Match Preview

The Battersea Ironsides rugby club was founded in 1943 by members of the 42nd Royal Tank Regiment Cadet Battalion, at that time located in the Borough of Battersea, and opened to members of the public in 1948. These military origins are reflected in the name, "Ironside" being an affectionate name for a WWII Tank, and an artistic version of the RTR Regimental shoulder flash which decorates the club shirt. The main logo, the Helmet, comes from the favoured head-wear of troopers in the Parliamentarian cavalry formed by Oliver Cromwell; a trooper known as "Ironside" after one of Cromwell's nicknames, "Old Ironsides".

The Ironsides currently have the same record, 3-wins / 3-losses, but sit above Field courtesy of an additional 2-bonus points and a better points-scored record. Unlike Field - whose results like their fixtures are equally divided 3-wins at home / 3-losses away - the Ironsides have a mixed bag with wins and losses at home and away.

On paper, it looks like the visitors will not be a soft touch; last season, they finished comfortably mid-table with 11-wins, 11-losses and 11-bonus points! In their last outing the Ironsides lost by a relatively small margin (9-points) to 4th-placed Trojans - one of the teams challenging for the top of the league along with Old Emanuel and Old Cranleighans. The Ironsides' other losses came against these two sides, the former winning by 3-points and the latter by just 2.