Unbeaten records put to the test in National Two South

At this early stage of the season, it is always tough to say who will be challenging for promotion come April. But, when four of the top five take on each other in Round Three of the competition, it can give you some indication. 

Currently, Taunton Titans lead the way in National Two South, but it is the sides directly below them which are under the spotlight this weekend. Something has to give on Saturday as Cinderford host Bishops Stortford and Redruth travel to Chinnor as all four sides remain unbeaten. It is set to be an enthralling weekend at the top of this division.

Elsewhere, the Old Elthamians and Worthing Raiders will be looking to keep up their winning starts to the campaign while Henley Hawks, Barnstaple and Canterbury search for maiden victories.

Also, two of the newly promoted sides battle it out for their first win of the season as the London Irish Wild Geese travel to Exmouth.

Barnes v Taunton Titans

It is fair to say that Barnes were in the handful of National Two South teams that had a positive season last term. Following promotion to the fourth tier of English rugby, Barnes did finish 11 points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Clifton, Dorking, Southend Saxons and Launceston.

But since February 20^th of this year, Jamie Turner’s men have found wins hard to come by and in fact they haven't  picked up a victory in nine league matches. They have begun this season with defeats against Bishops Stortford and Worthing Raiders and taking that into consideration, a win over the league leaders will be tough ask for the South-West London side on Saturday.

Table toppers Taunton Titans will be searching for their third win in as many matches on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Barnes. The Titans were one of the stronger sides in National Two South last season, but some inconsistent results eventually saw them finish fifth place in table despite an impressive start to the campaign.

Tony Yapp’s side have begun this term in fine fettle. A win away at the Redingensians was followed by a thrashing of new boys Exmouth at Hyde Park and now Yapp will be hoping his side can continue their 100 per cent start to the season with victory in this fixture.

Cinderford v Bishops Stortford

Cinderford have responded to the disappointment of losing their place in National One last season in an excellent manner. The Gloucestershire side dropped out of English rugby’s third tier after winning just seven of their 30 matches, but have adjusted to life in National Two South very well.

A narrow win over Canterbury on the opening day of the season was followed up by a blistering second-half performance away at Clifton which earnt them there second win of the campaign as they prepare to welcome one of the title candidates, Bishops Stortford, to Dockham Road this Saturday.

Bishops Stortford, like Cinderford, have got off to a flyer this season with the men from Silver Leys picking up maximum points from their first two fixtures. Stortford’s challenge for promotion in the last campaign was thwarted by a slow start to the season, but that isn’t the case this time around.

Andy Long’s men have begun the season with victories over Barnes and Bury St Edmunds and have now been handed arguably one of the toughest fixtures of the season in round three of the competition. It will be a tough test this weekend for Stortford, but they will believe that it is a winnable test for them as they look to keep their perfect record intact.

Chinnor v Redruth

Chinnor are looking to forget all about their below-par National Two South campaign last year and so far they are doing just that this campaign. The Black and Whites have started the season with two wins from their first two fixtures and despite being in a relegation dogfight at times last term, it seems like Chinnor have turned over a new leaf.

Wins over London Irish Wild Geese and Henley Hawks leave Matt Williams’ side in a strong position following this impressive start to the campaign. That win against Henley last weekend really did signal their intentions for this season so confidence will be high as they look to pick up another victory this Saturday.

Redruth were certainly one of my pre-season favourites to challenge for promotion once again and their season has got off to a brilliant start. The Reds have picked up nine points from their first two games thanks to wins over Henley Hawks and Barnstaple.

Having finished fourth last term, Redruth have continued to push on and are oozing confidence at the minute. This will be a difficult fixture at The Rectory Pavilion this weekend, but having picked up 10 wins from their last 16 away matches, Marek Churcher’s men will fancy their chances of making it three wins from three.

Old Elthamians v Clifton

The Old Elthamians endured another mixed season last year. After finishing eighth back in the 2014/15 campaign, the OE’s failed to push on from that excellent season and once again finished slap bang in the middle of the table due to inconsistent results.

The OE’s themselves highlighted that the patchy form was the reason for them not progressing last term, but there is nothing patchy about their start to this new campaign. Away wins against Barnstaple and Canterbury leaves them unbeaten so far this season as they prepare to begin their home campaign this weekend. The OE’s won eight of their 15 matches in front of their own supporters last season highlighting that inconsistency once again, so they will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins this Saturday.

Clifton flew out of the blocks last season with just one defeat from their opening eight games, but it seems unlikely that they will repeat that this time around. The South Gloucestershire side are on a terrible run of form at present which is holding them back from moving out of the bottom half of this division.

