Three points clear at the top of Regional 1 South East, Colchester boast six wins from their first six matches, but it’s the team’s prolific try-scoring which is most notable.

Colchester have notched up exactly a half century of tries this season, and 33 in their last three matches, to give them a points difference of +203, nearly twice that of second-placed Letchworth Garden City.

But Mike Haywood and his coaching team will rightly be hammering home the need to avoid any hint of complacency this week as they prepare to meet sixth-placed Tring.

The Hertfordshire side earned a bonus point in a 37-20 win over Westcliff last weekend, and other notable scalps this campaign include a 56-19 victory over Sudbury and a win on the road at Amersham and Chiltern.

The teams last met in the 2023/24 season when Colchester won home and away – but Tring only have to go back to the season before that when they did the double over Colchester.

Haywood spoke after Saturday’s match about the way the team want to play this season, a fast game and plenty of attacking intent.

“We want to stretch teams, we want to force them to tighten up then try and move them wide,” said Haywood.

“It shows what we’re doing in midfield is a good job and that’s allowing us to pick teams off on the edges.”

It’s a rest weekend for the club’s other senior men’s teams and the Iceni, so the club is hoping for a big crowd at Raven Park on Saturday ahead of a break for the first team the following weekend as the Autumn internationals get underway.