O’Toole: Our aim is to finish in the top eight

Barnes full-back Tom O’Toole says their aim is to now finish in a mid-table position after a fantastic season in National Two South for his side.

The 27 year-old, who has played 23 times for Barnes this season, has been part of a team that has taken the league by storm since winning promotion via the National Three South play-off last season.

“At the start of the season, we didn’t really know what to expect after our promotion last year,” O’Toole told TRU.

“We haven’t changed much in the side and the coaching methods have been the same from last year. I can’t speak on the behalf of the coaches or anyone else at the club, but for me, the ambition was to try and stay up in this division this year.

“As the season has gone on though, we have always been looking down to see how far away we are from relegation, but with five games to go, we are really going to try and secure a mid-table finish.”

Barnes beat Exmouth 27-22 after extra-time last April to secure their place in National Two South and the side from South West London haven’t looked back since that play-off success.

Currently, they occupy sixth place in the table having accumulated 64 points this season from their 25 games.

They are 19 points clear of the relegation zone and an impressive run of just two defeats in 10 matches has guided them to this excellent position in the table as we enter the final month of the season.

Barnes have also picked up 16 bonus points this season which is the fifth highest total in the league and O’Toole thinks his side deserve to be where they are in the table due to their style of play.

“If you look, we have only actually only won 10 games this season,” added O’Toole.

“We have picked up bonus points and had four draws this season, but what is important is that those bonus points we have won have come naturally to us because of our style of rugby. We like to play quite an attacking brand and I think we have been rewarded by scoring tries.

O’Toole and Barnes had a week off due to the Easter holidays last week, but they are raring to go once again this weekend when they travel to Bishops Stortford.

Stortford have lost just once all season at home so this will be a tough task for Barnes. Having said that, Barnes have competed well against some of the top sides in the division this season including a draws against league leaders Cambridge and Saturday’s opposition Bishops Storford as well as wins against Redruth and Taunton Titans.

Those excellent results have all come at Queen Elizabeth Walk and O’Toole feels if his side can replicate those home performances again this weekend, then they can take something away from their trip to Silver Leys on Saturday.

“When we played Cambridge two weeks ago, I knew what to expect from them after getting a good pasting by them at their place earlier in the season, but it was an excellent performance from us,” said O’Toole.

“We need to take that attitude into this weekend as well. If we worry about ourselves more than the opposition, then we hope results will fall into place. When we have played well, as a team, we have always picked up points.

“But, I am not an idiot. It is very tough to play the top teams in the division when you are one of the lower sides so we have to fully concentrate just on us when we play Bishops Stortford on Saturday.

“From memory when we played them at our place, they have a very strong pack and are a very direct side. They are very good at home and very difficult to beat, but if we can put in a good performance like I know we can, then hopefully we can come away from there with a few points.”

Elsewhere across National Two South this weekend, the top two sides – Cambridge and Old Albanian - both have home fixtures in the next chapter of the title race while something has got to give between Bury St Edmunds and the Redingensians as two of the form sides in the division meet in Suffolk.

Towards the bottom of the table, Canterbury and Chinnor will be looking to build on good recent form to move away from the danger zone while there is a huge game in the relegation battle as Dorking host Southend Saxons.

Cambridge v Launceston

That draw to Barnes two weeks ago now means Cambridge’s lead at the top of National Two South is only five points with five games left to play of the season. Rowland Winter’s men are on a nine game unbeaten run and head into this game with Launceston having won 11 of their 12 home games this season. Their only home defeat came against Bishops Stortford in the first game of 2016 and they are red hot favourites to be victorious once again at Volac Park as they look to stay on track for the title.

In terms of Launceston, they have had a completely contrasting season to Cambridge. The Cornish side are already relegated having lost 23 of their 25 games played this season. The men from Polston Bridge are yet to win a game this season and have accumulated just 10 points from a possible 125 available this term. Their maiden victory of the campaign also looks unlikely to come this Saturday, but if it did, it would be the result of the season.

Old Albanian v Worthing Raiders

With Cambridge dropping points in their last outing against Barnes, the Old Albanian will be hoping the league leaders will slip-up a couple more times before the season ends in four weeks’ time. The OA’s sit second in the table and have almost secured a play-off spot for the campaign. However, their main target will be hunting down Cambridge. One defeat in their last five has shown a good turn around in fortunes for the St Albans side after a patchy start to 2016, so they will be looking to stretch that run this weekend.

