Nat 1 Previews

Bedford Blues v Sedgley Park

Both sides have made disappointing starts to the season and have yet to win.

Bedford will still be reeling from last weeks loss at Moseley when they were in a commanding lead only to see it slip away in the middle of the second half conceding four tries.

Sedgley were also beaten last Saturday going down to a heavy defeat at home to Doncaster.

In this fixture last season the Blues were 34-13 winners and with a 45-29 win at Park Lane did the double over Sedgley.

Prediction: Got to go home win by 12 points.

Pertemps Bees v Leeds Tykes

The Bees have made a promising start to the new campaign with an excellent draw at Bedford Blues and then a home win over Exeter Chiefs last Saturday.

They have settled own quickly with a large number of new players finding their feet already.

The Tykes after suffering a shock opening weekend defeat at home to London Welsh responded well last Saturday with an away success at Newbury. 

This though will be a tough one for them and we will find out what they are made of this weekend.

These two sides met for the only time in league rugby during the 2000/01 season when the Tykes did the double over the Bees winning this fixture 31-20 and their home match 40-25.

Prediction: Interesting one this one got to go with Tykes by five.

Exeter Chiefs v Coventry

The Chiefs after two matches on the road are 1/1, they were opening day winners at Nottingham but last Saturday went down to a 35-17 defeat against the Pertemps Bees.

Coventry have already won on the road this season with an opening day win at Sedgley Park but were disappointed to go down at home last Saturday to the Earth Titans 22-15.  

The Chiefs were comprehensive winners of this fixture last season 45-5and with a narrow 24-19 win at the Butts Arena did the double over Coventry.

Prediction: Home win for the Chiefs by six points.

London Welsh v Newbury

The Welsh play their first home match of the season after two matches on the road where they performed well. On the opening weekend they were winners against former Premiership side Leeds Tykes and then last Saturday gave a good account of themselves at Plymouth Albion before going down to a 20-12 defeat and just missing out on a losing bonus point.

Newbury have lost both their opening fixtures to date going down to an opening day loss away at Doncaster and then last Saturday they were beaten by Leeds Tykes at Monks Lane. They have a lot of new faces and will be hoping they settled down quickly and get that first win on the board.

The Welsh were winners in this fixture last season at Old Deer Park 25-3 but earlier in the season at Monks Lane Newbury triumphed 31-24.

Prediction: Interesting match here will go home win by six points.

Plymouth Albion v Doncaster

Plymouth Albion are 2/0 after the opening couple of weeks of the season. They were emphatic winners away at Waterloo on the opening day of the season and then followed it up with a home win over London Welsh 20-12 last Saturday.

Doncaster have made an excellent start to the new season and like Albion have won both their opening matches. They were opening day winners at home to Newbury and followed that up with a comprehensive win over Sedgley Park 48-6 last Saturday.

Last season this was a hard fought match with Albion just coming out on top at Brickfields 27-25. At home though Doncaster were winners earlier in the season coming through 14-9.

Prediction: Albion to win a tight match by five points over Doncaster.

Earth Titans v Otley

The Titans are 2/0 after the opening couple of matches with two away wins under their belt. They were opening day winners at new boys Moseley and followed that up with a win last Saturday against Coventry 22-15.

Otley after an opening weekend loss down at the Cornish Pirates where they failed to register on the scoreboard bounced back with a home win over Nottingham 37-27. Four of the tries came form new boys Danny Smith, Wing, and Maifea Maifea, No 8, with Maifea getting a red card for a second yellow mid way through the second half.  

In this fixture last season the Titans were comfortable winners 39-24, whilst at Cross Green the Titans were 22-17 winners to do the double over Otley.

Prediction: Yorkshire derby to go the way of the Titans by ten points.

Nottingham v Waterloo

Nottingham have made a disappoint start to the new season and have lost both their opening matches. They were beaten at home on the opening day of the season by Exeter Chiefs and then last Saturday were beaten at Otley 37-27.

Waterloo after a poor opening day against Plymouth Albion where they were well beaten 55-9 bounced back well in week two. They were 19-16 winners over one of the fancied sides, the Cornish Pirates to get that all important first win of the season and take the pressure off especially after the Plymouth result.

When the sides last met in the league it was the 2001/02 season and Nottingham were 35-5 home winners but in the match at Blundellsands on the opening day of the season Waterloo triumphed 25-14.

Prediction: Tough call after last weeks results but will go home win by five points.

Cornish Pirates v Moseley

The Cornish Pirates after an excellent win over Otley 39-0 on the opening weekend were disappointed to go down 19-16 at Blundellsands against Waterloo on Saturday. These are the sort of matches they should be winning if they are to have a realistic chance of pushing for promotion. 

Moseley were winners in week two with an excellent home success over one of the favourites Bedford Blues coming through 44-37 in a  high scoring match. This was just what the doctor ordered after an opening day home loss at the hands of the Earth Titans.

Surprisingly these two have avoided each other in league rugby and meet for the first time. They did though meet in the National Cup in 1999/00 when Moseley were the winners.

Prediction: Tough call after last weeks results but will go for home win by 12 points.