National League 1

As ever in National One, there are some interesting fixtures this weekend none more so than the top two taking on each other.

Richmond went top of National One after Round 13 as Hartpury College suffered their third defeat of the season while Blackheath were held to a draw at home to Fylde.

Round 13 in National One serves up some intriguing fixtures as Hartpury College and Richmond face tough away fixtures which leaves the door open for Blackheath and Esher if they are to slip up.

Round 12 of National One saw all the sides in the top four secure victories, but Hartpury College are now level at the top of table with Richmond as College failed to pick up a bonus point this weekend.

It will be interesting to see if the defeats to Esher, Ampthill and District and Rosslyn Park last Saturday will have any effect on their performances this weekend as they look to get their promotion challenge back on track.

After dropped points have been seldom at the top of National One, it was a surprise to see three of the top six sides all lose on Saturday which league leaders Hartpury profited from as they cemented their place at the summit of the table.

Loughborough Student’s victory over Wharfedale at home may not have been the stand out result in National One this weekend, but for George De Cothi the win was more like picking up 10 points rather than just the usual five.

Round 10 of National Two North sees some more excellent match-ups taking place as the top six are separated by just four points.

For the fourth time this season we have new leaders at top of National One as Esher took advantage of Hartpury’s defeat to Blackheath.

Esher’s Harrison Collins believes that if they are to continue their challenge towards the top of National One, they must stay focused and maintain their high level of performances.

With the World Cup now over, our attention will turn back to the domestic game and after reading an opinion piece from Mark Smith of the Newcastle Chronicle about the state of the game in the North East, we compared it to the North West.

After winning the National Two North play-off last season, Ampthill and District are now top of National One after picking up maximum points from their opening three matches. There were five away wins in Round Three of the division including Ampthills’ victory at Cinderford as well as victories for Hartpury College, Blackheath, Richmond and Wharfedale.

After two weeks, it is clear how tight this league maybe as 10 of the 16 teams have won one and lost one match already.

It can be argued that this is the toughest division to be promoted from across the National Leagues. With one promotion place up for grabs, it really is all or nothing for teams who have their sights set on the IPA Championship.

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.

Fylde's new Head Coach (designate), Paul Arnold, has made his first signings for the 2015/16 campaign.

After forming back in 2004, the club has gone through a meteoric rise up the leagues and they currently ply their trade in National One, the third tier of English rugby.

Talking Rugby Union have spoken to Coventry Captain Cliffie Hodgson, Fylde's Oli Brennand and Richmond's Matt Chambers ahead of Round 23 of National League 1 and have also had a brief look back at round 22.

Coventry and Richmond put on an excellent advert for National League 1, Hartpury recorded a seventh consecutive victory and there were also big victories for Old Albanians, Esher and Wharfedale as league leaders Ealing enjoyed a week off.

Talking Rugby Union and The Rugby Paper reporter Steven Smith previews and predicts all the upcoming weekends fixtures from Round 21 of National League 1.