BAFA Premiership Week 1 Power Ranking

Yes, First Down Magazine now covers the BAFA Premiership!!

The Usual Suspects… and are the Blitz back? 

The top end of our first-ever power ranking from Britain almost writes itself, with last year’s finalists both recording sizable shutout wins on the road to kick off their respective 2025 campaigns. As reigning champions—retaining the vast majority of that championship squad, including star QB Dee Williams, and having not recorded a regular season defeat since July 2023—the London Warriors are the clear choice at #1. However, considering that defeat came at the hands of a Bristol Aztecs (#2) side who saw off the Manchester Titans in last year’s semi-final, and have since made some excellent off-season signings in preparation for both the Prem South season and the club’s CEFL debut, all eyes will be on the heavily anticipated contests between the two—especially the potentially all-important clash in Bristol on the final weekend of the regular season.

It feels strange to be using the phrase “rebuilding year” when referring to the Manchester Titans, who take the #3 spot in this week’s ranking. As back-to-back champions in 2022 and 2023, a team that hasn’t lost a regular season game since June 2022, and who scored an average of 44.8 points per game while recording no fewer than six defensive shutouts last season (not counting their playoff defeat to the Aztecs), it’s hard to see another team in the Prem North being able to compete with the Titans. But having been the only Premiership team not to play this weekend, navigating a reportedly large amount of player turnover, and working under a new Head Coach in George Foster, there is palpable anticipation for what the Titans will bring to the table this year—what (if anything) has changed, and whether they can make an immediate return to the championship game after one year away.

Home of the nine-time U19 champions and with a proven track record of developing Premiership-quality players and coaches through their ‘B’ team, it’s clear that the framework is in place for the London Blitz (#4) to make a sustained return to contention in the Prem South. Their statement Week 1 performance against the Hertfordshire Cheetahs was a dominant demonstration of this. Citing standout performances from QB Alex Ocana-Dickinson, RB Keenan, and the entire defensive front, it certainly feels as though the good vibes have returned to stay in North London under new Head Coach Heath Thomas.

A Very Competitive Prem North 

Last year, the then-newly promoted Newcastle Vikings (#5) took the Prem North by storm, earning a playoff appearance in the process. Now, the Vikings are looking to build on last year’s success, opening their 2025 campaign on the road against a newly promoted Nottingham Caesars (#8) team hoping to replicate that kind of debut season in the top flight. As it turned out, history would repeat itself. Just as they did in the 2023 Division 1 North final—where the Vikings consigned the Caesars to another year in the second flight—the team from the North East emerged victorious. In a closely contested match where both defences turned up, a long receiving TD by Matt Wilson proved the difference in a 10-6 scoreline. The Vikings will, of course, be the happier of the two sides, but the Caesars (citing standout performances from LB duo Andrew Wilkins and Henry Scanlon, who recorded nine tackles each and an INT for the latter) will still feel as though they showed the rest of the division that they’re here to stay.

Following the unfortunate loss of the Edinburgh Wolves, the East Kilbride Pirates (#6) find themselves as the only Scottish team left in the BAFA Premiership. This home-field advantage—compounded by their notoriously loud support—could make GHA Rugby Club a very difficult destination for visiting Prem North teams. Of course, only the recently rebranded Coventry Phoenix (#7) can tell us how much of a factor that really is. After an intensely fought match, a pair of TDs from game MVP QB Logan Gallacher to Struan Bailey proved the difference, as the Pirates held on for an 18-16 victory, with the decisive score coming with 40 seconds left on the clock. However, the loss is not without positives for the ‘Nix, who will surely feel they had opportunities to win this one. The EKP return trip to Coventry promises to be one of the most exciting fixtures in this year’s Prem North.

The Tough Bit…

Deciding the order between the Cambridgeshire Cats (#9), Hertfordshire Cheetahs (#10), and Rushmoor Knights (#11) proved to be an almost impossible task—one I laboured over and am still second-guessing as I write this. All three sides suffered shutout defeats of a similar margin to teams who will no doubt have their eyes on playoff qualification and beyond. The difference between them is as simple—and as negligible—as how established each is in the Prem South, having been promoted to the top flight in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively. With a record of 6-4 last year, it’s hard to argue against the Cats being an established presence at this level now, whereas the Cheetahs finished the last campaign at 3-7, just one place above the relegated Solent Thrashers. The Knights simply suffer from being the new kids on the block and unproven at this level. Hosting the Bristol Aztecs this weekend, the Knights’ schedule for their return to the top flight can only be described as “being thrown in at the deep end.”

It is, however, not all doom and gloom for Rushmoor. Similar to my observations about the Blitz, the Knights’ undefeated promotion campaign was complemented by undefeated seasons for both their U19 and U16 programmes, and I can’t help but feel the groundwork is in place for them to stick around at this level for the long run. That’s highlighted by their faith in talented young players like S Charles Chamali and WR Travis Carpenter, as well as more experienced playmakers like star RB Harvey Macey. The weeks to come promise to be box-office viewing as these three teams vie to separate themselves from one another.

Promotion Watch

Reporting on the Premiership simply can’t be done without keeping an eye on Division 1. Here’s a brief selection of results from this week’s action that I believe are notable in the battle for promotion to the top tier:

• Scunthorpe Alphas 20–21 Yorkshire Rams

• East Kent Mavericks 6–7 London Olympians

• Sussex Thunder 0–52 Wembley Stallions