Bumper BUCS Weekend sees 20 fixtures take place up and down the country.
- Isaac Oldcorn
- Oct 25, 2024
- 6 min read
We have a bumper BUCS weekend of football ahead of us as 20 fixtures happen across the country. They start in Bristol on Saturday afternoon as the new BUCS National League gets underway, we have a Sunday lunchtime clash in Norwich between UEA and Kent, then action draws to a close back in Bristol as their 2nd team takes on Plymouth.
Premier National -
UWE v Nottingham (Sat - 4pm)
The new Premier National League begins as the reigning national champions UWE Bullets host the University of Nottingham Gold. UoN Gold are looking to bounce back after losing to Durham in the playoff semi-final last season, whilst the UWE Bullets will be looking to maintain their unbeaten record following another summer of recruitment. This game will also be live streamed courtesy of BUCS Sport on their YouTube channel.
Loughborough v Leeds Beckett
Leeds Beckett Carnegie will travel down the M1 to battle against the Loughborough students in a clash that sees the 2019 national champs start their campaign in a bid to win their second in team history, as Loughborough look to pose a challenge to teams in the national league after making the playoffs last season.
Premier North -
Leeds v Newcastle-
It's a top-of-the-table clash in Leeds this weekend after both teams are hot coming off of victories against Liverpool and Warwick respectively, the Gryphons look to carry on their high-scoring record after putting 40 on Warwick, were as Newcastle will look to their defence who did not allow a point against Liverpool and scored a safety that helped towards a Raider 8-0 victory.
Liverpool v NTU
The NTU Renegades begin their season on the road to the Raptors who lost 8-0 on a long road trip to Newcastle at the weekend. The Renegades look to build on last season as they became Division 1 North champions were as the Raptors need to bounce back after last week's performance.
Premier South -
SGS v Portsmouth
Two teams kicking off their 2024 season but we have seen them face off last year. SGS comfortably took care of business 48-0 in Bristol and then travelled well to defeat the Destroyers 32-0 on the South Coast. Portsmouth have seen a lot of change off the field as a lot of new faces on the coaching staff will be looking to build on their 2 wins from last year.
Scottish 1A -
Edinburgh v Glasgow-
The Edinburgh Mavericks coming off a 5 & 2 season face last season's division champions in the form as the Glasgow Tigers in week 2. After Glasgow had a playoff appearance in 2024, they will look to repeat the appearance but not the result as they lost to the now Prem North side Warrick 14-0 at home.
Edinburgh Napier v Aberdeen
The Knights finished .500 for last season with a 3-3 record and will face the Aberdeen Bulls in week 2. Last season these matches ended with Knights wins in both, 21-0 and 52-8, Aberdeen will be looking to bounce back from these defeats and start their season off strong this time around.
Northern 1A -
LJMU v Manchester Met
After having a record last season that was the same as the Raptors the Fury have reason to be annoyed at the fact their cross-city rivals are now in the Prem. LJMU will now look to get to work against the MMU Eagles who they beat last season, MMU finished bottom of the Div 1 Northern last season and will look to bounce back as they travel to Liverpool.
Manchester v UCLan
UCLan will look to build on last season as they made a playoff appearance in Division 2 and look to have back-to-back playoff appearances. They have a tough start though, against a team who only lost 1 game in their division last year. The Tyrants will be looking to continue their form from last season and make a push for promotion to the Premier Tier this season.
Midlands & Yorkshire 1A -
Hull v Sheffield Hallam
Hull will look to bounce back after a 3-5 season with a home opener against the Warriors who only lost to two teams last year, both of who are now in the Prem North in NTU and Warrick. The Sharks will look to put the Warriors to the sword with a lot of players now getting more experience with adult teams like the Wakefield District Raiders and the Scunthorpe Alphas.
Leicester v Nottingham Green
Nottingham Green will look to build from an undefeated regular season in division 2, UoN greens only lost to the Northumbria Mustangs, whilst the Longhorns finished the 23/24 season with a 2-6 record and will see the Green as a chance to get their season off to a great start. The Greens will look upon their numbers to get them through the season alongside the help of the UoN Gold’s
Southern 1A -
Reading v Brighton
Newly promoted Brighton will be looking to get the ball rolling in Tier 1 quickly against a Reading team who have found themselves in a really tough division last season. This game will really set the stall out for either team, Reading will be looking to rely on their studded defense to stop a Brighton team who scored regularly last year.
South Eastern 1A -
UCL v Essex
Another fixture where a promoted team looks to get off to a good start, UCL make the move from Tier 2 into Tier 1 and they come up against an Essex side who were really competitive last season.
East Anglia v Kent
These two clashed twice last season and eventually topped the table, Kent coming out on top due to their head-to-head recorded. The scores last year both went to the travelling side, UEA won 30-23 in Kent and then the Falcons won in Norwich 0-18. This fixture is an early kick-off at 12 pm so keep your eye out for this result being first in IBB towers.
South Western 1A -
Bournemouth v Southampton
The battle of the South Coast sees the Bobcats and Stags clash again, a game that went the way of the Bobcats twice last season. With the addition of Britball stalwart Steve Rains as HC, Bournemouth will look to utilise his knowledge and expertise to see them rise out of the division this season. Southampton will be looking to build on the two wins they picked up last season but in a really competitive division, it’ll be interesting to see how the other teams perform as the season progresses.
North Western 2A -
Keele v Staffordshire - GAME POSTPONED – New date TBC.
Midlands 2A -
Anglia Ruskin v Cambridge
The ARU Siege finished last season 2-3-1 and see this division as only having, the Pythons look to bounce back from their 1-4-1 season against the Siege, this division has two big fish in the Derby Brave sand Lincoln Colonials, and whoever gets a good start to the season can challenge these two.
Southern 2A -
Solent v Surrey
These two teams were almost inseparable last season, both finishing 2-2-1, tying their game 20-20, surely something has to give! In a division that hasn’t seen too much change, both teams will be looking to get off to a good start early in the season.
South Western 2A -
Aberystwyth v Worcester
Aber will be looking back at their 60-0 win over Worcester last year and hoping for more of the same. The Welsh side will also be looking to escape Tier 2 but it could be tight at the top with Gloucester and UWE 2 all in contention for promotion this year. Worcester, have nothing to lose really. A winless season last year and a team who have struggled in recent years, can throw caution to the wind on a long away day.
UWE 2 – Plymouth
This tie is going to be a yardstick for how both teams have done in the offseason. Both teams have had changes in the coaching ranks, player turnover is always prevalent in BUCS Football so it’ll be interesting to see how last year's 12-0 result matches up this weekend.
South Eastern 2A -
Canterbury v Queen Mary
Queen Mary came down from Tier 1 into what could be the most competitive division in Tier 2. They face a Canterbury side who didn’t win a game last season but have seen a lot of work behind the scenes this summer as they partner up with Britball team East Kent, who come off a very strong Adult season.
Kingston v Greenwich
In a hugely competitive division last year, these two teams will have been disappointed with only 2 wins. Both will be looking to get off to a winning start, Kingston took this on opening day last season, let's see who takes the spoils this year.