Round 18: Blackheath v Albion
By Dark Prophet
February 7 2025
This weekend sees Albion travelling for a third consecutive away game, this time at Blackheath.
Sitting in sixth place in the league, Blackheath are six points behind Albion in fifth, but with a game in hand, making this a key fixture as we move towards the latter of the season. Albion have had a good run of form amassing a run of six wins, and hopefully putting to bed the away jinx. Blackheath, whilst not showing great consistency, have not lost at home this season. Notably, Blackheath have enjoyed a three week break from league action, after trouncing Birmingham Moseley 51-26 in their last fixture.
The reverse fixture, back in October saw Albion coming from behind from a 17-23 deficit to win 29-23 securing a bonus point in the last few minutes. Previous fixtures between the two have seen the home side taking the spoils, back to October 2021 when Albion won away.
On paper, there is little to separate the two sides. Blackheath have a slightly better try scoring rate, with threats coming from the flankers and along the back line. They do show a little vulnerability on the wings and there may be an opportunity for the likes of Jack Oulton to sneak through.
Blackheath tend to start with slightly defensive approach, for the first quarter of the game, before adopting a higher reward/risk for the remainder of the game. We could see a battle amongst the forwards for the first period, opening up to the backs as the replacements appear.
The Referee is slated to be Callum Watson, not a regular at this level having officiated in National 1 five times. Coincidentally, the last occasion was for Albion's fixture at Esher. In his first fixture this season, Mr Watson showed 4 cards, but since has presented one card in each the remaining games.
Player to watch: Noah Sloot at flanker. Noah has amassed 9 tries this season and offers a significant threat amongst the pack.
Weather: A drab start to the day should clear for the start of the game offering some sunny spells. A bit chilly but only a light breeze to contend with.
Prediction: Could go either way, with Blackheath's home record this season pitted against Albion's run of form. Could be a draw, but at a pinch, Blackheath to take it.
Other games of note:
Rosslyn Park v Sale. RP in 4th are on the same points as Albion, but lost their last fixture against Esher, while Sale have beaten Rams and Richmond in their last two outings. A win for Albion could see them move up.
Esher v Darlington. An opportunity for Esher to close the gap to a small group of clubs who may well be fighting to avoid the last relegation place at the end of the season.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:02:08:18:27:25 by Igwok Dominus.
Looking forward to next Saturday.