As for Worthing Raiders, it hasn’t quite been the season which they expected. After finishing fifth last season, they have failed to the heights of the last campaign as they currently sit 11^th in the table. They have been in the bottom half for the majority of the season and find themselves nine points clear of the relegation zone. Two wins from their last five games isn’t the most encouraging form to take to the Old Albanian this weekend, so the Raiders will have to be at their best to get anything from this fixture on Saturday.

Redruth v Clifton

Both of these teams would admit they have been pleased with their seasons so far. Redruth have performed extremely well over the 25 games and find themselves currently occupying a top four spot after a ninth place finish last term. The Reds have lost only two of their last 11 league games and prepare to welcome Clifton this weekend, having won 10 of their 12 games at the Recreation Ground this season. They are 16 points off the Old Albanian so realistically; their main aim will now be to finish in the top four.

In terms of Clifton, they are eighth in the table as things stand and that is certainly an improvement on last season. The South Gloucestershire side finished 12^th last year – just three points clear of the relegation zone, so they will be happy with their progress this campaign. They started this term off brilliantly, but up until recently, they had only won two matches in 12 and they were in danger of being dragged into the relegation battle. However, two wins in their last three games leaves them 15 points clear of the drop and they will be aiming to extend this run on the weekend in Cornwall.

Canterbury v Taunton Titians

Two wins in their last three games has seen Canterbury move out of the bottom three and they now have an eight point gap between themselves and the relegation zone. Those victories against Launceston and especially against Dorking, leaves Canterbury in a good place heading into this fixture with Taunton. The City Men have won five of their 12 home games this season and know another win here could leave them on the verge of safety if other results go their way.

It has been a miserable few weeks for Taunton. After looking like one of the promotion candidates for much of the season, four defeats in their last five games has completely derailed their campaign and it looks as though Taunton have fallen short once again. Currently, they sit fifth in the table, 18 points behind the Old Albanian but only five behind third placed Bishops Stortford. The Titians will be looking to make immense for their performances in recent weeks and end this term strongly, starting with victory over Canterbury.

Chinnor v Old Elthamians

After finishing sixth last term, this season has not gone according to plan for Chinnor. They have been in and around the bottom three all campaign and up until recently, they looked like one of the favourites to drop into National Three. However, four wins from their last five games has seen them move eight points clear of the relegation zone. Their run was dented slightly by defeat to Clifton last time out, but they will confident of securing their sixth home win of the season to restart their excellent form.

As for the Old Elthamians, they are currently going through their worst form of the season as the campaign draws to a close. They have won just once in their last six games, but have come up against Cambridge and Bishops Stortford in their last two matches. Nevertheless, the OE’s will want to right their wrongs on the weekend as the seventh placed side look to secure their second successive top half finishing since promotion in 2013/14.

Bury St Edmunds v Redingensians

Two of the promoted sides meet at Southgate Green this weekend and both teams are in very good form ahead of this clash. Despite being tipped to struggle this season, Bury St Edmunds have the third best form in this division at the moment, having won four of their last five games including that 79-0 thrashing of Launceston two weeks ago. This current run of form comes after five straight defeats which signals the character Bury have within their ranks and they currently occupy ninth in the table.

Below them are the Redingensians who are in even better form. In fact, they are top of the form table having won their last six matches. Before this, the Rams were very much embroiled in a relegation dogfight, but this sensational run leaves them 10^th in the table and more importantly, 13 points clear of the drop zone. Bury have the same cushion over the bottom three so with both teams playing some excellent rugby at the minute, something has got to give in Suffolk this weekend.

Dorking v Southend Saxons

I have branded around the term ‘must win’ a few times in the last couple of weeks, but that expression is quite apt to describe this weekend’s game between Dorking and Southend Saxons. Dorking occupy the final relegation spot as things stand and after a damaging defeat to Canterbury last time out, they now sit eight points from safety with five games left to play. They have picked up just eight wins this term and have won just one of their last five matches. They take on Southend who are also fighting for survival so Dorking have to see this as a ‘must win’ if they have any hope of staying in National Two South.

The same can be said about Southend Saxons. After avoiding the drop on ‘Games Won’ last term, they started this campaign off quite well, but it has all gone downhill since the start of December. They beat Bury St Edmunds just before Christmas and have gone on to win just two of their last 12 games since that victory. That has seen them fall into the relegation zone and the Saxons now find themselves nine points from safety. They are in desperate need of a victory this weekend, because defeat at Dorking could be the killer blow to Southend’s survival challenge.