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Mixed NTS goes to the wire for another year
Twelve months on from the tightest end to a Mixed National Touch Series we can remember, 2023 is set for another grandstand finish in Burton this weekend.
In 2022 Galaxy London pipped NQ Rebels and Nottingham Hoods to the overall crown. This year Galaxy may out of reach in third place, but NQ and the Hoods are separated by just two league points at the top of the standings with the one round to go.
Rebels are on top with 94 points to the Hoods’ 92, by virtue of them reaching both Cup finals in Rounds 1 and 2, winning the first of those. Meanwhile the Hoods were semi-finalists in Round 1, before winning Round 2.
It is not just the league points which are tight, either, with NQ having a try difference which is just six better than their midland rivals.
So it could all come down to the ultimate head-to-head should the teams come through their respective pools in first place and then progress through the knockouts. That’s because if they do top their pools then NQ and the Hoods would not be able to meet each other until the final!
The chase for third is also going to be close, although with a 10-point difference between Galaxy in third and Nottingham Hoods in second none of Galaxy (82), London Scorpions (82), London Eagles 1 (80), Wigan Warriors (80) or Raptors (78) have a realistic chance of the overall crown. That said, all of those teams will be wanting to throw an obstacle or two in the way of NQ and the Hoods!
Should the Hoods take the title then there could very well be a double celebration for Nottingham, whose third team, the Outlaws, top division three by nine points from Peterborough.
As with division one, the placings are extremely tight, with Peterborough (89) only narrowly ahead of Thames Valley Vikings (88) and Cambridge Wasps (86) in their own mini-battle.
CLICK HERE to see the pools and fixtures for divisions one and two
CLICK HERE to see the pools and fixtures for divisions three and four
Round 3 is being live streamed throughout the weekend via the England Touch YouTube channel and home page of this website!
