Cambridge looking to extend lead at the summit

Cambridge head into Round 22 of the season leading the way in National Two South, but they will be fully aware that any mishaps now could be terminal to their title chances.

The Old Albanian know only too well about this after seeing their lead dissolve after three straight defeats. However, their game against Redruth has been postponed this weekend so they will have to sit and wait for the outcome of Cambridge's match as well as the clash between the teams hunting them down; Bishops Stortford and Taunton.

Towards the bottom of National Two South, Chinnor and the Redingensians will be hoping to build on their excellent wins from last weekend while Dorking, Bury St Edmunds and Southend Saxons will be desperate for victories from their matches on Saturday.

Cambridge v Worthing Raiders

Cambridge are looking like champions elect and have done so all season. Their game with Taunton Titans was postponed last weekend, but before that, a thrashing of Canterbury and a crucial win against second -placed Old Albanian has moved the ‘Blood and Sand’ two points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on the OA’s.

Cambridge have their sights firmly set on promotion after 17 wins and a draw from their 20 matches so far. Although, they will be favourites heading into this encounter with Worthing considering they have won nine games at Volac Park this season, Cambridge will know they have to maintain their focus and winning ways if they are to stay at the summit of National Two South.

Worthing’s season has not gone according to plan since finishing fifth last term in National Two South. The Raiders may have been expecting big things after their strong end to the previous campaign, but they have struggled to find consistency this time around and have rarely hit the heights of last year.

Worthing have picked up nine victories from their 21 matches this season with only three of them coming away from home. Having said this, the club have won three of their last four games, including a weekend victory over Bury St Edmunds. This all means Worthing sit ninth in the table and nine points clear of the relegation zone, but if they were to win here, it would most certainly be the highlight of their campaign thus far.

Bishops Stortford v Taunton Titans

This weekend sees two of last season’s top three go head to head at Silver Leys with both teams going for the same goal once again this term; promotion.

Last year Bishops Stortford were defeated in the play-off against Ampthill and District and this year they are very much still in with a chance of finishing in second place yet again.

As things stand, Stortford sit third in the table, five points away from the Old Albanian in second place and recent form has guided them to their current situation. They have lost only one of their last 11 games and along with Taunton, have a 100 per cent record at home this season. They are the ones to beat at the moment.

That is the task for Taunton this weekend; to beat Bishops Stortford. Their season has been far from a disappointing one so far. After leading the way in National Two South after seven weeks, the Titans have fallen to fourth, but are only 11 points off the Old Albanian with two games in hand.

Taunton finished behind Stortford last season and are six points off them currently so their seventh away win of the season would be a huge step towards the play-off place while a defeat for the Titans would be damaging and all but end their promotion hopes.

Southend Saxons v Old Elthamians

Southend Saxons are certainly embroiled in a regelation battle once again. After staying in the division on ‘Games Won’ on the final day of last season, the seaside club are now in danger of being relegated to the fifth tier after fighting it off 12 months ago.

As things stand, the Saxons do occupy a spot in the relegation zone and that is down to the poor run of form they are currently on. The home side come into this fixture at Warners Bridge Park having won just one of their last seven matches. That victory was in their last home game against Worthing so they will be desperate to back that up this Saturday.

The Old Elthamians looked settled in midtable this season. After finishing eighth last year, they are currently sixth after 11 wins from their 21 games so far. They are also 10 points clear of ninth place Worthing so the OE’s are looking good for another top-half finish.

Form had been fairly solid up until last weekend. An unbeaten run of four wins and a draw to begin 2016 came to a shuddering halt six days ago when they suffered a record home defeat against relegation threatened the Redingensians, so the OE’s will hoping to avoid a repeat of a similar result tomorrow afternoon.

Redingensians v Barnes

Sticking with the Redingensians, they are looking to avoid the drop back down to National Three in the final stages of this National Two South season although considering how tight the bottom half of the table is, the majority of teams are still not out of the woods just yet. The Rams sit in 11^th place as things stand and they are only three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Redingensians created that cushion for themselves last week after a much needed and well deserved win at the Old Elthamians which arrested a four game losing streak. The Rams are back at Old Bath Road on Saturday looking to make it back to back wins and triumph over their fellow promoted side.

