaydon secure any sort of win away at Plymouth, then the Blues would be relegated back down to National Two North after one year in the third tier. Macc could’ve done without the week break after an excellent win last time out over Loughborough Students, but now they will be hoping to carry those positives into tomorrow’s clash. On paper, Blaydon might be in for a tough afternoon in Plymouth, but Macc will be purely focused on claiming more points this weekend.

Rosslyn Park v Fylde

Rosslyn Park are looking to cement fifth place in National One following three wins in their last five games. Their last victory over Esher two weeks ago leaves Park a point clear of sixth placed Coventry and they will be keen to return to winning ways at home tomorrow.

Park were beaten on their own turf by Hartpury College at the beginning of March, but they were excellent in defeat and they showed signs that they could be a force to be reckoned with come next year. For now, Rosslyn Park will be aiming to continue their positive recent form as they welcome Fylde to the Rock this weekend.

During the week’s break, Fylde Head Coach Paul Arnold announced that he would leave the club at the end of the season after two seasons in charge at Woodlands. Arnold will also be calling time on his seven year affiliation with the Lancashire club and he and the side will be eager to finish this National One campaign on a high.

Arnold has helped Fylde turn their fortunes around over the last couple of months. After being on the cusp of the relegation battle, the Lancashire side have won three of their last five games which leaves them 14 points clear of the bottom two with five matches left to play. Fylde haven’t had the best of months though - losing both of their matches in March – and they could be in for a tough afternoon tomorrow against a Rosslyn Park side bang in form.

Cambridge v Coventry

Rowland Winter will make his return to Volac Park this weekend nearly a year after he departed Cambridge for Coventry. The current Cov Director of Rugby has certainly improved the Midlands club since he joined last May and they take on his old side this weekend currently sitting in sixth place in the league standings.

However, Winter and his side will know they could be higher in the table this term. As with nearly all our previews on Coventry this season, we focus once again on their contrasting fortunes at home and on the road. Cov have won 12 of their 13 matches at Butts Park this term, but they have only managed to secure three wins from their 12 games on their travels. Winter will be keen to add to their victories on the road between now and the end of the season and a win against his old side would be a nice way to begin achieving that aim.

Their hosts Cambridge secured a vital win over Fylde last time out. A 46-28 victory at Woodlands means the Blood and Sand are now 14 points clear of the drop and any nerves of an immediate relegation back down to National Two South are over.

Current Head Coach Ross Stewart has done well to keep Cambridge afloat this term and now he may well want to get one over his old colleague this Saturday. To do this, Cambridge must achieve something they haven’t been able to do in 2017; win a home fixture.

Loughborough Students v Blackheath

Loughborough Students are currently going through their worst spell of form this season. Six straight losses has seen the Midlands side fallout of the top half and they welcome Blackheath to Epinal Way this weekend currently bottom of the form table.

Loughborough’s last win came just over two months ago against Cambridge, but since then, they have slipped to 10^th in the table. They also lost to bottom of league Macclesfield last time out so the Students will be looking to respond this weekend as they go in search of their seventh home win of the campaign.

Their test weekend is against Blackheath. The London-based club received a much needed boost two weeks ago when they defeated Darlington Mowden Park which ended a five game winless run and now they will be keen to keep up their positive performances as we enter the final month of the season.

Next year, ‘Club’ will have James Shanahan at the helm so they will want to end this campaign as strongly as possible ahead of his arrival at Well Hall. For now, their focus will be on this trip to the Midlands tomorrow and Blackheath may fancy their chances of achieving their first away victory since December against a Loughborough side short on confidence.

Old Albanian v Esher

The Old Albanian will be aiming to finish James Shanahan’s tenure on a high. As mentioned above, Shanahan is off to Blackheath at the end of the season, but in an interview TRU did with the OAs coach earlier in the year, he and the side are keen to end this excellent campaign in the top-half of National One.

The OAs performed admirably against Hartpury College two weeks ago and they welcome Esher to Woolams tomorrow having won three of their last five games. They are back on home soil aiming for their seventh home win of the campaign as they look to move back into the top eight. It would be great achievement if the OAs were to finish in the top half following promotion via the National Two play-off last spring.

As for the visitors Esher, their first away win of the campaign against Cambridge at the start of March was not backed up at Moseley Road two weeks ago. The Surrey-based side have performed well at home all season (winning seven times on their own patch), but they were beaten by Rosslyn Park which leaves Esher 10 points clear of the drop.

With five games to go this season, Esher are far from safe and they will feel two wins from their remaining matches will be enough to keep them in National One for another season. Their task this weekend is to achieve back to back away wins and that would be the perfect start to securing their status in the third tier of English rugby.