2013/14 University Rugby Season Review - Week 13

With just two weeks of fixtures left to go in the regular BUCS Rugby season until the knockout stages of the competition get underway, Wednesday’s rugby action was one of the most important rounds of fixtures so far.

Both extremes of every league are incredibly tight, leaving it all to play with the final few points on offer.

In the North Premier A League Durham’s local derby with Northumbria was called off.

The league leaders, therefore, still remain at the top of the table with 37 points after no change in the order.

However, the most important fixture of the day in the Midlands went ahead, as sixth place Nottingham took on bottom place Leeds.

The game was dubbed as a ‘decider’, with the winner able to put some breathing room between their opponents and get one foot well and truly cemented in the Premiership A League for next season.

On the day it was the home side who reigned victorious with hard-fought 20-10 victory.

The win takes the Midlands outfit into fifth place as they leapfrog Newcastle University by a point.

On the other hand Leeds stay well and truly rooted to the bottom of the league, on just 11 points, with relegation looking ever more likely with just one game left to play.

 

In the Northern Premier B league all eight sides were in action, with four games across the length and breadth of northern Britain.

The biggest shock came in Scotland, though, as clear league leaders Birmingham lost by the punishingly close margin of 17-14 to Edinburgh, after a mammoth away trip.

The loss sees them concede their top spot to Nottingham Trent University, who Beat Manchester University 14-12 away from home.

Elsewhere, Durham seconds beat Sheffield Hallam 28-7 – with the Yorkshire side now destined for relegation – and Loughborough seconds beat York 24-12.

In the Southern Premier A League there were only two fixtures this week, with the pick of the round being between Hartpury and Exeter University – and it didn’t disappoint.

The table-toppers, Hartpury, were out for revenge after Exeter inflicted the University of West England’s only defeat of the season, and they managed to turn things around this time with a nail-biting 24-22 victory.

The hype before the game was well deserved as both sides provided fantastic displays of university rugby.

Hartpury are now clear league winners with a mammoth 44 points to their name – 12 ahead of second place Cardiff Met.

In the league’s only other fixture, it was another relegation battle, as Cardiff University welcomed Welsh rivals Swansea to the Capital.

Once more the victor would move ahead of their rivals in the league table – and it was Cardiff who took the spoils with a 10 points to 5 victory.

However, all is not lost as Swanseas are still only two points behind, with a game in hand.

Finally, in the Southern Premier B League the games between Hartpury and St Mary’s and Cardiff seconds and Exeter seconds were all called off.

However, two fixtures did take place as Bath seconds beat the University of South Wales by the narrowest of margins at 6-5, and Cardiff Met seconds beat Reading 33-13.

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