The final round of fixtures in the first stage of the 2017 AASE League takes place on Wednesday.

After the first stage the two conferences, north and south, split in two. Each will have a mini top half league and a mini bottom half league, with each side then facing their equivalent position in the opposite conference following the end of the second stage in one off play off games. So top in the north will play top in the south in the AASE final, second will play second for third place, and so on.

Northern Conference

Oaklands College have already sealed a top half finish in the Northern Conference with five wins from their six games. Having already completed all six games, they have a bye week this week.

Arguably the key fixture in the Northern Conference this week is Worcester 6^th form College v Gosforth Academy. Worcester are in second place, level on points with Oaklands, while Gosforth are in third, nine points behind the leaders, but with two games in hand as they have a postponed fixture against Myerscough to play in a couple of weeks time. It will be a huge game, not just in terms of position, but also for confidence heading into the second half of the season, neither will want to be facing a side that they have already lost to.

Brooksby Melton are in contention for a top half finish and they have a great chance to make that even more likely on Wednesday when they welcome Moulton College. Moulton are without a win, though they have an extraordinary record of having collected a losing bonus point in every single game so far this season, proving just how hard they are to beat.

Finally, at the bottom end, Myerscough College host Bishop Burton College. Both have a single win each this season, with Bishop Burton a point ahead thanks to an extra bonus point. Myerscough do also have that extra fixture against Gosforth to look forward to.

Southern Conference

AASE giants Hartpury College have already guaranteed themselves passage to the top half conference after the split and have done so with a guarantee of finishing top of the pile, collecting 29 out of 30 points available. They have a bye week this week.

Exeter College and St Paul’s Catholic College lead the chase to join them, on 17 and 16 points respectively. Exeter College this week have a trip to Truro College, who have just one win to their name so far this season.

St Paul’s have a really tricky task, they travel to Henley College, who are in with a really strong shout of being able to secure a top half finish. At the moment there is a great balance to Henley’s season, with two wins, two losses, and a draw. They will be hoping that the symmetry ends on Wednesday with a big 3 in their W column.

The final game in the South sees SGS Filton College host Beechen Cliff. Filton are without a win so far this year and will be desperate to make sure that they get one in before the split, it won’t be easy against Beechen Cliff. Beechen Cliff had a slow start but have been on a run of form recently with back to back wins.

As always, if you have any videos, photos, or reports from the week’s AASE rugby, please feel free to send them in via Twitter (@FifteenRugbyXV), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FifteenRugby), Instagram (@fifteenrugbyxv), or through email (writers@fifteenrugby.com).

Images: Greg Ayliffe

AASE Round 7 Fixtures (predictions in bold):

Northern Conference

Brooksby Melton College v Moulton College

Myerscough College v Bishop Burton College

Worcester 6^th form College v Gosforth Academy

Oaklands College – Bye

Southern Conference

Henley College v St Paul’s Catholic College

SGS Filton College v Beechen Cliff

Truro College v Exeter College

Hartpury College – Bye

*Gosforth Academy v Myerscough College – Wednesday 1^st November

Round 6 Results:

Northern Conference

Bishop Burton College 17-31 Worcester 6^th form College

Gosforth Academy 17-18 Oaklands College

Moulton College 12-17 Myerscough College

Brooksby Melton College – Bye

Southern Conference

Beechen Cliff 24-19 Truro College

Exeter College 17-17 Henley College

St Paul’s Catholic College 29-33 Hartpury College

SGS Filton College v Bye

Round 5 Results:

Northern Conference

Myerscough College 8-22 Brooksby Melton College

Oaklands College 31-12 Bishop Burton College

Worcester 6^th from College 36-24 Moulton College

Gosforth Academy – Bye

Southern Conference

Hartpury College 47-10 Exeter College

Henley College 12-24 Beechen Cliff

Truro College 31-24 SGS Filton College

St Paul’s Catholic College – Bye

Round 4 Results:

Northern Conference

Bishop Burton College 7-70 Gosforth Academy

Brooksby Melton College 21-24 Worcester 6th form College

Moulton College 24-38 Oaklands College

Myerscough College – Bye

Southern Conference

Beechen Cliff 7-24 Hartpury College

Exeter College 36-5 St Paul’s Catholic College

SGS Filton College 14-34 Henley College

Truro College – Bye

Round 3 Results:

Northern Conference

Gosforth Academy 68-26 Moulton College

Oaklands College 33-17 Brooksby Melton College

Worcester 6th form College 30-17 Myerscough College

Bishop Burton College – Bye

Southern Conference

Hartpury College 34-5 SGS Filton College

St Paul’s Catholic College 32-22 Beechen Cliff

Henley College 41-26 Truro College

Exeter College – Bye

Round 2 Results:

Northern Conference

Brooksby Melton 36-52 Gosforth Academy

Moulton College 31-35 Bishop Burton College

Myerscough College 3-22 Oaklands College

Worcester 6th form College – Bye

Southern Conference

Beechen Cliff 20-40 Exeter College

SGS Filton College 14-21 St Paul’s Catholic College

Truro College 14-56 Hartpury College

Henley College – Bye

Round 1 Results:

Northern Conference

Bishop Burton College 10-48 Brooksby Melton College

Oaklands College 33-38 Worcester 6th form College

Moulton College – Bye

Myerscough College v Gosforth Academy (Postponed to 1st November)

Southern Conference

Exeter College 60-15 SGS Filton College

Hartpury College 19-8 Henley College

St Paul’s Catholic College 24-17 Truro College

Beechen Cliff – Bye