2010/11 Predictions

I appreciate its early days, but here’s my penny’s worth of team predictions for the 2010/11 season. May need tweaking as the kick off of the new season gets closer.   

1.         London Scottish – Must be favourites for next season and the team that everyone wants to beat in NL1. A core of between 14 -16 young fulltime professionals bolstered by semi pros must be a significant advantage over the other competing teams, however with a new head coach at the helm how much will this affect performances.

2.         Tynedale – Tyne with their very close connections to the local community & the Falcons will mean that any win up at Corbridge for the opposition, will be hard earned. Can this be the season that their travels improve and ultimately determine the runners up position for the North East side?

3.         Sedgley Park – After a season of consolidation which allowed the club to steady the boat, the Tigers will be in a position to be there or there abouts for next season. Although they have lost one or two good players, these are being replaced by returning prodigal sons.

4.         Blackheath – Having flirting in and around the lower end of the table last season, the new season could well bring better success for Club, given that the younger players in their side will have had another year under their belts. Success again will be built around a strong pack.

5          Wharfedale – Dale have lost a number of key personnel from their 2009/10 squad, either through moving up to a higher grade or retirements. A significant amount of pressure on their new young head coach to deliver; who will no doubt exploit his connections at Leeds to bring in a crop of Leeds Academy players.

6.         Redruth – One of the 2009/10 under achievers who will bounce back and be the leading Cornish outfit for the 2010/11 season. Re-structuring at the club, which will include a new head coach; together with challenges over finances; will result in a greater focus on local talent. Always hard to beat at home; however predict a higher number of away victories in 2010/11.   

7.         Blaydon – Can the Geordie’s repeat their 2009/10 exploits for the new season? A strong work manlike side, with no outstanding star players. The challenge for the coaching staff at Blaydon is that all the teams who played them last season will know what to expect and the surprise element will no longer be there.

8.         Cambridge – The big question for the B & S club for 2010/11 is who will replace their prolific 30 touchdown expert, who has moved on to Bedford. The squad will have an even greater emphasis on youth, but will this be enough to compete across a very demanding 30 match schedule. Sufficient strength in depth across the squad to cope with a long gruelling season will also be a challenge for the B & S team.

9.         Otley – How much of a new season bounce will the White Rose team have, following their remarkable end of season recovery? For a long time, it looked as if they were odds on to make back to back drops. Wharfedale will compete with Otley over the Leeds Academy players, so how much of an effect will this have on them?

10.       Coventry – The question for the Midlanders is how they will cope with the loss of RFU funding. The full time professionals at the club will be long gone before the 2010/11 season starts and semi-pros will need to be brought in. The DoR who took the team down, appears to be still in place and unless there is instant success on the pitch, he will be under even more pressure to move on. A season of consolidation, with no immediate return to the Championship and a big reality check for the supporters of the club.

11.       Launceston – Financial issues at the CABs for the 2010/11 season will be the biggest challenge for the new coaching team. A significant loss of key players and last season’s coaching staff will have a negative impact on the team and will lead to a number of loses, which last season would have been unthinkable. A big change in the recent fortunes of the CABs.

12.       Stourbridge – Stourbridge’s form was all over the place in the 2009/10 season. They flirted with the relegation positions for a long time; however a couple of significant victories allowed them to achieve safety with games to spare. The 2010/11 season will be a case of déjà vu and again periods of flirting with relegation will be on the agenda, but safety will be achieved.

13.       Macclesfield – The strongest of the promoted teams, however I still believe they will still

 see them struggle, but safety will be achieved in the final matches of the season. A lot will be determined in how much they recruit over the summer, as the step up from level 4 is significant, especially as the level 4 sides will not be used to the gruelling playing schedule.

14.       Barking – Sadly, the lack of finances at the Essex club will be the greatest influence in determining survival at level 3. A number of the promising youngsters at the club have already decided to move on and the challenge for the excellent coaching staff is to retain as many as possible for the new season. Could surprise a few sides and the drop will be a close thing.

15        Rosslyn Park – Another of the promoted sides who will make an instant return to level 4. In their promotion season Park missed out in a raft of bonus point wins, due to their inability to achieve 4 try point wins. At level 3, clubs will not be so accommodating and I fear a season of near loss misses will be on the cards.

16        Cinderford – Cinders have done remarkable to maintain level 3 rugby for 3 seasons. They flirted in and around the relegation area for most of last season and were fortunate that there were at least 2 sides who were struggling from day one. This will not happen this season; however they will put up a good fight.

The joker in the pack this year is Macclesfield - September will be an ideal month to guage their potential - Stourbridge, Sedgely Park, Cinderford and then Cambridge.