This weekend, as well as being able to see some fabulous rugby, we will pay our respects to all those who have made, and continue to make, such great sacrifices in order to enable us to enjoy the freedoms of modern society. It's a sobering thought and one that is especially poignant in a garrison town like Colchester.

On the pitch our 1st XV will face Old Priorians - also known as Old Priorians Twisters. Like so many rugby clubs Old Priorians originate from a school; namely St Benedict's in Ealing, Middlesex. Priorians currently sit in 10th place in London North Division 1, but they will be in really high spirits after inflicting a heavy defeat on Letchworth Garden City (6-57) last weekend. The win at Letchworth was Old Priorians third win of the season and their first away win of this campaign.

There is just one change to the Colchester 1st XV starting line up this week; Will Brown returns to fullback and James Crozier switches to the right wing. The major changes are on the bench. This week we welcome back skipper Liam Pickett. Liam has been itching to get back on the pitch and he has been gradually building up his fitness ready to be unleashed on Priorians this weekend! Jack White retains his place in the squad after a really promising debut at Fullerians. Jack is primarily a fly half. He's got a good defence and he has the ability to provide really smooth delivery. Against Fullerians, Jack entered the fray midway into the second half and didn't miss a beat; he set up the seventh try for Danny Whiteman and vitally he maintained the high tempo that Matt Wadling and Brett Cutbush had set from the moment Fullerians kicked off. Joe Flexman and George Liversidge continue in the centre; both made significant contributions last Saturday. Flexman made a series of darting breaks in the Fullerians 'red zone' and from watching the match video several times it was clear that he injected a great deal of pace into the midfield that enable Liversidge a little more space and time on the ball; the combination worked well and they unselfishly provided good opportunities for those around them. The final change this week sees Joe Reid return to the 18-man squad to cover the front row. According to the laws of the game, one of the three replacements must be able to provide cover for prop and/or hooker; this is essentially a safety measure in that it is widely recognised that playing front row is a specialised technical role requiring a particular set of skills and attributes.

After solid performances where they made life pretty uncomfortable for the opposition, Joe Colcomb and Eli Castle start in the second row. Whiteman, Beckett and Pickett will look to maintain their good form in the back row; all three made a big contribution to the victory over Fullerians. Beckett's defence was absolutely crucial in the early exchanges and his first half try-saving tackle on the Fullerians outside centre typified his low key, but crucial contribution, to the balance of the back row. Dan Whiteman and Ollie Pickett both had standout games against the unfortunate Fullerians; both scored tries (Whiteman collected two) and both were dominant in the loose. The performance against Fullerians was another decisive step forward; there was a clear increase in the pace and tempo of the game and this enabled our boys to utilise their pace and creativity to open up the Fullerians defence time and time again. In the final third of the game we allowed Fullerians to run in a couple of consolation tries, but for large parts of the game our 15 were dominant in every aspect of the game. Our next target is to sustain the performance for a full 80 minutes; when we do that a massive score could be on the cards.

We will be losing a few of our 1st XV squad players this week as David Brennan, Lewis Williams, Julian Chamberlain-Carter and Charlie Champs will be travelling with Essex University to take part in the Dubai Rugby Sevens; we wish them a safe journey and the very best of luck! There are no 1st XV games in London 1 North next week, but the following week (28th November) will be a crucial week at the top of the division as the current leaders Chingford will visit second place Brentwood and we will be hitting the road to take on third place Amersham and Chiltern. The game at Brentwood will be fascinating encounter. Both teams have invested significantly in their playing staff and I expect the two packs of forwards to approach the game in a fairly robust manner. Having seen both teams at close quarters this season I certainly suspect that the manner in which the game is officiated will have a significant influence upon the outcome and result... I will say no more than that! The whole complexion at the top of the table could change with the bounce of a ball or the blast of a whistle - it will be an interesting weekend!

The Ravens have a well-earned rest week, but the A XV and Cavaliers have fixtures on Saturday. Numbers at senior training have been hit by injury and availability this week, but coaches Andy Sutcliffe, Rich Holland and Mike Howlett have pulled together two really strong squads. Our A XV are taking on Ipswich at Humber Doucy Lane. Our A's are sitting in third place in Eastern Counties Division 1 (30 points) and are now just three points behind Hadleigh RFC and within striking distance of second place. The A XV have lost just two games this season and their league position has increasingly improved, in fact they are rapidly approaching the number of points they achieved by the end of the 2016-17 season, after just 8 games! The Cavaliers host the Halstead Templars. The Templars are a relatively new outfit serving the Halstead/Colne Valley area and they are acquitting themselves magnificently, sitting in second place in Eastern Counties Division 2, just one point behind the Cavaliers. The game kicks off at 2.00pm.

It is a big weekend for our Colts XV - they make the short trip to Suffolk to taken on Ipswich YM in the first round of the Colts National Cup. Fresh from a morale boosting win over Bury St Edmunds last weekend, the Colts will kick off at 11.05am in order to allow the crowd and participants at Ipswich YM to take part in one minute of silence to mark Remembrance Day.