A 29-26 victory over Chinnor in March of this year was only Clifton’s fifth win in their last 24 league matches – a run which stretches back to October 2015. They have begun this season with defeats against Bury St Edmunds and Cinderford  and this trip to the OE’s will be a difficult task for Darren Lloyd and his coaching staff who have not won away from home in their last 14 attempts.

Bury St Edmunds v Worthing Raiders

Bury St Edmunds are hoping to return to winning ways following defeat last weekend. After opening this season with a strong win over Clifton, Bury were beaten by an impressive Bishops Stortford outfit last Saturday, but return home looking to make it back to back wins at The GK IPA Haberden.

After finishing in a very impressive sixth place last season following promotion into National Two South, Gavin Hogg’s side now face a tough task to try and repeat that feat this term. Next on the agenda for the Wolfpack is this fixture with Worthing Raiders and Bury have won nine of their last 16 matches on home soil.

It won’t be a straight forward match for Bury though. Worthing Raiders travel to Suffolk on the back of some excellent early season form. The Raiders edged out Barnes last weekend following a professional display in their victory over Exmouth on the opening day of the season and they’ll make this trip looking to extend their winning run.

Jody Levett’s side had a tough time of things last year as they were battling against relegation for large parts of the season, but are certainly a team to watch out for this term. They have begun this campaign brilliantly so can they follow it up with an away win on Saturday afternoon?

Redingensians v Henley Hawks

The Redingensians have had a mixed bag of results to begin this new season. After a superb seventh place finish last term after promotion to the fourth tier of English rugby, The Rams are looking to cement their place further in National Two South and their performance last weekend shows that there are capable of achieving that.

The Redingensians begun the campaign with defeat at home to current league leaders Taunton Titans, but responded with a 28-13 win over London Irish Wild Geese six days ago. That win would’ve given Mike Tewkesbury’s side confidence heading into this fixture at Old Bath Road against a Henley side still searching for their first win of the season.

After relegation from National One in May, Henley Hawks’ form has continued on a downward slope. Last time they were in National Two South, they controlled the division from the first whistle of the season and deservedly earnt their place in the third tier of English rugby, but the Hawks just haven’t found their feet this time around.

Defeats to Redruth and Chinnor leave Henley languishing towards the bottom of the table in these early stages and for a potential promotion candidate; they need to start finding a way to win. Neil Dudding’s side have in fact won just six of their last 32 games and that needs to change sooner rather than later if they are going to mount a challenge for a top two spot.

Barnstaple v Canterbury

Barnstaple have found life in National Two South tough so far, but they will be eager to turn their fortunes around as quickly as possible. Barum are competing in the fourth tier of English rugby for the first time in the club’s history following promotion into this division last term.

But after two heavy defeats in the opening two rounds of fixtures against the Old Elthamians and Redruth, confidence could be low amongst Steve Perry and Bryn Jenkins’ side. Getting that first win after promotion as early as you can is vitally important and Barnstaple will be hoping it comes this weekend in their fixture against Canterbury.

Canterbury maybe heading into this fixture in positive spirts despite suffering two defeats in two matches to begin the season. A 14-7 loss to Cinderford and a narrow 17-15 defeat against the Old Elthamians highlights that Canterbury certainly have the capabilities of producing strong performances, but they now must turn them into victories.

Last season, the City Men were incredibly inconsistent which led to them finishing in the bottom half of the table and the squad must now see this fixture against newly-promoted Barnstaple as the ideal chance to get off the mark this season. It will be a tricky trip to Devon this weekend, but one Canterbury know they have the quality to win.

Exmouth v London Irish Wild Geese

Exmouth’s time in National Two South in the early parts of this season has been tough. In the last round of fixtures, they concede nine tries against Taunton Titans and fell to defeat on the opening day of the campaign against Worthing Raiders at home. Now they’re looking for their maiden victory following promotion last season when they take on fellow new boys London Irish Wild Geese. 

Exmouth won all 13 of their home games on course to winning the National Three South West title, but that defeat to Worthing may have reduced their confidence at the Imperial Recreation Ground. The Devonshire side sit bottom of the table at this early stage of the season, but a win here against London Irish Wild Geese could be the catalyst they need for this campaign.

The same story applies for London Irish Wild Geese this season. Crowned champions of the National Three London and South East division in May, life in National Two South hasn’t got off to the best of starts. They were hammered by Chinnor and lost to the Redingensians at Hazelwood last weekend so they too are still searching for their first win of the campaign.

Duncan Cormack’s side went unbeaten away from home last year, winning 10 of their 13 matches, and they will need to revive that sort of form this weekend. London Irish Wild Geese will see this as good chance to gain their first points of the season following their early season defeats, but it won’t be straight forward away from home.