Unrivalled joy for Macclesfield and Cambridge in an enthralling National Two season

Disappointment of relegation spurred on Macclesfield to bounce straight back into National One and a squad full of desire and commitment helped Cambridge to glory.

It began 38 weeks ago and it produced some exhilarating rugby and most of all showed off the qualities of the National Leagues once again. When the first ball was kicked, the first tackle made and the first tries scored, 30 rounds of rip roaring rugby was underway for another year in National Two,

National Two North

Giles Heagerty claimed that his team were certainly not thinking about immediate promotion back to National One following relegation last season. However, Macclesfield were the frontrunners this term topping the table for the majority of this campaign and they went on to earn the National Two North crown and automatic promotion back to the third tier of English rugby.

At the start of the season, it was clear that themselves and Tynedale (who were also relegated alongside Macc) could well return to National One at the first time of asking, but knew it wouldn’t be straight forward. Sedgley Park, who had played second fiddle to Hull Ionians and Ampthill and District last term were firmly in the hunt for promotion this time around while the likes of Caldy, Harrogate and Chester were looking to build on their success of last year.

And it was Sedgley Park who flew out of the blocks with six wins from their first eight games, but were sitting behind Macclesfield heading into November after the Cheshire side bounced back from an opening day defeat to Stourbridge to go on a seven game winning run. Below them were Caldy, but they were also joined by Stourbridge and even more surprisingly by Leicester Lions and Sandal.

Stour had had a tough season the year before due to injuries, but looked back to their best in the early months of this campaign while Leicester, who had stayed in this division on the final day last term, were certainly upsetting the odds.

But the real shock came from the newly promoted Sandal. After gaining a place in National Two North via the National Three North play-off, the Yorkshire side had stunned this division by losing just twice in the first two months of the season. How long would they be able to keep this up?

Down at the bottom, after strong campaigns last term, Huddersfield and Broadstreet found themselves dicing with danger early on as did the Luctonians who looked on course for another tough season. Elsewhere new boys South Leicester and Sale FC were very much holding their own while there were mixed starts for Preston Grasshoppers, Otley, Chester and Harrogate with the latter really struggling to hit the heights of the last campaign. Tynedale were also performing below par and after being one of the early season favourites for the title, just four wins from 12 matches signaled the end of their hopes.

Into December and with that came weather disruption which caused postponements. However, that paled into significance when Tynedale were hit by the terrible floods leaving their clubhouse and pitches totally destroyed meaning they were relocated to Kingston Park.

In terms of the rugby itself, Macclesfield continued to lead the way and looked comfortable until Sedgley Park inflicted the first home defeat on them to reignite the title race. But, Sedge shot themselves in the foot in the weeks heading into the New Year as a defeat against Preston saw Macc carry a 13 point lead into the second-half of the season and it also allowed Caldy, Stourbridge and Leicester Lions to move closer to second spot in the table. In terms of the relegation battle, Huddersfield and Broadstreet continued to look doomed with the Luctonians joining them in the bottom three, but the Herefordshire were certainly on an upturn at the halfway mark.

The first month of 2016 saw more postponements across the division, but it didn’t halt Macclesfield’s charge despite starting the year with a defeat against Caldy. Dropped points by Sedge allowed Macclesfield to tighten their grip on the title with Sedge now looking over their shoulders at their other promotion rivals.

Sandal’s positive first half of the season started to take a decline in January following three defeats in their first four matches of the New Year and it was the start of a dramatic loss of form which would see them lose seven straight games and become embroiled in a relegation dogfight.

Stour’s second placed ambitions took a knock at the start of February with two straight defeats and those losses helped Sedgley Park move back into second place as Caldy and Leicester Lions failed to capitalise. At the wrong end of the table, the Luctonians and Broadstreet were pushing themselves closer to safety while the writing was starting to appear on the wall for Huddersfield. There was also change at Tynedale as coach Andy Buist parted ways with the club and Newcastle Falcons hooker Scott Lawson took over the reins to try keep Tyne in the division.

Into the penultimate month of the campaign and Sedgley Park’s title chances suffered a huge set-back at the beginning of March. They were beaten by Stourbridge leaving their automatic promotion hopes in tatters while their play-off spot was under serious threat once again from Stour, Caldy and Leicester Lions. At the bottom of the table, the revival of the Luctonians was making people stand up and take notice as they moved out of the bottom three following a run of eight wins from 11 games meaning Sale FC dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this term.

Heading into the final four weeks of the season, the title was in touching distance for Macclesfield. They had put together an eight game winning run and they knew victory over Sedgley Park away from home in the first weekend of April would more or less secure them promotion. Macc didn’t let the chance past them by as a narrow 34-33 win for the Cheshire outfit meant just a single point from their next home game against relegation threatened Chester would seal a return to National One.  Also on the same weekend, Huddersfield’s fate was sealed as they dropped into National Three after a defeat against Caldy.

The champagne was on ice at Priory Park that following week, but it wasn’t long before the corks started popping as Macclesfield clinched the title in front of their own fans with victory over Chester with two rounds of matches left to play. But, time was up for Broadstreet who followed Huddersfield through the trapdoor after a home loss to Leicester Lions meaning there was now only one place left to be occupied in the bottom three.

Still to be settled was also the play-off spot, but even know Sedge suffer a hiccup against Caldy, the Tigers were able to nail down second place with victory over Preston Grasshoppers in Round 29.

So to the final weekend of the season where the relegation battle took centre stage.  Before the start of the day, it was Sale FC who occupied the final relegation spot in this division. They knew a  third win in a row for them away at Caldy and a loss for Sandal away at the Luctonians would see them survive in National Two North. The Manchester-based club won 16-8 at Paton Field while Sandal lost away at the Luctonians which sent them down after a remarkable downturn in form in the second half of this season.

