Seniors preview for 2023 Nationals

The Seniors Division at the 2023 Nationals will include the Mens 30 and Womens 27 categories.

After the dominance of the South East Sharks and Southern Samurai for most of the 2010s, the Mens 30 category has become more competitive in recent years, with the South West Saxons winning in memorable fashion at Lady Bay in 2021 and then the Midland Tigers took the title a year later, overcoming the Saxons at Riverside at the end of a classic shootout.

This year sees half a dozen teams head to Highfields, and having the Seniors on the same weekend as the Opens will mean that some players will have had to decide in which team to represent their region.

This could very well open up the competition and a shock or two may be on the cards.

Midland Tigers, South West Saxons, South East Taipans, South East Sharks, North West and North East Raiders are all represented, with the teams playing each other in a round robin. The top two teams will go straight into the semi-finals, with the remaining four having a quarter final to decide who joins them.

The Mens 30 final will be the penultimate match on Field 1 on Sunday, tapping off at 4:10pm.

The showpiece match on Sunday will be the Womens 27s final. This year there will be three teams, who will play each other twice over Saturday and Sunday, with the top two going into the final.

Midland Tigers have been the team to beat in this category, winning the last four Nationals titles. There may be fewer teams this year, but that does not mean that the Tigers will have a straight walk to the title, given the choices that may have to be made by players who may also have played in the Womens Open team in previous years.

The Tigers are joined by South East Taipans and South West Saxons for this two-day competition. The Taipans reached the final last summer, but while they scored first and took the contest into extra time the crucial score came 20 seconds before the hooter, 4-3 the final result.

Check out all the field 1 action live on the England Touch YouTube channel and website, or head along to Highfields Sports Complex in person!