In the blink of an eye, the end of September is here. Three entertaining weekends of rugby have come and gone but there is one more round to go before we charge into October.
As expected at the beginning of a season, teams are enjoying winning streaks and in National One, it is no different. A quartet of clubs enter Round Four with three wins from three to their name but on the other side of the coin, some are yet to open their account.
Darlington Mowden Park (13th) and Rosslyn Park (11th) fall under this category, with both aiming to get off the mark when they meet at the Darlington Arena on Saturday.
DMP's start to the campaign has been hampered by a number of injuries to key personnel, with Garry Law's side scoring just seven tries in the opening three matches - only Leicester Lions (12th) have scored less (6). At the same stage last term, the North-East outfit had scored an equal amount of tries, the difference being they had already recorded two victories.
Returning to the winners' lounge will be a top priority for DMP but Rosslyn Park will be itching to do exactly the same. Following a third-place finish in 2023/24, Kieran Power's men may have been seen as a title candidate heading into this season but so far they have chalked up just a single point.
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However, they don't seem to be a million miles away. Last week at Blackheath (5th), they were leading 24-22 heading into the final 10 minutes (before slipping to a 32-24 defeat) and against Richmond in Round Two, only a late-drop goal denied them victory. If Park can iron out certain facets of their performance, then a first success of the term could be just around the corner.
Likewise, Leicester Lions (12th) and bottom-of-the-table Esher will be hoping to light the fuse on their respective seasons in Round Four. The Lions welcome Sedgley Park (9th) to TMDP Park while the EEE's entertain fourth-placed Richmond who have picked up three wins from three to begin the term.
Just above Rob Powell's troops are Birmingham Moseley (3rd) and the surprise package so far, Rotherham Titans, in second. In Round Four, Moseley are back at home to face Blackheath while Rotherham visit Sale FC (6th) aiming to complete September with four victories from four.
Early table-toppers Rams RFC were at their ruthless best against Sale FC in Round Three and will have to be firing on all cylinders again on Saturday. They visit Dings Crusaders (7th) and the Bristolians haven't lost at Shaftesbury Park in over a year.
Elsewhere, Plymouth Albion (8th) visit Silver Leys to take on Bishop's Stortford (10th).
The National Two North season is obviously still in its embryonic stages but towards the top, there is already a tinge of familiarity. A full haul of points for two of last year's top four sides - Leeds Tykes and Wharfedale - means they have picked up from where they left off while three straight victories for Sheffield indicates the same.
But either side of this trio sit Lymm in first and Billingham in fifth. Rewind the clock back to April and Lymm finished in 10th place whilst Billingham survived the threat of relegation on the final day of last season.
However, both clubs enter the last knockings of September with unbeaten records intact and Lymm, in particular, haven't found their 'end product' hard to come by. They have scored an average of just over 46 points in their opening three victories, and they will be hoping that potency continues when they make the trip to Sheffield Tigers (13th) on Saturday.
As for Billingham, two wins and a draw represents a really solid start to the campaign, with their latest triumph coming in Round Three thanks to a hard-fought and tenacious 19-17 victory over Otley.
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It was a physical encounter which will only sharpen the minds of Peter Evans' side, especially when they visit Hull (14th) in Round Four with the hosts yet to win and eager to get off the mark.
Elsewhere, the other aforementioned early frontrunners - Leeds Tykes (2nd) and Wharfedale (3rd) - do battle with Hull Ionains (6th) and Otley (8th) respectively while Sheffield (4th) go to Tynedale (11th).
Like Tynedale, Harrogate (12th) are yet to taste victory this term so the newly-promoted side will be keen to end the opening month of the campaign with a positive result at home to Preston Grasshoppers (7th) while Fylde (10th) and Chester (9th) meet at Woodlands.
For some clubs, reaching National League Rugby has long been their ambition, a target which they set out to achieve but for Oxford Harlequins (11th), maybe they didn't expect it quite so soon.
Three years ago, Pete Davies' side had entertained Newbury Blues in Tribute South West 1 East, level six of the English game. Fast-forward to 2024 and they are now preparing to host Henley Hawks in a local derby in National Two East.
Two promotions in three seasons have led Oxford Quins to this point, with their second title coming in Regional 1 Midlands last term. They have achieved all of this as a fully amateur club and it is a mantra that isn't going to change now they are at level four.
