Check out our weekly previews and predictions for the National Leagues.
Bedford Blues v Henley Hawks
6th placed Bedford Blues look to return to winning ways after last weekends heavy defeat at second placed Orrell. Henley were defeated at home last Saturday by Exeter and have now lost their last five league matches to slip to 12th in the table.
At home Bedford have done well this season with four wins form their five matches whilst the Hawks have won just once on the road this season when they left Coundon Road with the points.
In the past these two sides have met four times with honours even at two wins each. In the last season they met 2001/02 Bedford did the double over Henley who were relegated at the end of the season.
Team news:
Prediction: Home win by 15 points.
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Bristol Shoguns v Exeter Chiefs
11th placed Bristol have managed just two wins at the Memorial Ground this season. Exeter have already played six times on the road this season and have won twice including last Saturday at Henley Hawks.
Bristol are looking to end a two match losing run whilst the Chiefs are looking to make it back to back wins as they look to climb the league table after a disappointing start to the season.
Defensively not much between the two sides this season but attacking wise there is.
With Exeter scoring 70 points more than the Shoguns with the boot of Tony Yapp having a big influence on that figure.
These two sides met twice in the 98/99 season when Bristol did the double including a 36-17 home success.
Team news:
Prediction: Narrow home win by less than seven.
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Coventry v Wakefield
10th placed Coventry play host to 8th placed Wakefield looking to extend their three match unbeaten run which consists of two wins and a draw.
Wakefield on the other hand will see this as a good opportunity to end their five match losing run after they made a positive start to the season.
Not much between them as both have a minus 89 points difference this season with Coventry scoring a few more points than Wakefield but the Yorkshire side having a slightly better defensive record.
In the past Coventry have dominated this fixture and have won nine and drawn one of the last 14 meeting over the last seven seasons.
They have not lost in the five now for five matches and are going for a fourth straight win in the fixture.
Team news:
Prediction: Coventry to win by 10 points.
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London Welsh v Orrell
Second placed Orrell will be keen to get all five points on offer with leaders Worcester having a tricky fixture at the Pertemps Bees.
London Welsh have lost their last two matches but did hand the Pertemps Bees a rare defeat at Old Deer Park not so long ago so will see that as a positive going into the game.
The Welsh have done well defensively this season with only four sides in the division having a better defensive record. But attacking wise they have not done so well and only the bottom two have scored fewer points.
The Welsh have a good record in this fixture with their eight meeting split four each. Orrell though have had the better of the two sides recently with three consecutive wins in the fixture with the Welsh last winning in December 2000, 33-32 at Old Deer Park.
Team news:
However no visit 'TW9' can be taken for granted. It is a
difficult venue and although Orrell did the 'double' over the
'Exiles' last term and have already beaten them this season in
the Powergen Cup, Ross Reynolds will not be taking anything for
granted.
"We had a great win last week but the 'Welsh' are not going to
be easy on their own ground," Reynolds said. "They have a good
pack and a pacy set of backs and although they are only ninth in
the table at the moment they are a better side than that would
suggest."
"First and foremost you have to secure the win and I think we
can do that,," Reynolds explained. "Only when you have done that
can you start hunting for the extras."
Orrell make two changes from the side which stated against
Bedford last week. Andy Craig takes over on the left wing from
Simon Haughton with Simon Emms who was sidelined with 'flu last
week returns in place of Alistair Livesey who joins Haughton on
the bench.
Orrell: Barrow, Hinton, Penney, Kelly, Craig, Slemen, So'oialo,
Emms, McCarthy, Barretto, Jackson, Palepoi, Easter, Lewitt,
Too'ala.
Replacements: Howe, Livesey, Parr, Wilks, Cattle, Jones, Haughton
Prediction: Away win by 20 points.
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Otley v Manchester
5th placed Otley entertain bottom of the table Manchester looking to build on last week’s success at London Welsh where they ended a two match losing run.
Manchester managed to pick up two points last week with a draw at home to Coventry and a couple of weeks before that got their first win of the season when they beat Penzance & Newlyn.
Manchester will be looking to continue their excellent record in this fixture with six wins form the eight meetings between the two sides. Last season the fixtures were split with each side winning its home match.
Team news:
Prediction: Otley by 20 points.
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Penzance & Newlyn v Plymouth Albion
13th placed Penzance will be looking to build on their home form which this season has seen them win three of their four matches at Westholme and they have already beaten Plymouth Albion at home in the Powergen Cup.
Plymouth have won their last three and will see this as a great opportunity to make it four in a row and reverse the Cup defeat. Especially when you bear in mind they have already won five out of six on the road this season and are in a highly credited 4th place in the league table.
They last met in March 2001 in National Three South when Plymouth were 36-13 winners.
Team news:
Prediction: Albion to win this time by less than 10 points having lost here in the Powergen Cup.
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Pertemps Bees v Worcester
Top of the table Worcester are going for a 12th straight win this season but will face a tough task against the surprise side in National One this seas, Pertemps Bees.
The Bees are back winning again after a two match losing run with defeats against Orrell and London Welsh.
They are unbeaten at Sharmans Cross this season with five wins picking up bonus points in all five of those wins for the four try bonus point.
Worcester have won all five on the road and are averaging 30 points plus and picked up bonus points in three of those matches.
In six previous matches the Bees have yet to win with Worcester winning five and one match ending in a draw. The draw was at Sharmans Cross when the match ended 26 all in April 2001.
Team news:
Prediction: Worcester by 14 points.
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