National League 1 - 2016/7 Wk 2

With a win at home last Saturday in trying conditions, Albion's first away game this season is at Hartpury College in the depths of the Gloucestershire countryside. Believe it or not - this is our derby game on the road! (This is going to be a fairly short preview, as like the corresponding fixture in 2015-6, I'm off on the train to make a bit of a weekend out of it.)

Our problem is there is precious little history and atmosphere to add to the mix. They are not remotely like your "standard" Nat 1 club by any stretch of the imagination. At the time of our move to Brickfields, Hartpury started a meteoric rise up the the league system going for years without a loss and a single season when they were denied promotion, eventually arriving in Level 3 in 2014. With strong links to AP side Gloucester and benefitting from their status as a university level establishment, they have become a hot house for promising talent. (Wikipedia: "Hartpury offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to national and international students of exceptional athletic ability.") The quality of their players goes without saying - Rob Langley, Andy Chesters and Ellis Genge all came through HCRFC. The college Director of Elite Sport is one Philip Ranulph de Glanville. Oh, and last week, they put well-fancied Blackheath to the sword 34 - 0... They are second in the table only by virtue of Coventry's superior PD victory over Loughborough.

On the ground it's a good technical set-up, but sparsely attended and the social facilities are modest. (Anyone remember Seale Hayne College near Newton Albbot?) We played under lights in December. At least this time, it will be in full daylight and hopefully more benevolent weather conditions. (NB: KO is 14.30, £10 on the gate.) The abiding memory of that last trip was Billy Searle and Marc Kotecky grinning broadly in Santa's Elves hats, post match.

In our favour, we did beat them home and away in our first league encounters and you could argue that those two results took away their chance of becoming champions. In the pre-Xmas game, GD and the boys pulled off quite a by playing the same 15 for the full 80 while staying relentlessly focussed on the task of stopping them playing their game. The HC team visibly wilted at the final whistle, thinking last minute scores would take the game their way. In the final home game last April, we again prevailed (and by a larger margin) in the unlikely context of GD's departure and the trauma of financial meltdown. In terms of the mental challenge, the ball is in their court.

While the travelling support (small in numbers but loud in voice, as ever) will be straight back in the old routine, this will be another learning experience for the new squad. We must hope that the coaching team senior players are able to pull things together and keep the focus on the rugby. Unsurprisingly, we are not fancied to carry the day. At the start of a challenging season in multiple ways, we must hope for a solid squad performance physically and mentally; that we are not intimidated by the task ahead and that we don't stop working to create chances - and take them. Reluctantly, I forecast a home win with Albion in contention; 4-1.