Round 10 of the National One season is upon us as Mowden welcome Taunton to the Darlington Arena. Saturday marks Taunton’s second ever visit to DMP, and with 2 points separating the sides in the table it promises to be another cracker in the North East.

This weekend’s visitors come into the game in 9th place in the table, boasting an identical win-loss record to DMP with 3 victories and 6 defeats so far. All three of those wins have come away from home, with successes on the road at Hull, Esher and Leeds Tykes. Like Mowden, the Titans have had a number of close defeats this season, picking up losing bonus points in losses against Plymouth, Sale FC and Bishop’s Stortford. Last weekend’s loss against Stortford saw Tony Yapp’s side lead 19-12 at the break, before a strong second half comeback saw BSRFC take a bonus point win.

It has been a similar story for DMP so far this season, with 3 wins interspersed by some narrow defeats. Last weekend saw them make the long trip to Brickfields to face Plymouth, where the hosts ran out 36-24 on a difficult afternoon for Garry Law’s team. Late tries for Henry Hadfield and a 12th of the season for Morgan Passman took DMP close to a losing bonus point, but DMP came away from a game empty handed for only the second time this season. Mowden will be hoping to carry on where they left off at home, following the thrilling 29-20 win over Leeds Tykes a fortnight ago.

The two sides have met only twice in National One, with Taunton earning promotion from National Two South at the end of the shortened 2019/20 season. Both meetings last season went the way of the Titans, with both coming by narrow margins. Taunton’s visit to the Arena in September 2021 saw them edge a 10 try thriller, while the return leg in Somerset saw them edge a low scoring affair in torrential conditions at Veritas Park.

This weekend’s game promises to be another closely fought encounter between two sides looking to climb the National One table before the rest weekend. A reminder that tickets are free for all Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans, with tickets available to book online by clicking here.