#Britbowl32 | Division Two Regional Championships - How To Get Involved
The BAFA National Leagues Adult Division Two Championships take place this weekend, with a fixture each on Saturday and Sunday capping off the regional playoffs!
All four teams have already earned what many may consider the primary prize of promotion to the middle tier, but now get to battle for bragging rights as they head to the bright lights of a Championship game!
What and Where?
Division Two doesn’t have a National title, but rather two regional ones - the Northern and Southern Championships.
This year we’ll see the two undefeated teams square off in the North, as the Aberdeen Roughnecks and Chester Romans head to Newcastle’s Druid Park. Meanwhile, in the South, it’s two teams oh-so-familiar with one another as they face off for the third time this year - conference rivals the Hertfordshire Cheetahs duel the Portsmouth Dreadnoughts for Round Three of this cracking rivalry that’s seen each team take a win from one another so far this season!
01 September - Adult Division Two North Final
Druid Park, Newcastle. Kick Off 1800.
£5 Entry (£2 Under 16’s)
Hot food & drink available on site. Licensed bar. Free parking.
Stadium access for fans from 1600.
02 September - Adult Division Two South Final
Leicester Road Stadium, Leicester. Kick off 1430.
£5 Entry (Under 16s Free)
Hot food and drink available on site. Licensed bar. Parking on site, fees may apply.
Stadium access for fans from 1330.
Who?
We’ll have more in-depth previews of each of the fixtures out tomorrow, but we can afford to take a quick glance at each of the teams headed to this weekend’s games:
Aberdeen Roughnecks
Est: 2012
2018 Record: 8-0-0
The Roughnecks entered the National Leagues in 2014 and have spent the last few years as the ‘bridesmaids’ of Scottish Div Two Football, finishing third, second, second in their last three years of postseason-earning balling, before finally going one step further and securing promotion this to the middle tier this summer off the back of a convincing 8-0 campaign.
They dominated the Scottish NFC 2 North conference this year, and followed up with an impressively resilient postseason - including fending off preseason favourites for promotion, Birmingham, in the semis. But how will the Roughnecks fair when they’re forced to head south of the wall for the first time this year?
Chester Romans
Est: 1986
2018 Record: 7-0-1
The Romans have followed up a strong season in 2017 with a dominant showing this summer - their realignment to the NFC 2 Central allowing them to march to the club’s fourth conference title.
The only blemish on their year was a tied 6-6 game against a resilient Halton Spartans in Week Thirteen, but otherwise their dynamic offence has found ways around, above and through all the teams that have stood in their way this year - culminating in an impressive second-half against the Staffordshire Surge in the Semis - turning around a game they trailed 12-14 at the half, to come away with a 37-14 victory!
Hertfordshire Cheetahs
Est: 1986
2018 Record: 7-1-0
It’s been a year of new highs for the Cheetahs as their U19’s headed to their first ever National Final this past weekend, while their raced from behind to earn the club’s third-ever conference with a final-fixture victory over a Dreadnoughts side that had bested them earlier in the season.
Yup, these are two teams that know eachother very well, and on paper are very, very similar - effective offences paired with dominant defensive units. The Cheetahs stacked up some silly scorelines this past season, including a Mercy-Clock era record with their 110-0 win over the Hastings Conquerors in Week Thirteen. Still, they’ve played their best balling at home, so how will Hertfordshire handle a trip up to Leicester for the final?
Portsmouth Dreadnoughts
Est: 2012
2018 Record: 7-1-0
The Dreadnoughts and Cheetahs have established the dominance of the SFC 2 South over all southern conferences this year as Pompey, in particular, made short work of their postseason opponents in 2018 - a 55-0 thumping of Torbay opened their account, before making the South Wales Warriors look sheepish as the South Coast side romped to a 12-37 victory in the valleys.
Considering the Dreadnoughts only entered the league in 2014 and only posted their first ever winning-record last year? It’s been a rapid rise up the Britball rankings for Portsmouth! They missed out on their first-ever conference title with a loss to the Cheetahs in Week Fifteen, so expect them to come out all-guns blazing with a first-ever Divisional Regional Title on the line!
How to get involved?
As ever, the best way to get involved is head to the games! Both finals are being hosted at neutral venues with a range of amenities so head along and support a team, or just enjoy a great game of Britball.
If you’re not able to make it to the fixtures however? Never fear! For the first time both Division Two Finals will be live streamed this year, as Vikings TV host up the Northern Championship, while Onside Productions provide online access to the Southern!
As ever, DC will be sharing any and all updates for the games via our Facebook and Twitter, and you’ll also be able to track the scores via ScoreStream!
