The victory over Eton Manor was the best possible way for our lads to bounce back and the victory, combined with the quality of the second half performance, has laid the foundations for our visit to South Woodham Ferrers this weekend.

South Woodham Ferrers, along with Diss, were promoted into London 1 North on the back of an excellent campaign where they showed superb home form, losing just one game over the course of the season. They have found life difficult in this division, but they should not be underestimated having recorded home wins over very capable teams such as Old Priorians and Old Haberdashers. Every team in the division can provide a real challenge and at no point we will ever take a game lightly.

In terms of selection, there are minor changes to the side (in the forwards) due to availability issues. A number of our players have weekend work commitments and believe it or not some of them have a life beyond rugby! The most noticeable change comes in the back row, where Harrison Pickett makes a welcome return to the starting line up, but Dan Whiteman is unavailable due to his work schedule. So, for the first time in a couple of years, all three Pickett brothers will be back in the starting XV - it's a welcome sight for us, not so much for South Woodham Ferrers! Although the side will undoubtedly miss the contribution Whiteman makes to the side in terms of his work rate, link play and carrying, we have the quality and personnel to adapt.

The back line is unchanged. George Liversidge and Will Brown will continue in the centre after a really promising performance against Eton Manor. Will Brown continued his excellent form, particularly in defence, where he maintained his 100% complete tackle record. Although Manor didn't stage too many attacks, our boys finished the game with 91% of tackles completed without error. In addition to accuracy in defence, our analysis showed an extraordinary number of ball carries; something we will be aiming to replicate this weekend.

There is one change to the bench, Rory Miller comes back into the match day squad to provide forward cover. Rory had an unfortunate training ground injury a couple of months ago that ruled him out of contention for a couple of weeks, but he has been back in the Ravens side and has earned a well-deserved recall. Rory's progress this season has been a real high point and there's so much more to come from him because he will continue to grow and mature, and as Eli Castle has shown, forwards are like wine - they get better with age!

There is some rugby at Mill Road this weekend with the A XV, Cavaliers and Roundheads providing the entertainment. The A XV have a tough game against league leaders Ipswich YM, the Cavaliers take on Felixstowe and the Roundheads will kick off at 3.00pm on Pitch 1 against Mersea Island. The Roundheads will take centre stage to celebrate veteran prop Alan Goggin's 70th birthday - Alan will be celebrating in style by leading out his team mates. It is a remarkable achievement and a testament to Alan and his commitment to the game he so clearly loves. Happy Birthday Alan, best wishes and enormous amounts of respect from everyone at Colchester Rugby Club!