National One 14/15 Review

With the title already decided in the third tier of English rugby, attention turns to the bottom to see who will beat the drop back to National Two. Here is a brief look at the final round of action in National One.

Ealing Trailfinders have led the way in National One all season and on Saturday, despite a defeat to Rosslyn Park, their one losing bonus point clinched them the title and that all important promotion back to the IPA Championship.

They may have lost their unbeaten home record, but Ealing demonstrated all season that they could be champions and they kept their cool as Rossyln Park continued to hunt them down. In the end, no-one could stop their title charge.

It means the promotion race is over for another season in National One, but there is still the small matter of relegation to National Two to be decided.

Cinderford and Old Albanian will be fighting for their National One lives this Saturday with Cinderford requiring just a bonus point win to secure safety for next season. Cinderford host 9^th placed Esher with Old Albanian having a home game against Tynedale.

Cinderford have clawed themselves out of the drop zone in the last few weeks with three straight wins and they have also been aided by the fact Old Albanian were deducted 5 points. Cinderford know a bonus point win will keep them safe, but if they lose or fail to pick up a bonus point, their fate will be out of their hands.

Old Albanian face already relegated Tynedale, but that does not mean to say it will be a straight forward win for the Old A’s. Tynedale have won 2 of their last 3 matches, but with the return of key players from Saracens, the Old A’s should be too strong for the North East outfit. If this happens, all eyes will be on Cinderford’s result.

In terms of the rest of the division this weekend, Ealing travel to Loughborough Students whilst 2^nd placed Rossyln Park face 3^rd place Coventry which could easily be a title battle next season. 

6^th place Fylde have already started building for next season with the signings of Dominic Moon, Peter Altham and Lewis Allen, but they will be hoping to finish the season in the top four. They go to 5^th place Blackheath searching for a win with both sides looking to leapfrog 4^th place Hartpury College.

Hartpury are firmly in the driving seat to take 4^th spot as they host an inconsistent Wharfedale side whilst there is a battle for 8^th place as North East rivals Blaydon pit their whit’s against Darlington Mowden Park. Finally, already relegated Maccelsfield go to Richmond who have secured a top half finish for this season.

Round 30 Fixtures

Blackheath v Fylde
Blaydon v Darlington Mowden Park
Cinderford v Esher
Loughborough Students v Ealing Trailfinders
Old Albanian v Tynedale
Richmond v Macclesfield
Rosslyn Park v Coventry Rugby
Wharfedale v Hartpury College