South Leicester, Chester and Tynedale were also not out of the woods in this relegation battle ahead of this final weekend, but all three got their jobs done in fine fashion to end what had been an enthralling season in National Two North.

National Two South

12 months ago, Henley Hawks were celebrating promotion from National Two South in a campaign which they dominated throughout, but this past season was anything but a cruise to the title for eventual winners Cambridge.

Based on last season, Bishops Stortford, Taunton Titans and even Dorking and Worthing Raiders were expected to challenge for promotion alongside the Old Albanian who had been relegated from National One and it was no surprise to see Taunton race to the top in the opening weekends of the season.

The Titans, who finished third last year, led the way without much trouble having won their opening seven games of the season. Their first defeat of the season came away at Cambridge which saw the Blood and Sand take top spot away from Tautnon which they then held on to heading into the New Year. The Old Albanian had not adapted to life in the fourth tier of English rugby too quickly as a draw against Southend Saxons in September and a defeat to Cambridge two weeks later meant they were already playing catch-up with the men from Volac Park. However, 10 straight wins leading into the Christmas period saw them start 2016 level on points with Cambridge while Taunton had slipped to third.

Below the top three were Bishop Stortford who had not got off to the tidiest of starts as four defeats in the first four months of the season would ultimately cost them a top two spot. Surprisingly behind Stortford came a Redruth side that had finished ninth in the last campaign. However, the Reds were looking strong this time around and they were also closely pursued by Clifton who finished 12^th the previous term. The South Gloucestershire side had won seven of their opening 12 games and were certainly upsetting the apple cart in National Two South.

Down at the bottom, there were a couple of surprises too. After finishing 10^th last term Launceston entered the Christmas period without a win to their name and rock bottom of National Two South while Chinnor, who ended last year in sixth place, and Canterbury occupied the two other relegation spots following poor runs of form.

Into the New Year and less than 48 hours after the fireworks had signalled the start of 2016, there were fireworks on display in National Two South as the Old Albanian took control of the title race following Cambridge’s home defeat against Bishops Stortford. The OA’s then continued to lay down their marker before their title challenge started to derail. It began with a 26-24 defeat to Cambridge and if that wasn’t a blow, they then ended January and began February with two more defeats against Bishops Stortford and struggling Chinnor which allowed Cambridge to claw themselves back to the summit.

At the bottom, Launceston’s first win of the season continued to evade them while nine points separated 15^th placed Chinnor and newly promoted Barnes who sat in ninth place. Teams continued to swap and change positions with sides like Southend Saxons (who stayed up on the final day of last season) and newcomers Redingensians starting to get dragged into a relegation scrap.

There were more twists and turns to come in the fight for survival none more so then the revival of Chinnor. They ended February having won four games on the spin which saw them move out of the relegation places for the first time this season with the last victory in that sequence ending Taunton’s 18 month unbeaten home record and it also hampered the Titians title hopes. The Redingensians also moved away from the bottom three as they began a seven game winning run, but it was beginning to look bleak for Southend and Launceston while Canterbury dropped into the drop zone. At the top Cambridge maintained their seven-point lead and heading into the final seven weeks of the season, it was theirs to lose.

Head Coach Rowland Winter stated that he wasn’t surprised to see his Cambridge side leading the way in National Two South with two months left of the season, but the nerves may have increased when his side were back under pressure from the Old Albanian at the end of March.

Cambridge were held to a 26-26 draw by an impressive Barnes side while the Old Albanian picked up a crucial win over Taunton to reduce the gap to five points at the top of the table. In the relegation battle, Launceston’s demotion was confirmed with the Cornish side still searching for their first win of the season - which they wouldn't go on to acheive -  while Southend Saxons and now Dorking were starting get cut adrift in the bottom three as teams at the bottom began to pick up crucial results.

Into the final month of the season and there was still so much to play for. At the top, the title race was still in full swing while the fight for survival was becoming extremely tense. Worthing Raiders were still struggling down at the wrong end of the table and despite a win over Canterbury to settle the nerves, they were dragged into a relegation showdown with Dorking following defeat to Taunton while Dorking gave their survival chances a huge boost with wins over Bury St Edmunds and Southend. But time was up for Southend Saxons who lost to Cambridge in Round 27 meaning now there was only one place left in the relegation zone.

On to Round 29 which was arguably one of the most exciting weekends of the season. Worthing and Dorking faced off while Cambridge were aiming to edge closer to the title and what was about to unfold was a day of high drama. Worthing got their job done meaning 12 months after challenging for promotion, Dorking were relegated to the fifth tier while at the top of the table, Cambridge suffered a shock defeat to Bury St Edmunds meaning the Old Albanian had hope heading into the final weekend of the season.

With everything else decided, the title had gone to the final day of the season. Challengers such as Taunton and Bishops Stortford and fallen by the wayside and it had been a two horse race for the final few weeks of the campaign. Cambridge knew a home win over already relegated Dorking would clinch them the title while the OA’s hosted Launceston. There were no surprised expected and sure enough Cambridge did not slip up meaning they won automatic promotion to National One meaning the Old Albanian had to settle for a play-off spot.

But, two weeks on from the disappointment of missing out on top spot the OA’s were celebrating a place in National One as they beat Sedgley Park 24-0 in St Albans to join Cambridge and Macclesfield next season in the third tier of English Rugby.

Congratulations to Scunthorpe, Sheffield Tigers, Hinckley, London Irish Wild Geese, Exmouth and Barnstable who will join National Two next season having won their respective level 5 leagues or playoffs.