Apologies for the silence over the past couple of weeks; I have been away. Sadly there are not enough hours in the day to write a comprehensive report of everything which has happened in this time, so a potted results list will have to suffice! The matches from 1^st-3^rd March saw the following:

Friday 1^st March, Urduliz: BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-17
Saturday 2^nd March, Pamplona: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-10
Sunday 3^rd March, Bilbao: MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA 22-11
Sunday 3^rd March, Logrono: ARRETXE II – BEGINO beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-19

The following week, this is what occurred:

Friday 8^th March, Zarautz: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-15
Saturday 9^th March, Anglet: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-12
Saturday 9^th March, Etxebarri: TITIN III – MERINO II beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-21
Sunday 10^th March, Eibar: BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA 22-20

Thus, with two weeks remaining in the marathon round robin section of the championship, the table looks like this:

The top three pairs are all but safe as far as semi-final qualification is concerned, although Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta saw their dominance challenged by a resurgent Bengoetxea and Beroiz. The latter had looked like the pick of the crop at the start of the tournament before falling under the shadow of their Aspe rivals, but two straight wins coupled with a surprising loss for Irujo and Zabaleta have seen them draw level at the top. Olaizola and Ibai Zabala saw their excellent run end in an easy defeat by Irujo and Zabaleta but a comprehensive win over Xala and Barriola, who now seem out of it, restored them to safety. The interest now lies in the fourth qualification place, which would seem to be between Titin and Merino, the defending champions, and Berasaluze and Albisu, who have pulled themselves from the mire in these past two weeks. The Riojans have the upper hand in terms of points but it could go either way, and happily as far as the drama of the situation is concerned, they meet each other this Saturday in Bilbao. Ezkurdia and Zubieta could still qualify, mathematically but they squandered two golden opportunities in the past two weeks. They went into their game on 1^st March as probable favourites over Berasaluze and Albisu but were never really in it, and then lost by the smallest possible margin to Titin and Merino a week later. If the final point of that match had gone the other way, they could now face the final two weeks with some confidence. They need to win and for results to go for them in a big way, but at least they have a relatively healthy points difference when compared to Xala and Barriola, who are level in terms of wins and losses. They would need a miracle to turn things around.

The Promocion Championship also has another two weeks of round robin matches left, and again there is a tough fight underway for the fourth qualifying spot. For results and remaining fixtures, see here.