Pre-Season: Rams impress, Cornish derby draws epic crowd, Havant shine and Cinderford catch eye
A round-up of selected pre-season fixtures involving National League Rugby teams. Photo Credit: (Kairos Sports Photography)
National One
Tonbridge Juddians, who finished eighth in National One last season, got their pre-season off to an impressive start as they defeated Kent rivals Canterbury 58-14 under the Friday night lights of The Slade.
New boys Camborne, meanwhile, were beaten 50-28 by Champ side Cornish Pirates in front of an impressive crowd of 2,389 at The Recreation Ground.
Cambridge were involved in a double-header on Saturday at Colchester, with Craig Newby’s side taking on both the National Two East outfit as well as Hertford.
Tries from new signings Will Wood and Josh Carr helped the Blood and Sand to a 21-0 victory over Hertford before Cambridge made it two wins from two with a 38-11 success against Colchester.
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Rosslyn Park recorded a 26-7 away win at Esher, with Luke Mehson – who finished second in National One’s try-scoring charts last season – crossing the whitewash.
Potential title contenders Plymouth Albion, meanwhile, played out an entertaining 33-33 draw at Swansea RFC and Bishop’s Stortford beat Welsh Premiership champions Merthyr 27-19.
Elsewhere, Birmingham Moseley began their new era with a 54-21 victory over Luctonians, while former Bath playmaker Darren Atkins impressed for new club Rams as they recorded a 40-14 win against National Two West side Clifton at Old Bath Road.
Sale FC v Macclesfield was called off.
National Two North
Sheffield Tigers were in action on Thursday night, beating Dronfield 19-5 at Dore Moor, while on Saturday Chester were involved in a high-octane friendly against Rygbi RGC but fell to a 29-21 defeat at Hare Lane.
Following their impressive 73-0 win over Rossendale earlier this month, Sedgley Park made it two wins from two in pre-season with a 24-19 success away at fellow National Two North side Preston Grasshoppers.
Tynedale, meanwhile, were beaten 50-38 by Edinburgh-based side Heriots. Hull Ionians’ meeting with Leeds Tykes and Otley v York were called off.
National Two East
In their first pre-season outing, a mixed London Welsh squad suffered a 46-19 defeat away at Aberavon, while last season’s runners-up and National One Accession finalists Oundle edged past third-tier outfit Bury St Edmunds 38-36.
Rian Hamilton, who was named in National Two East’s Team of the Season for 2025/26, helped himself to a hat-trick, with Cormac Colnan, Shay Kerry and Grant Snelling also crossing the whitewash at Shelford RFC.
After two engrossing fixtures between the sides in National Two East last season, with Bury eventually securing the title and promotion to National One, ambitious Oundle will be keen to follow in their footsteps this term.
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Despite their defeat to National One side Cambridge, newly-promoted Colchester did claim a 24-7 victory over Hertford, while Guernsey fell to a 42-19 home defeat against Welsh outfit Newport RFC.
Havant were in a free-flowing mood at Hooks Lane as they ran in 13 tries to see off Bournemouth 81-7, with Will Perry, Sean Shepherd and Tyrese Makasi all crossing twice.
Jersey, meanwhile, lost a hard-fought contest 19-12 against Pontypridd RFC.
Elsewhere, Old Albanian were beaten 60-7 by 2025/26 National One champions Rotherham Titans, while the returning Tom Newman scored twice in Dorking’s 62-12 victory away at National Two West side Taunton Titans.
National Two West
Newly-promoted Devonport Services beat Brixham 35-12 on Thursday evening, Hornets recorded a 52-34 victory over Bracknell at The Nest and Cinderford beat National One side Dings Crusaders 35-33 away from home.
In a match played across three 25-minute periods, Sam Smith, Jake Bailey, Brendan Llewellyn, Grady Alford and Jack Hall all crossed for Clive Stuart-Smith’s side.
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