Round 5 of the ACE league commences this Wednesday and it’s really heating up for those teams in pursuit of Division 1 status on the road to the championship.
With next week marking the last two rounds of the group phases, for the teams hovering around that fourth spot which would take them to qualification it’s a nervy couple of fixtures. Some of the most eye-catching games include Myerscough hosting Bishop Burton up North and Beechen Cliff’s visit to the Bishop Wand, with the Bath based side attempting to avenge their loss last week to Hartpury.
Round 5 Fixtures
South
Exeter College U18 V BYE
Gordon’s School U18 vs Truro and Penwith College U18
Hartpury College U18 vs SGS College U18
The Bishop Wand Church of England School U18 vs Beechen Cliff School U18
North
Brooksby Melton College U18 vs City of Oxford College U18
Myerscough College U18 vs Bishop Burton College U18
Oaklands College U18 V BYE
The Stourport High School and Sixth Form Centre vs Gosforth Academy U18
Southern Conference
We begin in the South with two teams yet to have a win in the competition in Gordons and Truro. This one will be really tight, the fresh legs of Truro’s bye last week against the home advantage that Gordons possess this week. Both sides have really been through it this year, especially Truro who’ve had two one score defeats against local rivals Exeter College and SGS. Expect plenty of passion and elated scenes at the final whistle when one of these teams has their first victory this season.
Onto our champions next as Hartpury host SGS in Gloucestershire in an all-West country affair. SGS are currently sat in fourth and will I’m sure be checking fifth place Bishop Wand’s result against Beechen Cliff promptly after their match. A win against Hartpury is rarely seen in this competition, but SGS’s desire for qualification could take them to a new level, or at least to a losing bonus point which would go a long way in securing fourth for them.
Our final match in the South in Round 6 is Beechen Cliff’s visit to Bishop Wand in London. This match is equally as important to the race for Division 1 status as SGS and Hartpury’s battle, with an upset for the London Irish affiliates side putting them right back into the picture in the last two rounds. However, this will be tricky up against a talented Beechen Cliff side coming in with a vengeance after their first loss of the year last week to Hartpury in a thriller. This tie is set up to be an absolute thriller.
Northern Conference
Brooksby Melton will be heading down the M1 to Oxford College in the North vying to preserve their unbeaten status for another week. However, they’ll come up against a home team determined to cling onto their fourth spot, who are also revved up coming off a bye week. This one really has so much to play for in an unbeaten record versus race for qualification situation, leading one to expect a lively affair in Oxford.
Next up we have a Northern derby in Lancashire as Myerscough host Bishop Burton. Both of these teams are reeling from Round 4 thrillers where they each went down by a score, and will be so eager to remedy these losses on Wednesday. What makes it all the more interesting is both can still catch City of Oxford in fourth, with the loser of this match nearly out of the running. It’s bound to be tense up in Myerscough and has the future of either sides season riding on it.
Our preview finishes with Stourport travelling up north to face Gosforth Academy in a battle between two of the most talented sides from the North that we’ve seen this year. Gosforth have seen some excellent home form in 2022 but were run very close by a hungry Myerscough outfit last week. In contrast to this Stourport blew away Oaklands impressively and haven’t lost since Round 1, giving them so much confidence heading into this one. Will home advantage be enough for Gosforth, or do Stourport have enough firepower to get another impressive win in the column?
