Even though we have had just five rounds in National Two South this season, the division has already thrown up some huge fixtures and this Saturday sees arguably the biggest game of the campaign to date.
League leaders Taunton Titans put their perfect start to the term on the line when they welcome the third place the Old Elthamians to Hyde Park with the OE’s having also won their first five games of the season.
It is quite frankly the biggest fixture of the weekend and second place Chinnor will certainly have one eye on what happens in Somerset when they host winless Exmouth. Elsewhere, Redruth and Bishops Stortford remain in the shadows of the top three, but continue to keep chase while Barnes and Barnstaple aim to gain momentum for their opening wins of the season six days ago.
Taunton Titans v Old Elthamians
Taunton Titans have had a perfect start to the National Two South season. The Somerset club are hoping to be in the hunt for a shot at National One this campaign and after five games, they sit top of the table and look full of confidence following bonus-point victories in all five of their matches so far this term.
The Titans have overcome Cinderford and Bury St Edmunds in the last two weeks to maintain their unbeaten start to the season but this fixture against the Old Elthamians will arguably be the league leaders’ toughest test thus far. Taunton are back at Hyde Park this weekend where they have won 27 of their last 32 matches.
The Old Elthamians’ start to the season has been excellent too. The OE’s will have been hoping to build on two mid-table finishes which they have achieved since gaining promotion into this division in 2014 and it seems that they are doing just that as they currently sit third in the table with five straight wins to their name.
A superb 22-19 away win against Bishops Stortford two weeks ago signalled the intentions of the OE’s for this season and they backed that up with a strong display against Worthing Raiders last weekend. This trip to Taunton though is a stern test for the OE’s and if they are to get a result at Hyde Park tomorrow, then they will certainly be talked about as serious title challengers.
Chinnor v Exmouth
Chinnor’s start to the National Two South season has been a pretty good one. Despite fighting off relegation in the final two months of the last campaign, the Black and Whites have flown out of the blocks this term as they have picked up five wins from five heading into this fixture with Exmouth.
Victories over the likes of Henley Hawks and Redruth do indicate the ambitions of Matt Williams’ side this season as they look to challenge for the top spots in this division. A win in this game over Exmouth would be Chinnor’s 13th from their last 15 league games and the South Oxfordshire side will be keen that their sensational run of form doesn’t stop this weekend.
In contrast, Exmouth are looking to just stay in National Two South this season. The Devonshire club were promoted as champions from the National Three South West league in May, but have struggled to adjust to life at this level thus far as they currently sit bottom of the division after five rounds.
Five straight defeats is certainly not the start Exmouth would’ve wanted and it doesn’t get much easier for them this weekend when they travel to a rampant Chinnor side. Exmouth have shipped 224 points so far this season so a victory on the road in this game would certainly upset the odds, but could provide Exmouth with a springboard they need to move themselves out of danger.
Redruth v Barnes
Redruth seem to be picking up momentum in National Two South and it continued on Saturday. The Reds had suffered their first defeat of the season away at Chinnor in round three, but they reacted to that loss with victory at home against the Redingensians getting their excellent early season form back on track.
Marek Chrucher’s men were able to improve on their three wins from the opening four matches as they thrashed Exmouth 60-17 last weekend to move into fourth position in the table at this early stage of the term. Can Redruth continue their rise up the table with their 15th win from their last 18 home matches this Saturday?
Barnes have struggled for large parts of this season so far in National Two South. The Thameside-based club did well to avoid relegation in the last campaign following promotion into this division, but may have been worried by the way they ended the season as they picked up just one win from their final eight games.
That bad run of form continued into this season as they lost their first four matches, but finally ended their baron spell with victory over Henley Hawks last weekend. That performance will have given Barnes confidence as they head to Cornwall this Saturday looking to get something out of this fixture at the Recreation Ground.
Bishops Stortford v Clifton
Bishops Stortford’s start to the season has been a mixed one. Stortford finished in third place last season and may’ve been harbouring promotion ambitions at the beginning of this campaign. They started brilliantly as they picked up three very impressive victories, but their performances over the last two weeks have slightly dented their challenge for a top two spot.
A narrow defeat against the Old Elthamains ended their unbeaten start to the term, but they were stunned last Saturday when they lost away at Canterbury leaving Andy Long’s men six points off the promotion places at this early stage of the season. Stortford will now be looking for a reaction back at Silver Leys in a game which they are favourites to win.
Clifton have endured a difficult start to the season. Having fallen dramatically down the league table last year following a superb start by the South Gloucestershire side, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Lavender and Blacks find themselves struggling towards the bottom of the National Two South table with just one win to their name after five matches.