Barnes came up via the play-off last season, but out of all the newly promoted sides, they have had been the most successful season so far. Many may have thought Barnes would be one of the favourites to go down, but that has not been the case.

They currently sit seventh in the table and most importantly are 19 points clear of the drop zone after 21 games. Barnes have won nine of them and only two of the victories have come away from home. Both teams will feel that this is a great opportunity to advance further up the table so expect a closely fought game to take place in Berkshire this weekend.

Bury St Edmunds v Clifton

Bury St Edmunds were the other side that were promoted with the Redingensians and Barnes, but their position is in the table is much more concerning. Bury are teetering on the edge of an immediate return to National Three.

Last Saturday, Bury went down 27-23 away to Worthing Raiders, leaving the club 12^th in the table having now lost six of their last seven games in the league. A win back on home soil this weekend would be a real confidence booster as they sit just two points clear of the bottom three.

Clifton’s season has certainly been an improvement on last year’s campaign, but it is starting to look bleak again for the South Gloucestershire side. After finishing 12^th last season and three points clear of the relegation zone, their National Two South performance has generally bettered overall.

However, since the end of November, Clifton have found it tough. They have fallen to eighth place in the table after winning just two of their last 10 matches. Their first away victory of the season came on October 3^rd against bottom club Launceston and that is still their only win on the road this term. They will be keen to put that right and end this terrible run this weekend.

Chinnor v Canterbury

Chinnor are currently going through a good and well needed run of form. With the side well and truly in a relegation dogfight, their current run of results will certainly have done them the world of good even if it is only two wins from their last three matches.

That sort of run is vital because the bottom half of this league is so tight and because we are nearing the conclusion of the campaign. As things stand, Chinnor occupy 14^th spot in the table and are just two points from safety mainly thanks to their win against Dorking and their stunning victory against the Old Albanian last weekend, which is arguably the result of the season thus far.

A win in this game would not only increase their confidence, it could also see them move out of the bottom three come Saturday evening.

Canterbury are enduring a very mixed season. After winning their first three games of the campaign, things were looking up for the ‘City Men’ after their 11^th placed finish last term, but their season then took a dip.

They went on a run of one win in 11 matches before the New Year, but then began the second half of the season like they did the first; with a string of victories. They won four straight games to kick-off 2016, but once again, that run of form has stopped and now they come into this fixture with Chinnor on the back of two straight defeats.

Canterbury are now 10^th in the table and just four points clear of the drop so they will be hoping to stop this run of losses before it spirals out of control like the last series of defeats did.

Dorking v Launceston

It hasn’t been the best of seasons for Dorking after a fourth placed finish last term. The side that was second for the vast majority of the previous campaign have endured a disappointing year and are now involved in a relegation battle.

Inconsistency has been the main problem for Dorking emphasised by just seven wins this season. They head into this fixture with Launceston on a run of four straight defeats and they have won only four of their 11 matches at home this campaign. Having said all of this, Dorking will be confident of stretching their two point gap above the relegation zone on Saturday against the leagues bottom club.

Launceston are also enduring a difficult season, but it is on a greater scale than Dorking’s. They currently sit at the foot of National Two South, without a win to their name having lost 18 of their 19 matches this campaign.

They are currently 31 points from safety with 11 matches still to play, but other than a draw earlier in the season against Southend Saxons, it has been a season to forget for the Cornish All Blacks. It would take the greatest of escapes if Launceston were to come back from this, but it is all but over for them. Will it be 20^th time lucky as for Launceston this weekend?

Redruth P-P Old Albanian

With the current condition of the playing surface and more rain forecasted overnight, the match referee inspected the pitch at The Recreation Ground this afternoon and has postponed the match between Redruth and the Old Albanian.

This is the second week in a row Redruth’s match has been postponed. Date to be confirmed for the re-arranged fixture.