Check out our weekly previews and predictions.
NATIONAL ONE
Saturday 4th December
Pertemps Bees v Exeter
Probably the top fixture of the day in this division takes place at Sharmans Cross Road as two teams having different fortunes in the Powergen Cup on Saturday meet for the first time this season.
Pertemps Bees continued their excellent recent record in the Powergen Cup by knocking out Coventry at the Butts Arena after coming back from 20 points down. They now face Leeds Tykes at Headingley in the sixth round. This was their first victory in four matches after losing the last three in the league to Rotherham, Nottingham and Bedford, a poor run which has seen them drop to fifth in the league. They have won three from four at home this season.
Exeter were beaten by five points at Bedford in the Powergen Cup on Saturday and will now concentrate all their efforts on pushing Bristol and Plymouth for top spot. They have not been beaten in the league since 2nd October and won three of their five away games.
Exeter have had the better of Pertemps Bees in this fixture but last season the Bees completed the league double. In what is likely to be a very close contest, home advantage may just see the Bees through on Saturday.
Prediction: Pertemps Bees to win by 3 points
Saturday 4th December
Coventry v Sedgley Park
Back to league rugby at the Butts Arena on Saturday as Coventry, disappointed to be knocked out of the Powergen Cup at the fifth round stage, entertain a Sedgley Park side who are finding it very difficult to break away from the relegation pack.
Coventry were beaten for the first time at the Butts Arena on Saturday as Midlands neighbours Pertemps Bees scored two converted tries in the dying minutes to win 23-28. They are in eighth position in National One with six wins to their credit, and five of these have been on home soil.
Sedgley Park had a break last weekend but last time out, they were beaten by a heavy scoreline at Nottingham. However, they were well in the game until the latter stages and will take heart from that. They are fourth from the bottom of the league with only two points separating four teams and they are finding points of any kind hard to come by. They have only won two matches from 10 starts and their only win away from Park Lane came at Old Deer Park against bottom club London Welsh.
There is no history between these two clubs but Coventry will be favourites to continue their excellent unbeaten home run in league rugby.
Prediction: Coventry to win by 8 points
Saturday 4th December
London Welsh v Nottingham
Two sides who were not in action last weekend face each other at Old Deer Park on Saturday, with London Welsh desperate to move off the bottom of the league and Nottingham keen to maintain their unbeaten run.
London Welsh are having their worst season for many a year and are at the foot of the table having won only one game this season. They have played five matches at home in the league to date and lost them all.
Nottingham are a good example for London Welsh to follow. They were bottom of the league after seven rounds without a win to their name, but have put a run of three victories together beating Henley and Sedgley Park at home and Pertemps Bees away. Consequently, they have jumped from 14th place to 10th , and opened up a significant gap between themselves and the bottom four.
Nottingham are on a roll and know if they can win on Saturday against bottom club London Welsh and the week after against next to bottom Orrell, they will be pushing for a spot in mid-table rather than being threatened by relegation.
Prediction: Nottingham to win by 6 points.
Saturday 4th December
Orrell v Penzance & Newlyn
Orrell’s battle to avoid the drop continues when they welcome Penzance and Newlyn to Edge Hall Road on Saturday.
Orrell sit next to bottom in the league and last time at home won for the first time this season with a less than convincing one point victory against Henley. They have though played six of their 10 matches away from home including trips to the top four sides and they have easier fixtures to come.
Penzance jumped into sixth place in the league after their excellent home victory against Rotherham. This was their fourth win from five at the Mennaye Field and only leaders Bristol, on the opening day of the season, have managed to leave Cornwall with the
points. Their away form though is less impressive. Their victory against London Welsh last time on the road, was only their second away win this season.
We have got a poor home record playing a poor away record here. They have only met twice before in the league and Orrell took both matches by high scores last season. Having beaten Nottingham and London Welsh away this season, the Pirates are likely to add Orrell to their list of victims on Saturday.
Prediction: Penzance and Newlyn to win by 7 points
Saturday 4th December
Plymouth Albion v Otley
These two sides fought out a closer than expected cup tie on Saturday with Plymouth winning 23-15, and this weekend’s game should be another cracker.
Plymouth will be looking forward to giving their large following a day out at Sale Sharks in the sixth round of the Powergen Cup. Back in the league, they are in third place and are unbeaten at Brickfields.
Otley are in seventh spot, but are right on the heels of Rotherham, Pertemps Bees and Penzance and Newlyn. They have won two of their four away games this season.
After last Saturday, Plymouth have now won five of the six meetings between the sides. Although Otley will give them a hard game, Plymouth should maintain their 100% home record.
Prediction: Plymouth to win by 8 points
Saturday 4th December
Rotherham v Henley
Rotherham return to Clifton Lane confident of getting back to winning ways after losing their last two matches.
Although Rotherham are rarely beaten on home soil in this division, leaders Bristol pulled off a one point win in the last match played at Clifton Lane. Rotherham followed this up with a defeat at Penzance and Newlyn last time out and have now dropped to fourth place in the league. This was their second defeat from their three away games and they will need improved results on their travels if they are to be in contention for the promotion spot.
Henley have still only got the one home victory against Sedgley Park to show for their endeavours this season and are 12th in the table. They have played five games away from Dry Leas and have yet to win, although they have picked up bonus points at Coventry, Otley and Orrell.
The teams have met on four occasions previously and Rotherham have won them all. Rotherham have only lost one home game in each of their last two seasons in this division. It is extremely unlikely therefore that they will succumb to a second successive home defeat this season and they should be too strong for Henley.
Prediction: Rotherham to win by 12 points
Sunday 5th December
Bristol v Bedford
Two teams, fresh from cup success last weekend, face each other in an important league match at the Memorial Ground on Sunday.
Bristol ran away with their Powergen Cup tie at Waterloo and scored another half century of points. They can now prepare to welcome Zurich Premiership champions and Heineken Cup holders London Wasps to the South West. Bristol are really setting the pace in National One having won nine of their ten matches played and have opened up a six point gap on second placed Exeter.
Bedford had an excellent win against Exeter at Goldington Road on Saturday to progress to the sixth round of the Powergen Cup for the first time since 1979. They can now look forward to a derby fixture at Northampton. They are in mid table in the division and are only four points behind fourth placed Rotherham. They have won two from five away from home this season and have been beaten on their travels at Exeter, Penzance and Plymouth.
Bristol have beaten Bedford three times from the last four league games going back to 1999. They are in superb form at the moment and should continue their excellent run on Sunday.
Prediction: Bristol to win by 12 points
|
