National Cup and Shield Preview 2nd and 3rd November

Last year’s champions, Durham Palatinates, start their title defence this weekend when they host Bristol in the opening fixtures of the Men’s National Cup.

Durham took the title last year alongside their Super League title with a victory over Malory Eagles and are looking to replicate this success.

The Eagles will also look to make it to the final again this year and start their competition against Newcastle Staffs. Staffs, relegated from Super League last year, did face Malory Eagles twice but missed out on victory both times, with Malory claiming both matches 3-1.

However, Staffs kicked their Division 1 season off with a victory over Hull Thunder and will bring momentum from that win into their clash against the London side.

After reaching the National Shield final last year, Wigan Seahawks will host Stockport on Saturday. Wigan lost the Shield title to SQUAD last season, but their strength has grown with promotion to Division 2 North, and they won their opening match of the season against Harrogate.

Leeds Gorse, unbeaten in Division 1 this season, host Newcastle Knights, who have a busy weekend with a Super League fixture on Sunday against London Giants.

Leeds made it to the third round last season before being knocked out by Stockport, but they will look to go further in the draw this year.

The University of Nottingham have a long journey down to Exeter Storm. After missing out in the semi-finals last year to Malory Eagles in five sets, the university side will look to take that next step.

London Bears travel to Tamworth to take on Spartans, who will be looking to progress past round one after failing to do so last season.

Team Bristol (University of Bristol) hosts newly promoted London Giants, with the Super League team looking to make a big impact in the Cup.

Just one game is set in the round of 32 for the Women’s Cup, with Darkstar Derbyshire hosting Everton Belugas. Darkstar made it to the quarter-finals last season, losing out to Essex Rebels, but will look to get their first win of the season against the Merseyside team.

 

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The round of 64 in the Shield saw some big results, with teams securing their spots in the last 32.

After a victory over Loughborough 2, Nottingham Rockets host Wombourne on Saturday in the Men’s Shield. Their 3-0 victory over the university side sees Rockets progress further than they did last season in the Shield.

Wombourne heads into the match after receiving a bye in the first round. They have gained valuable experience in Division 3 North Central with four wins from four already this season.

MK City pulled off a reverse sweep in their match against Newbury, setting up a tie against Army, who also received a bye in the live draw in September.

Cambridge hosts Northampton, with Cambridge needing five sets against London Bears 2 to secure their spot in the last 32. Northampton, on the other hand, only needed three sets against Tendring.

Newcastle Panthers, Sheffield, and Manchester Marvels all received a bye in the round of 64, but each will face their own challenge this weekend. Newcastle hosts Everton Dugongs, Manchester Marvels have a derby against Manchester Moss Side, while Sheffield hosts Harrogate.

Two other teams starting their campaign this weekend are Newcastle Staffs 2 and Darkstar 2, with Newcastle travelling to Darkstar and Telford hosting Darkstar 2.

After a 3-0 victory, Birmingham City will face Loughborough Students, with both university sides looking to make it to the round of 16.

Both teams came out on top with 3-0 victories in the last round, but this clash promises to deliver even more excitement.

Spelthorne Lions, who won against Watford last time out, will host Worthing, who currently have one win and one loss in Division 3 South East this year. Their loss came in five sets, so this should be a promising fixture for the Sussex side.

Both Portsmouth Phoenix and Portsmouth United are at home this weekend in the Shield, with Coventry and Warwick Riga and Weymouth respectively making their trips to the Hampshire sides.

Nuneaton takes the long trip down the M5 to Cardiff Panthers after their Welsh opponents defeated Weymouth 2 in straight sets in the last round.

 

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In the Women’s Shield, Sunday sees 15 matches, with Hull Thunder forfeiting their match against York Falcons.

Darkstar Derbyshire 2 will face a tricky challenge against Newcastle Staffs when they welcome them to Derbyshire.

Plymouth Mayflower will face Cardiff Falcons, with both teams receiving a bye in the first round. Another two teams getting their first taste of National Shield action this season are Wombourne and Bristol, with the former traveling to Bristol to try and progress into the round of 16.

Manchester Marvels Mayhem, fresh off their victory over Loughborough, will host Leeds Gorse 3, who are currently unbeaten in Division 3 North.

Northampton heads to Dartford to take on the Chargers, with both teams being the only two in the South East bracket to have played in the round of 64.

Leicester Athena Nova will have nearby rivals MK City visit New College Leicester after both teams automatically made it into the round of 32 draw. Reading Aces and Tendring will also go head-to-head, with both receiving a bye in the round of 64.

Farnborough were victorious over Cheltenham and Gloucester and will travel to Portsmouth Urbond as they look to replicate their 3-0 scoreline.

Black Country was another team to win in straight sets and will now face Bedminster in the round of 32. Bedminster is coming off two losses last weekend in their triangular with Portsmouth and Reading Aces and will look to get back to winning ways this weekend in the Shield.

Wigan Seahawks host Newcastle Panthers, with Wigan looking to replicate the success of the men’s side, which saw them make it to the final last season.

 

The draw for the National Cup and Shield will take place on Monday 4th November at 4pm live on Volleyball England's YouTube Channel.