Who will continue their perfect start in National Two North?

Like any sport, getting off to a great start is key to how your season pans out. Last year we saw Macclesfield and Sedgley Park string a good run of form together and that led to them challenging for promotion.

And that will be the same this year. The likes of Sedgley Park, Leicester Lions and Stourbridge will be keen to make it two wins from two to begin the campaign, but will be wary that anything can happen in this league.

We saw that last week as new boys Scunthorpe and Hinckley opened their accounts with victories and they will be hopeful of following that up this weekend too. The same applies to the Luctonians, Sale FC and Preston who all began the season with strong performances.

Elsewhere, teams such as South Leicester, Caldy, Otley and Wharfedale will all be looking to get their campaign up and running after suffering defeats last weekend.

South Leicester v Leicester Lions

South Leicester did extremely well to stay in National Two South last year following promotion from National Three Midlands. They produced some fine results in the final two months of the season to secure their status in English rugby’s fourth tier, but after an opening day defeat, are South in for another difficult campaign?

Their fixture at Stourbridge was always going to be a tough game to begin the new season, but a 19-13 defeat signals that there must have been positives for the men from Welford Road to take into this derby clash. They certainly have the ability to win this game – as shown by their 29-22 win over the Lions in this corresponding fixture last December – but they’ll have to be at their very best to gain their first win of the season.

From their opening National Two North fixture, Leicester Lions will have been delighted with their victory at home to Tynedale last weekend as they look to build on what was a very positive campaign last term. The Lions finished third; winning 19 of their 30 matches, but only six of those victories came away from Westleigh Park.

Judging by that stat, their home form was the key to their success last year and they will be eager to improve on their travels in order for them to build momentum in the league. Andy Key’s side are the early pace setters and derby day glory will send out a message to the rest of the league that the Lions are ready to challenge once again.

Hinckley v Sale FC

When Hinckley secured promotion via the tough route that is the play-off, they knew they could be in for a challenging season in National Two North. However, after travelling to Harrogate last weekend and beating them 21-7, the side from Leicestershire showed they are not going to be pushovers this campaign as they prepare to host their first home game of the new term.

Paul Walsh’s men will certainly have taken a lot of confidence from that victory and will also be hoping they can translate their recent impressive home form into this division. Hinckley have lost just two of their last 26 league games on their own turf and with that in mind, Hinckley will fancy their chances of making it two wins from two to start the season. Also to note, England Head Coach Eddie Jones will be at Leicester Road this weekend to officially open Hinckley’s new club house before this fixture so the home side will be even more eager to impress.

Sale FC have been through the journey Hinckley are currently embarking on. The Manchester based side beat Hinckley two years ago at the play-off stage to gain promotion to National Two North. Last year, it was tight for Sale as they stayed in this division on the final day of the season, but this term, they have started off magnificently.

The men from Heywood Road began the new campaign with an assured win against Otley, but they’re going to need to raise their game significantly on the road if they are to avoid a nail-biting finish to this season. Sale won only four matches away from home last year and they will be keen to improve on that statistic when third meets second this weekend.

Luctonians v Stourbridge

The Luctonians look as though they have picked up from where they left off last season. The Herefordshire side headed to Yorkshire to face newly promoted Sheffield Tigers last week and thanks to tries from Jordan Street, Piers Morell and Louis Silver they were able to leave Dore Moor with an opening day win.

The Lucts made a stuttering start to their season 12 months ago which saw them fall into the bottom three of the division heading into November, but they were able to turn it around in some style. Alex Davidson’s side won 14 of their final 20 matches to end the season in a very credible sixth place and it is clear that the men from Mortimer Park are keen to carry their momentum for the last campaign into this term.

Stourbridge may be set for another strong season in National Two North once again, but consistency in results will play a huge part in that. Stour overcame South Leicester last weekend and they now know they must back that victory up if they are to mount a serious promotion challenge this term.

The Midlands side did look back to their best last year with some good sequences of results throughout the campaign, but defeats here and there hampered their push for a top two spot. Stour are currently two places behind the Luctonians in this embryonic stage of the season and victory at Mortimer Park this Saturday would certainly signal their intent for this year.

Preston Grasshoppers v Sedgley Park

Preston Grasshopers enjoyed a fine start to the new National Two North season. Despite finishing 10^th last year, Hoppers began the campaign with a superb win over arguably one of the title favourites Wharfedale. Dale were relegated from National One last year which emphasises what an excellent result it was for the men from Lightfoot Green.