"We want to be the best amateur club in the country and get as high as we possibly can with that pretence of not paying any players," Oxford Harlequins boss Pete Davies told this week's National League Rugby Preview Show.
"We are going to stick to that partly because we haven't got any money! Any money which does come into the club, it gets invested back into the club. What we do have is a really, really good community rugby club. It has a great culture so if our goal is to be the best amateur club in the country, we are a long way towards achieving that. Two promotions in three seasons speaks volumes for the lads who are at the club. They do it for fun, it is their hobby and we have a good time when we're doing it."
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Despite three successive losses this term - including a nine-try 61-33 defeat at Bury St Edmunds last time out - Davies' charges are enjoying the National Two East experience and they will undoubtedly be fired up for this weekend's meeting with Henley (7th).
The Oxfordshire clubs are separated by less than 30 miles and Davies himself has a strong affiliation with Henley. He was there as a player for around a decade and then went on to coach the Hawks for eight years.
His close friendship with Henley Director of Rugby Luke Allen will also be parked for 80 minutes on Saturday when they do battle at the Horspath Sports Ground, with Henley coming into Round Four off the back of three keenly contested fixtures. Last time out, the men from Dry Leas saw their unbeaten start come to an end as they fell to a narrow 32-29 loss at Westcombe Park but now they will be aiming for derby day delight.
While Henley's perfect record concluded last week, the likes of Canterbury (1st), Tonbridge Juddians (2nd) and Guernsey Raiders (3rd) maintained theirs. TJs dispatched Sevenoaks 50-10 and look like a daunting prospect for Worthing (12th) in Round Four while something has got to give when Guernsey welcome Canterbury to Footes Lane.
Elsewhere, Barnes (4th) go to bottom-of-the-table Sevenoaks (14th) and Dorking (5th) host Bury St Edmunds (9th) while Westcombe Park (6th) are the latest visitors to Havant (8th) and Old Albanian (10th) go to Colchester (13th).
It is well documented that after promotion back to level four for the first time in five years, Macclesfield entered National Two West rather than National Two North. The challenges that have come with the geographical shift are something the Blues are having to adapt to.
"From a rugby point of view, it was great news," Macclesfield chairman Bob Cooke told the National League Rugby Preview Show. "Even faced with playing in the West, the players were very positive. They wanted to play National League Rugby and who could blame them? That is absolutely what any player [at this level] wants to do.
"From a club point of view, financially, we are not in a great place and so taking on, particularly a travel budget as large as the one we are going to face, is very challenging."
Matt Coldridge's men have already ticked off two of their longest away trips of the season to Camborne and Exeter University (a combined total of 1,098 miles there and back) but rather than complaining, the Cheshire outfit are embracing the new experience.
"It is all new stuff to us and the element of travel is there, but we don't want to use it as an excuse," added captain James Oliver and 'not using it as an excuse' is evident after the first three rounds.
?? National League Rugby Preview Show | Round 4
We look ahead to the weekend's action as the first month of the season draws to a close...
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Macc have collected try bonus points from their visits to Camborne and Exeter University and they picked up a full five points in their first home outing of the season against Bournville (31-28) two weeks ago.
"I am delighted so far," Coldridge said. "We are totally new to this league. When you come up from a league below, you are not quite sure how you are going to compete but we have competed in all three games.
"It [beating Bournville] was very important for us to put a stake in the ground in this league. We wanted to show at home, you're going to come up here and face a battle. We want to make here [Priory Park] a fortress because as much as we have to travel to all of these other teams, they have to come here."
And the visitors on Saturday are Old Redcliffians (6th) who brushed aside newly-promoted Devonport Services 43-5 last week, but Dan Cox's men will expect a tough assignment when they make the journey north.
Elsewhere in Round Four, there is an early top-of-the-table between Loughborough Students (1st) and Camborne (2nd). Both clubs have been in outstanding form so far and have taken 15 points from a possible 15 but that will change up in the Midlands. Also three from three are Luctonians (3rd) who go to an injury-hit Devonport Services (14th) while unbeaten Exeter University (4th) visit Redruth (10th).
Also in National Two West, Bournville (5th) take on Taunton (11th), Clifton (7th) host Cinderford (8th) and Hornets (12th) face Hinckley (13th) with both sides aiming for their first win of the season.
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