2013/14 University Rugby Preview - Week 11 - Durham Face 'Old-Fashioned Six-Pointer'

With just one round of fixtures to go before the Christmas break, and only three rounds left this season, the University Rugby Competition is really beginning to heat up.

Well over two thirds of the way into the season, now, universities in both the south and the north of the country will be looking to make one final push before the Christmas break and finish the year on a high.

With just two games remaining after today’s fixtures, who will make the most of the final games of 2013 and put themselves in the best position for the home straight of the BUCS rugby Championship in January.

In the Northern Premier A League, after a commanding 40-21 victory over Leeds Uni last week and some breathing room at the top of the table, Durham travel to Yorkshire to face Leeds Met in a game that will have an enormous effect on the shape of the league come the end of the season.

Durham sit top of the tree with 32 points, six clear of Loughborough in second and ten points clear of Leeds Met in (for them) a disappointing fourth. However, the Yorkshire side do have a game in hand on the league leaders and will be looking to make the most of that advantage with a win that would serve as an old fashioned six-pointer.

Durham head Coach Alex Keay is under no illusion that the job is anywhere near done yet, with today’s game being incredibly important for the shape of the league, come the end of the season:

“It’s going to be a huge game for us and them. Obviously, if we win that, with three games left, we’re going to be quite far away from the rest of the pack and I think they’ll know that,” Alex said.

“They have to win both of their next two games to catch us up, with bonus points as well, so it’s a double-header really for us.

“It’s going to be an enormously important game and we need get the result. However, if we put a good performance in I think we can do well.”

The game kicks off at 2pm this afternoon; be sure to stay tuned in to Talking Rugby Union for all the latest scores, updates and analysis from the game and the rest of the BUCS rugby competition.

Elsewhere in the Northern A league, second plays third, as Loughborough travel to the North East once again to face third place Northumbria.

Loughborough were hot on the heels of Durham last week, just one point behind the reigning champions. However, the Midlands side suffered a massive blow to their title ambitions after suffering a disappointing 17-27 home defeat to Leeds Met Carnegie.

The Yorkshire side made the journey over to the East Midlands and blew past a shell-shocked Loughborough, putting them in challenging position before the game with Durham today.

Northumbria, just two points behind Loughborough, are on an impressive run of late, winning their last three games, with victories over Leeds Met, Leeds and a 26-7 destruction of Nottingham last Wednesday.

Today’s clash is sure to be a great game, as both sides will look to put themselves in the best position possible before the Christmas break.

Finally, bottom place Nottingham face another team from the North East this week as they welcome Newcastle University to the middle of the country.

After a brilliant start to the season, Newcastle’s foot has come off the gas somewhat of late, as they have sunk to fifth in the league with just 16 points and three wins to their name from seven outings. They will be looking to improve both tallies with today’s fixture.

Nottingham have suffered two back-to-back defeats against Durham and Northumbria recently; however, after an awful start to the campaign, the East Midlands side showed their worth with two impressive victories over both Leeds outfits.

Newcastle, on the other hand, had a bye week last Wednesday, but are still coming into the game on the back of defeat, with a 13-26 home loss to Loughborough.

In the second tier of the competition there are only six teams out of eight in action.

Still at the top of the league, since the first few weeks of the competition, Birmingham welcome seventh place Loughborough in an all-Midlands encounter.

Birmingham, six points clear of Nottingham Trent in second place, have only lost once this season and on the back of an impressive 38-25 victory over Notts Trent last week, they look set to be in and amongst the top sides fighting for promotion come the end of the season.

On the other hand Loughborough are coming into the game with just 14 points to their name on the back of an amazing 27-all draw with Manchester and a disappointing 25-10 away loss to Edinburgh.

Also, sixth place York welcome third place Durham. Although eight points adrift of the leaders, Durham are just two points behind second place Nottingham and they will be looking to take that spot with today’s game.

Finally, bottom of the league Sheffield Hallam, with just eight points to their name, welcome fourth place Manchester to Yorkshire.

 

In the southern half of the BUCS rugby competition there are only two fixtures today.

Clear league leaders, Hartpury, with an enormous 35 points and second place Exeter (on 29) are not featuring today, already having completed their 2013 fixture lists.

Both of today’s games take place in Cardiff, as bottom of the league University side welcome fifth place Bristol to the Welsh capital, whilst – in the bigger of the two games – fourth place Cardiff Met host third place Bath, who are just one point ahead in the league standings.

Both Cardiff Uni and Bristol come into the game on the back of a string of disappointing results with losses in their last two games. The fixture is a must win game for both sides.

Secondly, Cardiff Met, who have beaten Bristol 23-5 two weeks ago and an impressive 37-15 victory over Exeter last week, face third place Bath in good form.

Both sides are looking to be in and amongst the playoff places come the business end of the season, so the fixture is another double-header for both sides involved.

In the second tier of the southern competition, there are four fixtures with all eight sides involved in the last day of action before the Christmas break.

The pick of the round takes place in Bath as the top team in the league host second place Cardiff Met seconds in an exact opposite of both sides’ first team fixtures.

Only two points split the sides from the top of Premier South B league, and with promotion now within everyone’s sights, it is sure to be a hugely important game in southern England.

Elsewhere, fifth place Reading welcome seventh place Hartpury seconds; sixth place St mary’s host bottom of the league Cardiff University seconds and  finally, third place Exeter seconds host the University of South Wales.

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