National Two South: Who will keep there perfect record

Old Albanian, Taunton and Redurth are the only three teams with a perfect record in National Two South and all three face away trips this weekend. Clifton, Canterbury and Bishop’s Stortford will also want to keep up their unbeaten starts to the season whilst five teams will be searching for that all important first victory of the season.

Southend v Old Albanian

It has been the start which the Old Albanian would have wanted after relegation from National One last season. Two bonus point wins has given them the early lead at the top of this division and they will  be looking to dispatch Southend this weekend.

In terms of Southend, after starting the season like an express train with a commanding win over Chinnor, they were brought back down to earth by Redurth last weekend. Southend won nine games at home last season which was key in them staying in this division, but this fixture on Saturday will be a tough assignment. The OA’s won 22-42 the last time the sides met at Warners Bridge Park back in 2012, but Southend have won three of the last four meetings between the teams.

Launceston v Taunton

These sides have had massively contrasting starts to the season. Launceston sit rock bottom with zero wins and zero points to their name and they have conceded 96 points already. On the flip side to that, Taunton have picked up maximum points from their opening two games and sit second in the table. Launceston have lost to Canterbury and the Old Albanian so far this season and on paper, this could be their third straight defeat.

As for Taunton, they finished third last season and have started their promotion challenge in the best possible way. Wins against Old Elthamians and Barnes leave them level on points with the Old Albanian and now they are bidding for their 14^th win in 16 National Two South matches. The Titians beat Launceston on both occasions last season.

Bury St Edmunds v Redruth

Redruth are the final side to have picked up 10 points from 10 so far this season after wins over the Redingensians and Southend. This weekend they take the 756 mile- round trip to face their second newly promoted side – Bury St Edmunds. Redruth won just twice on the road last season and can match that total for this season if they win on Saturday.

Bury St Edmunds would have been pleased to get their first win in National Two South last weekend, after being crowned champions of National Three London and South East last season. Their victory came away at Chinnor and now they will be itching to get their first win at The GK IPA Haberden this Saturday. Bury have won 12 of their last 14 home matches.

Old Elthamians v Clifton

Fourth placed Clifton travel to the Old Elthamians looking to continued their unbeaten start to the season. Like Old Albanian, Taunton and Redruth, they have won both of their matches, but have picked up one bonus point in those victories against Worthing and Dorking. Clifton’s wins will surely have given them confidence considering both of their opposition so far finished in the top five last season while Clifton themselves finished 12^th.

In terms of the OE’s, they are one of the five teams that are winless so far this season and now they have won just two of their last 11 National Two South matches. In this fixture last season they did beat Clifton 39-12, but the visitors will surely fancy their chances to make it three wins from three this weekend.

 

Redingensians v Canterbury

Like the top four, Canterbury are also on the road this weekend as they take the trip to newly promoted Redingensians. After finishing 11^th last season, Canterbury have made an excellent start to this season with victories against Barnes and Launceston. It would have been easy for them to slip-up in those fixtures, but that shows how determined they are for a top half finish this campaign.

In terms of the Redingensians, they are still winless after two games, but they have come up against two of the current top three so far this season. They have won 13 of their last 14 home matches and will be hoping that their first win will come sooner rather than later.

Dorking v Bishop’s Stortford

Last season this fixture was crucial in terms of who would potentially secure a play-off place at the end of the season. Fast-forward to the present day and both sides are on completely different paths.  Bishop’s Stortford have had a solid start to this season, after losing to Ampthill in the play-offs in April, and their promotion push has begun smoothly with two wins from two.

As for Dorking, a tough 2015 continued last weekend with a heavy defeat to Clifton and their second place position in January of last season seems a distant memory. Dorking go into this fixture on the back of two defeats but they have only lost five of their last 16 matches at home. In terms of Stortford they have lost just one of their last six away matches, but did narrowly lose this fixture 23-22 last season.

Cambridge v Chinnor

For me, Cambridge are one of the most exciting prospects in this division because they seem to improve in every single game they play. They were beaten by Bishop’s Stortford last week, but it was another good performance by the blood and sand.  They finished seventh last season and are currently seventh in table as they host Chinnor this weekend. Cambridge have won 12 of their last 16 matches at home.

It has been a frustrating start to the season for Chinnor. A sixth place finish last season could have been a springboard for them to push on and maybe have a shot at promotion this time around, but two straight defeats leaves them  12^th in table. To be fair to them, they have picked up three bonus points from those fixtures which only leaves six points behind fourth place so it is still very early days. Chinnor won seven away games last season, but did lose this fixture 22-14.

Barnes v Worthing

National Three play-off winners Barnes were narrowly edged out on the opening day by Canterbury and did secure a bonus point in a very positive display against Taunton last week in a game which they could’ve snatched the win. It isn’t all doom and gloom for Barnes despite losing their first two games, but like the Redingensians, they will hope that their first victory is just around the corner.

Worthing looked to have put their poor performance against Clifton behind them when they beat the Old Elthamians last week, but it wasn’t as clear cut as they would’ve liked. After a fifth placed finish last season, I am sure their goal will be to at least challenge for promotion and a win away at Barnes this Saturday could certainly reignite that ambition. Barnes won 12 home games on their way to promotion last season whilst Worthing won eight matches on their travels last year.