Garth Dew will be delighted with this start to the season, but will know his team can’t afford to enjoy their 20-12 away win for too long as they prepare for a tough first home game of the season. Sedgley Park will be huge test for Preston, but they will be oozing with confidence heading into this encounter.

Dean Schofield will be equally happy with his side’s start to the campaign. Sedge, who finished runners-up in this division last season, had to come from behind to beat Caldy 16-13 last weekend in a performance which showed grit and determination. That sort of result is what potential promotion candidates have to churn out although Sedge will want much more straight forward afternoons as the season goes on.

There is no doubting that the men from Park Lane did have a fine season last year, but play-off heartbreak would have been tough to get over. That win against Caldy will have built confidence back up amongst the ranks and now Sedge will be itching to create some momentum by picking up their first away win of the term this weekend.

Sheffield Tigers v Scunthorpe

Sheffield Tigers will be disappointed to have begun life in National Two North with a home defeat to the Luctonians last weekend. That ended a run of just one defeat in 13 league matches at Dore Moor and the Tigers will now have to dust themselves off and go again in another fixture in front of their own supporters this Saturday.

That 22-10 loss to the Lucts will have been forgotten about by The Tigers and they may fancy their chances to get off the mark this weekend in this all Yorkshire clash as Scunthorpe were also promoted to National Two North for this season.

Scunthorpe, like Sheffield Tigers, were crowned champions of their respective division in May and began this season in the same vein of form which earnt them promotion. They edged out Chester 15-13 at home last weekend meaning they have won 24 of their last 27 matches heading into this clash with the Tigers.

Last year, Scunthorpe lost just two matches on the road and they will feel they can keep that record up when they travel the short distance to Sheffield this weekend as they look to build on a very good start to the campaign.

Chester v Caldy

Chester have not made the start to the new campaign which they would’ve wanted. Although they had a tough season last year, the team would’ve been keen to turn over a new leaf and begin on a positive note. However, the same old problems seemed to occur in their loss to Scunthorpe last weekend.

It is now 19 defeats in their last 31 games for Chester which isn’t a record they would like to be reminded of. Their home record in the 2015/16 season is also something they won’t look to dwell on either. Chester won just five games at Hare Lane last term and they will be hopeful they can put that right this season.

Caldy’s defeat to Sedgley Park last weekend would have been tough to take for the side, but there were certainly positives in the defeat. They led for large sections of the match and to put that sort of performance in against the runners-up from last season highlights what Caldy are capable of this year.

A fifth place finish last term signalled another strong season for the men from Paton Field and they did have chances to push on for a top two spot. However, inconsistency in results halted their progress but if they are to put in the same kind of performance as they did last weekend throughout this campaign, a promotion place may well be on the cards for Caldy as they go in search of their first league win of the season this weekend.

Tynedale v Harrogate

Tynedale’s second consecutive season in National Two North did not get off to the best of starts. Last weekend, Tyne narrowly lost 24-20 to Leicester Lions away from home and now they will be looking to bounce back against Harrogate this weekend.

Last season was tough off the field for Tynedale with all the damaged to their pitches and clubhouse caused by the floods last December.  After relocating to Newcastle Falcons’ Kingston Park in the second half of the last campaign, they are back at Tynedale Park this Saturday looking to get their first win of the season.

Harrogate also lost their opening game of the season as they were shocked by newly promoted Hinckley. The Yorkshire side weren’t at their best at Rudding Lane and Hinckley took full advantage, producing a fine away performance to win 21-7.

That was Harrogate’s seventh home defeat in their last 16 matches and now their attention turns to their away form this weekend. ‘Gate won seven times on the road last season and they will be hoping they can conjure up a good performance to gain their first victory of the campaign this Saturday.

Otley v Wharfedale

After a solid season last year, Otley made an unspectacular start to the new campaign last weekend. The O’s lost their opening game against Sale six days ago in a performance which lacked any cutting edge. They were starved of possession and only produced snapshots of what they really have to offer.

Director of Rugby Peter Clegg stated before the season got underway that his side can challenge for promotion this term and now he and his squad will be hoping they can respond from a disappointing trip to Manchester in front of their own supporters on Saturday afternoon.

Wharfedale will also be searching for their first win of the new season as they continue to adjust to life in National Two North. The Skipton based side were relegated from National One for the first time in 10 years last season but failed to get off to a winning start in the fourth tier as they were humbled by Preston last weekend.

In fairness, James Doherty is dealing with a number of injuries in his side but he and the team will be keen to bounce back when they take the 23 mile trip to Cross Green on Saturday. Dale have won just six of their last 31 games, a record they will want to put right sooner rather than later.