Crunch Time for AU Sports

As a Rugby player enjoying an exciting end to a final season I started wondering. How are the other teams at the University doing? Here is a quick overview of […]


As a Rugby player enjoying an exciting end to a final season I started wondering. How are the other teams at the University doing? Here is a quick overview of how the teams are doing in this final part of the season.

As a University as a whole we are 33rd in the BUCS table with 332 wins, 460 defeats and 50 draws. Giving us a 40% win rate. This doesn’t sound great but we’re not exactly a University known for its sporting excellence and I’ve since realised we have numerous teams competing in leagues only one tier below Premiership, which is hugely competitive.

 

Rugby Union

The Mens 1st Team were unbeaten and promoted last year but at Christmas this year have found themselves rock bottom of Western 1A with only 1 win. However, since Christmas they’ve won 3 out of 5, and with 3 games left to play could finish as high as third. However the closeness and competitive nature of this league means complacency could also see the Wessex Rangers slip back into a relegation spot. The Mens 2nd team, however, are in a contrasting scenario. A disappointing  previous year saw them running riot in a league with only Exeter and none other than the Moose providing decent opposition. However, only 1 team gets promoted. On Saturday the 9th March at Wide Lane they face Exeter for a game that should effectively decide who gets promoted. The Womens team find themselves needing results. They currently sit 6th (a relegation spot) but only 3 points separate them from 2nd. However, with other teams having numerous games in hand the girls desperately need 2 wins from their final 2 games to give them the best chance of safety.

 

Football

The Mens 1st team are currently 3rd in western 2A, 6 points behind the league leading UWE 1st team, but have 2 games in hand. A strong finish to the season could mean a genuine promotion possibility. The 2nd team are competing in Western 3A and look like they should be safe and finish mid table.  Both the 3s and 4s are in Western 5A and barring a disastrous finish the 3rds should be safe, whereas the 4ths who have numerous games in hand have a good chance of promotion. The Womens team are in trouble in Western 2A, facing win or bust games vs Bath 2s and Bournemouth 2s. Best of luck girls!

 

Netball

The 1st team unfortunately look set to go down from Western 1A but 2 wins so far in a high league is commendable and hopefully the girls will finish their final games strong.  Now the league Western 3A, which has the 2nd and 3rd team in, looks very interesting. The 2nds are 4th with 12 points with one final game against Bournemouth 2nds who sit 6th, the relegation spot, with 3 points. Bournemouth are also set to play our 3rd team who are fifth also with 3 points and one other game. With our thirds also to play one other game, both teams winning should result in safety for both, but handing a win to Bournemouth could cause relegation. Finally the 4th team need to beat top of the league to have a chance to stay in Western 4A.

 

American Football

Currenty 3rd out of 12 in South East 1B with 6 wins and 2 losses. Hopefully the lads will sustain a top 3 finish!

 

Tennis

The Mens 1st team unfortunately look set to be relegated from Western 1A but again it’s a high league for them to be competing in. The 2nds however look comfortably set in mid table of Western 2A. The Women need a win or two to avoid falling bottom of Western 1A, and potentially face a huge game at Gloucestershire for the final match to avoid relegation.

 

Lacrosse

The Men are supposed to find time for 5 more games but currently sit rock bottom of Western 2A on -2 points. However I believe they won on Wednesday and this hasn’t been updated on BUCS yet. Could be a team to keep an eye on. Great Escape??? The Ladies first team will be relegated. However it must be said they were competing in Premiership South. A rarity to see any Southampton team competing in a BUCS Premier league. Unfortunately the Ladies 2nd team also look set to be relegated from Western 2A. However i’m sure the girls will bounce back next year and be hunting promotion.

 

Basketball

The Mens 1st team are currently 4th and will maintain Western 2A position. The 2nd team are only one win away from the top  spot of Western 3A but require a favour from another team and a hefty increase in points difference. The Women however with a superior points difference must simply win their final 2 games and will finish top of Western 1A.

 

Hockey

The Mens 1st team must beat the Cardiff 1st team on Wednesday to avoid certain relegation from Western 1A. The 2nd team however will go down from Western 2A. The 3rd team find themselves in a huge relegation battle, up to 2 teams can go down and only 1 point separates 3 of them. Good luck lads! The Ladies 1st team face Cardiff 1st on Wednesday and the winner we finish top of Western 1A. The 2nd team will finish 2nd or 3rd in Western 3A. Western 4A has both the ladies 3rd and 4th teams. The 3rds sitting in second place are needing a win against bottom placed Winchester and for Plymouth to lose for them to finish top of Western 4A. Whereas the 4th team must beat top of the league Plymouth to be not needing a favour from their own 3rds. All very confusing. Basically if both team win the 3rds are promoted and 4ths are safe, if both teams lose the 3rds are not promoted and the 4ths are relegated  Basically good luck Hockey, hugely important end to the season for almost all of their teams!

 

So it appears the Mens Rugby teams are not the only teams facing an exciting end to the season! What was interesting is many of our sports seem to be struggling to maintain or exceed their status in the Western 1A leagues. Perhaps the winner of VP Sports Developments will do what is needed to help teams to maintain this, and ensure that Varsity returns to Wide Lane next year. That’s after we terrorise Portsmouth in their own backyard first of course!

Good luck to all teams in their final games and if I missed your sport, please make it known how you are doing, or hurl abuse at me.

This data is from the BUCS website so it could potentially be not quite up to date.