Check out our predictions and let us know what you think!!
Esher v Sedgley Park
Top of the table Sedgley Park are looking to make it six out of six at Esher on Saturday against a side that has made a disappointing start to the season. Esher are languishing in 12th place in the league table with just one win on the board.
Park have made a solid start to the season and are the leading points scorers in the division and have the second best defensive record after Wharfedale.
Esher have already lost two of their three home matches this season and will be keen to improve their home record as they look to move up the league table in the coming weeks to try and find a top half of the table spot.
Last season saw Esher do the double over Park with a narrow 12-11 home win and a 26-11 win at Park Lane. They met for the first time ever the season before when honours were split with home advantage proving crucial. Three of the four matches have been settled by four points or less.
Park are the third highest try scorers in the league with 18 whilst Esher are the fourth highest scorers with 14 tries. Park have though kicked more penalties than any other side with their three kickers notching 17 between them.
Team news: Esher have the same XV as last week with Jon Gregory likely to miss the match. J Elford: K Fisher, P Gregory, R Jennings, T Clouston, E Jennings, D Taylor: A Alexander, F Gallagher, P Seymour, P Mole, M Butterworth, J Davison, G Dewhurst, C Wilkins.
Prediction: Away win by less than seven points.
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Lydney v Doncaster
Lydney are looking to avoid a sixth successive league defeat on their return to National Two after a two year absence. Doncaster have moved up to 9th place with a couple of recent wins after their dreadful start to the season and will see this as the chance to make it a hat trick of wins and having already won at Harrogate a couple of weeks ago will go into this match with confidence.
Lydney have had problems scoring points and are the lowest scorers in the division with just 57 points, 30 points less than anybody else, although their six tries scored is level with Newbury but they are in 8th place in the league table. In defence they have shipped 159 points, 11 more than Esher the next highest total in the division.
Doncaster have scored as many tries as they have conceded, 12 with their backs running in nine of them.
This will be the first ever meeting in league rugby between these two sides with Doncaster having a second season in National Two.
Team news:
Prediction: Away win by 10 points.
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Moseley v Bracknell
7th placed Moseley are at home again this week after their 26 all draw last weekend at home to Nottingham. This week they entertain 4th placed Bracknell who will be looking to recover from last weeks second half performance at home to Harrogate where they conceding points at nearly a point a minute before going down 39-17.
Moseley have done well at home win five out of six points but have yet to be convincing. Bracknell are the second top try scorers in the division with20 scored compared with just 10 by Moseley. The home side have a superior defence and have conceded just 11 tries whilst Bracknell have let in 19 tries the second worst record in the division.
Bracknell’s two away matches this season have seen they run out big winners at Esher and going down to a three point defeat at Nottingham.
The only previous meetings in league rugby between the two clubs came in the 2001/02 season when each side won its own home match with this fixture ending 25-23.
Team news: Moseley hope to field the same XV that drew at home to Nottingham last weekend. S Nutt: N Palmer, A Gray, S Brading, J Aston, O Thomas, G Taylor: M Samra, A Caves, A Low, A Hadley, M Gilbert, D Hunt, S Halbert, S Ojomoh.
Prediction: Moseley to remain unbeaten at home, just.
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Newbury v Stourbridge
8th placed Newbury entertain 6th placed Stourbridge as they look to return to winnings ways at Monks Lane after losing there in their last home match against Wharfedale. They also lost last weekend at table toppers Sedgley Park and do not want to slip to a third successive league defeat. Stourbridge were winners last weekend in a tight match against Rosslyn Park and are looking for a second away win to follow on from a 33-11 win at Lydney.
Newbury will be hoping to improve their try strike rate which has seen they run in just six tries in five league matches which is the lowest in the division along with bottom of the table Rugby Lions.
This will be the fifth league meeting between these two sides and so far honours are even with two wins each, although last season it was the away side that ran out winners. Stourbridge sneaked it at Newbury last season 26-25.
Team news:
Prediction: Home win by 10 points.
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Nottingham v Wharfedale
Second placed Wharfedale take their 100% record to Beeston looking for a sixth straight league win. Nottingham picked up their first away point last week with a draw at Moseley.
Wharfedale have the best defensive record in the league conceding just 71 points compared to the 136 shipped by Nottingham. The home side have though racked up 138 points whilst Wharfedale have managed just 101.
Nottingham are unbeaten at home with two wins and a draw from their three matches but the wins were by three and six points in high scoring matches. The Dalesman have won 10-0 at Lydney and had a narrow 24-23 win at Newbury.
History is on the side of the visitors who have won seven of the ten meetings between these two sides and last season did the double over them including a 40-3 win at Beeston. They have won a great record there having won three times in five visits.
Team news: Wharfedale loss both David Pears and Tony Jackson who are both out having not recovered from injuries.
J Davies: P Salshshouri, C Malherbe, D Whitfield, G Johnston, A Baggett, S Cottrell: P Peel, J Ogden, N Dickinson, D Lister, A Capstick, P Evans, H Verity, B Wade. Bench: C Ingram, F Lovett, B Pattinson, A Oldfield.
Prediction: Away win by less than seven points.
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Nuneaton v Harrogate
Harrogate go to Liberty Way in good heart after their excellent away win at Bracknell last week as they bounced back from a home defeat against Yorkshire rivals Doncaster the week before. Last week at Bracknell they looked to be heading for a second consecutive league match trailing 17-0, but a powerful second half performance got them back on track and they will be confident of continuing that this week.
10th placed Nuneaton were losers at Doncaster last week in a match that could have gone either way as they lost for the first time in three league matches after wins against Rugby Lions and Stourbridge.
The Yorkshire side are the top try scorers in the division with 23 so far from their five matches, 11 more than the Nuns. Defensively they are fairly even with Harrogate conceding 10 and Nuneaton 11.
These two sides are meeting in league rugby for the first time since the 1992/93 season.
Team news:
Prediction: Away win by less than 10 points.
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Rosslyn Park v Rugby Lions
13th placed Rosslyn Park are up against 11th placed Rugby Lions in a match they have to win to move their season forward. A loss to Rugby would be damaging to their confidence and leave them looking vulnerable. Rugby Lions will be hoping to build on their home win against Lydney
Park have a 1/1 record at home this season with a victory over Moseley and a defeat at the hands of leaders Sedgley Park. Rugby have already won on the road this season when they were 28-24 winners thanks to a late Spencer Brown try.
Park have managed 13 tries so far this season which is two more than the visitors. In the tries conceded Park again have the edge with 16 compared to the 21 the Lions have conceded.
These two sides last met in league action back in the 2000/01 this match ended in a 19 all draw with Rugby have won 31-10 at Webb Ellis Road earlier in the season.
Team news:(1-15): Jon Cooke, Paul Byford, James Cure, James Hayes, Lee Gibson (Capt.), Shaun Justice, Graham Boardman, Ollie Hankey: Mike Friday, Sam Howard, Nick Marsh, Matt Pitt, Mark Ireland, James Justice, Richard Jackson.
Park bring Mark Ireland back into the side in the centre and Nick Marsh moves to the wing with Matt Morgan missing out. In the forwards Jon Cooke comes in at prop for Chris Cano and ay No 8 Olli Hankey is in for Rob Sedman.
Prediction: Home win by 14 points.
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