Nat 1 Previews

Bedford Blues v Earth Titans

Fourth placed Earth Titans travel to sixth placed Bedford Blues with both sides looking to get back to winning ways.

Bedford were narrowly beat at Nottingham last Sunday thanks to a late Nottingham try and have now lost two of their last four matches.

The Blues are unbeaten at Goldington Road with three wins and a draw from their four matches so far this season. 

The Titans were beaten at home by the Cornish Pirates who went above them and to the top of the table. The Titans were disappointed at throwing away an 18 point lead and are looking to avoid a third straight defeat.

They have lost twice on the road already this season at Exeter Chiefs and Plymouth Albion.

Prediction: Tough call but will go narrow home win for the Blues by five points.         

Doncaster v Exeter Chiefs

Fifth placed Doncaster entertain eighth placed Exeter Chiefs looking to extend their recent winning run. 

Doncaster are looking to make it four in a row and maintain their excellent home record of four wins in five matches with only the Cornish Pirates leaving with a win. 

They have done well on the bonus points collecting nine so far, seven for scoring four tries or more and in two of their three defeats they have picked up losing bonus points.

Exeter Chiefs are going through a sticky patch at the moment with three defeats in their last four matches and need to turn that form round.

On the road the Chiefs have won twice in five outings at London Welsh and Nottingham.

They have done poorly on the bonus point front with just three for scoring four tries or more and they have failed to pick any losing bonus points up in their five defeats.

Prediction: Home win for Doncaster by seven points over the Chiefs.        

Moseley v Plymouth Albion 

Third placed Plymouth Albion travel to third bottom Moseley looking to maintain their winning run.

Moseley are looking to avoid a fourth straight defeat and move clear of the bottom two who they currently lead by five points. 

Both their wins this season have come at home from six matches with wins over Bedford blues and Sedgley Park.

Along with Nottingham they have picked up the most losing bonus points, four.

Plymouth Albion are looking to make it four in a row after losing two out of three and keep the pressure on the top two. .

They have the meanest defensive record in the division but on the attacking front have picked up the fewest four try bonus points than any side in the top half of the table.

Prediction: Albion to win away at Moseley by seven points.         

Otley v Pertemps Bees

12^th placed Otley take on seventh placed Pertemps Bees looking to return to winning ways.

Otley have slipped of late with four straight defeats after winning four of their opening seven matches of the season. At Cross Green they have won three out of five with only Bedford Blues and Plymouth Albion leaving with wins.   .

They are not the heaviest of scorers and have managed just two four try bonus points and have yet to pick up a losing bonus point in their seven defeats.

The Pertemps Bees have won two of their last three after a three match losing run and are eight points off sixth placed Bedford and four points clear of eighth placed Coventry. 

On the road they have an excellent record with four wins and a draw and the one defeat coming against third placed Plymouth Albion.

Prediction:  Otley home win by six points at Cross Green.         

Sedgley Park v Nottingham

Bottom of the table Sedgley Park entertain 10^th placed Nottingham at Park Lane looking to get something out of the match and move off the bottom of the table and close the gap on third bottom Moseley.

Sedgley Park are looking to make it two wins in three matches. They won their last home match against London Welsh to record their first win of the season, but prior to that they had lost six on the bounce at Park Lane. 

Nottingham are looking to make it four wins in five matches and will be confident after a narrow win over Bedford Blues last Sunday. 

On the road they have not done to well winning just once in five matches.

They are the sixth highest scorers in the division but only four sides have conceded more points than them.

Prediction:  Nottingham to win by six at Park Lane.        

Waterloo v Newbury

Second bottom Waterloo take on 11^th placed Newbury at Blundellsands looking to end a losing run and up the table away from the relegation zone.

Waterloo are five points behind 14^th placed Moseley and need to start winning their home matches. So far this season at Blundellsands they have managed just one win in six matches although that was against league leaders Cornish Pirates. 

They have managed just the one bonus point and have the worst defensive record and scoring record in the division.

Newbury after two successive defeats returned to winning ways last Saturday at home to Otley and have won four of their last six matches.

On the road this season they have done well picking up three wins in six matches with wins at London Welsh, Moseley and Pertemps Bees.  

Prediction:  Newbury away win by seven points at Blundellsands.         

Leeds Tykes v Coventry

Second placed Leeds Tykes entertain eighth placed Coventry at Headingley looking to pick up all five points and keep the pressure on the Cornish Pirates who are ahead of them on points difference.

Leeds Tykes are looking to make it five in a row and make it four out of five at Headingley after losing their opening match there to London Welsh. .  

After a slow start they are now the second highest scorers in the division but are still conceding too many points for their own good and need to tighten up defensively.

Coventry are looking for a third successive win and four out of five as they look to continue to climb the table after a poor start to the season.

On the road they have a win and a draw from their five matches with the win coming at Sedgley Park and the draw at Exeter Chiefs.

Prediction:  Tykes to continue good run with 10 point win over Coventry.         

Cornish Pirates v London Welsh 

Leaders Cornish Pirates take on 13^th placed London Welsh looking to pick up all five points and maintain top spot in the table as they have 78 point points difference advantage over second placed Leeds Tykes.

The Pirates have the longest wining run in the division with seven successive wins since losing at Headingley to Leeds Tykes back in September.   

They have an excellent home record with five wins out of five and have passed the 30 point mark in each of those wins. They are the division top scorers and have the second meanest defence.

The Welsh are looking to avoid a sixth straight defeat and have the longest losing run in the division.

On the road this season they have a good record with three wins in six matches and have yet to win at home this season.

They have managed just the one four try bonus point and picked up three losing bonus points. 

Prediction:  Pirates to win by 14 points at home to the Welsh.