After three straight losses to Bury St Edmunds, Cinderford and the Old Elthamians, signs of recovery were on display as Clifton picked up a 25-20 win over Canterbury two weeks ago, but a damaging defeat against Barnstaple last weekend highlighted their troubles further. Clifton will be fully aware they need to improve drastically if they are to get anything from their trip to Silver Leys this Saturday.
Henley Hawks v Bury St Edmunds
Henley Hawks’ season can be summed up by the word ‘inconsistency’ so far. The Oxfordshire-based club know all about gaining promotion from this level after winning the National Two South title in 2014/15, but after immediate relegation from National One, Henley have failed to string a sequence of positive results together meaning they sit in ninth place so far.
Form heading into this fixture with Bury St Edmunds has been quite good though, with the Hawks picking up two wins from their last three fixtures with victories coming against the Redingensians and Exmouth. Henley will want to continue their much improved results this Saturday as they look to keep moving up the table.
Bury St Edmunds continued their impressive recent form in National Two South with 39-15 victory over newly-promoted London Irish Wild Geese last Saturday afternoon. Bury have now won three of their last five matches and confidence does seem to still be quite high still at Haberden especially after Bury’s sixth place finish last term.
All this being said, Bury must improve their away record if they are to achieve another top six finish this time around. Both of their defeats this season against Bishops Stortford and Taunton have come on their travels and Bury have won just five of their last 17 games on the road. Gavin Hogg will be hoping his side can put that right this weekend and continue their positive start to this campaign.
Worthing Raiders v Canterbury
Worthing Raiders had been enduring a strong season until last weekend’s fixture with the Old Elthamians. The Raiders had won three of their first four matches of the campaign against Exmouth, Barnes and Cinderford while their only defeat came against Bury St Edmunds in round three. But a loss against the OE’s six days ago was a set-back for Worthing.
Their 37-17 defeat means Worthing now sit mid-table at this early stage of the season. Granted, this is an improvement on last year for the Raiders, but a side that finished fifth two years ago may have targeted an unbeaten start to the new campaign. Can they bounce back this weekend when they face Canterbury at Roundstone Lane?
Unlike Worthing, Canterbury started the season off on the wrong foot going down in defeats to Cinderford and the Old Elthamians in the first two matches of the new campaign. Since then though, the City Men have picked up two wins in their last three games with the first victory coming against Barnstaple while their second win saw them stun Bishops Stortford last Saturday.
That result against Bishops Stortford was particularly impressive as they came from behind on three occasions to clinch the home victory. The win will have given Canterbury bags of confidence ahead of their trip to Worthing, but it won’t be a straightforward task for them this Saturday. Will they be able to continue their purple patch of form?
London Irish Wild Geese v Cinderford
London Irish Wild Geese are looking to cement their place in National Two South this season following a promotion winning campaign last term. This new challenge for Wild Geese has been mixed so far and after five league fixtures, they find themselves in 10th place with two wins to their name.
Wild Geese ended September in good fashion with back to back wins against Exmouth and Barnes, but failed to build on that last week as they were brushed aside by Bury St Edmunds. We have seen the quality of London Irish Wild Geese in the two victories and the Hazlewood faithful will be hoping that that quality is on display this weekend to earn the hosts their third win of the campaign.
After a great start, Cinderford seem to be struggling with life in National Two South. The Gloucestershire side were relegated from National One in May, but they haven’t yet found their feet at this level as they currently sit 11th place in the table with two wins from the first five games.
Cinderford’s two victories came in the opening two rounds of the season against Canterbury and Clifton, but they now head into this fixture with London Irish Wild Geese on the back off three straight defeats losing to the likes of Bishops Stortford and Worthing Raiders on the way. Can Cinderford put a stop to their losing streak with a win this weekend?
Redingensians v Barnstaple
The Redingensians are struggling for form in National Two South this season. Having had a successful campaign at this level last term following promotion, the club will no doubt have been hoping to build on an impressive seventh placed finish, but unfortunately they have had a tough start to this year.
At this stage, the Rams sit in a disappointing 14thplace, having picked up just one win so far from their first five outings. Added to this, they lost to Taunton, Henley Hawks and Chinnor in their last three matches at Old Bath Road which is worrying for the Redingensians who will be wanting to put that right on Saturday and move out of the bottom three.
Despite their below-par start to the season, the Redingensians may fancy their chances of gaining a victory in this game. Their opponents Barnstaple are one of only two teams below the Redingensians in the National Two South table at the moment having picked up just one win from their first five matches following promotion via the National Three play-off in May.
However, they will be confident heading to Old Bath Road this weekend as they clinched their first ever win at this level last Saturday against Clifton and now Barum will be hoping they don’t have to wait long for winner number two in National Two South. Barnstaple have won nine of their last 15 games away from home, but can they earn their first victory on the road in this division here?
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