The 1st XV are set to face an in-form Darlington Mowden Park at The Rock on Saturday.
This Saturday’s fixture will be a clash between two sides in very similar circumstances. The match will see 7th placed Park take on 8th placed DMP with both sides having won five and lost four of their nine matches this season with two bonus-points being the only thing to separate the teams in the standings. In addition to this, both are coming off back-to-back wins following a loss just before the World Cup break. DMP returned from the break with an impressive 36-41 away win over Rams (which is only the second time the Reading outfit has lost at home in the last two seasons) and followed that up with a victory against Sedgley Park last week. On the other hand, the 1st XV coupled a dominant win over Bishop’s Stortford with a 23-32 bonus-point win at Leicester last week as the team fought through adversity in a match that saw them come from behind with a man in the sin bin to deny the home side even a losing bonus point.
However, whilst the recent form of the two clubs suggests there is very little to separate them, the head-to-head record paints a slightly different picture. Park have faced DMP 16 times since the Northeast outfit’s promotion to Nat One in 2014/15, with Park winning 12 of those ties. In fact, DMP have failed to beat Park since 2018/19 with their last win being a narrow one-point win at The Rock in January of that season. .
The 1st XV will be keen to extend the winning streak against DMP on Saturday and protect that dominant home record against a side that has been in fine form away from home this season.
Match Tickets are on sale here.
HIGHLIGHTs | ROSSLYN PARK 31-21 DMP 23/24