From a 1st XV perspective, it was good to secure a five-point win this weekend. Scoring nine tries, including six in the second half, was good for 1st XV morale. That said, we still feel that there is a lot more to come. I was especially pleased that the 1st XV put on a good game for our Patrons Lunch. Our Patrons are a crucial part of our club, they invest their time and resources in our players and make sure that they have access to medical support, physiotherapy, training gear and training/match day food. Whilst all members make a contribution to the club, the Patrons support focuses on our push to regain National League status and build a legacy of homegrown rugby talent. As Senior Rugby Chairman I am really proud of the number of homegrown players we have brought into the Senior Rugby set up this season; with only seven games gone in this campaign Lewis Williams, Will Brown, Joe Cook and Rory Miller are all 'homegrown' players that have debuted for the 1st XV, with even more turning out for the Ravens. Thank you Patrons; we really appreciate your support.

There are more reasons to be pleased. Without putting too much pressure on him, I mentioned in my preview that I felt that Rhys Hartley would make a difference to our side this weekend. Rhys has worked hard on his rehab from injury and richly deserved his Man of the Match award. Anyone who has seen our 1st XV games will know that our line outs have been somewhat problematic and one of Rhys's strengths is the accuracy and quality of his delivery - our line out improved significantly and as a result we were able to improve our retention of possession, particularly in attacking positions. Having Hartley at hooker also enabled Joe McMillan to switch to his preferred position of loose head prop. The loose head prop can invariably disengage themselves from the completed scrummage quicker than the hooker and tight head because their head is literally loose - therefore enabling them to have a greater impact around the field of play. This was well illustrated by Joe McMillan on Saturday - he offered Brett Cutbush a ball carrying option and powered through the final 22 to score. Eli Castle also made an immediate impact on his return to 1st XV action - Eli carried the ball with great strength and generally added power and drive to the forward pack. Anyone watching will have seen that our scrum was dominant, and particularly in the opening exchanges, it enabled us to take control of game early on and secure an early score. The scrum was invariably secure and at times pretty destructive. Unfortunately for our opponents there were also a significant number of scrums; there is nothing more demoralising for a set of 8 forwards than to pack down and know that you're going to get pushed around.

Our man of the match from Ruislip, Joe Colcomb, turned in another solid performance. Joe is incredibly consistent. He rarely puts a foot wrong and he shows incredible maturity for an 18 year old lock forward. In fact, it was Joe's intervention and turnover that led to the second try of the game. Joe has an uncanny knack of often being the first to contact and time after time you will see him making short, but consistent carries for the team.

Next weekend the 1st XV travel to Watford to take on 7th place Fullerians. Fullerians put a halt to a four-game losing streak on Saturday with a win against Ruislip.

Fresh from their victory against Westcombe Park the Ravens put up a superb fight at Old Albanians. OA's second string have a 100% record at home and they have literally swept aside all opposition this season without breaking a sweat. The Ravens had other ideas and pushed OA's all the way and they came within a few yards of a last minute winner, but the final score of 29-26 shows how close they came to upsetting one of the strongest sides in Zoo Division Two. James Parry was the star of the show on the left wing; he scored two tries, set up another and never missed a tackle. OA's possess an extremely capable side and our defence was superb, Will Chapman (7), Adam Cook (Centre) debutant Matt Hexley (6) and Adam O'Leary (15) all made significant contributions. The Ravens side is being built upon plenty of experience from the likes of Toby Hill and Andy Goodbourn, but it is also now helping hone the skills of new and developing players in a really competitive league.

The A XV made the short trip to take on Mistley at Furze Hill and ran our winners 8-45. Paul Summerson starred for the A's scoring and creating tries from literally out of nothing! It was also good to see Mikey Johnston make his A XV debut at fly half. Former Colt Mikey created space and openings for his team mates and made a great contribution to the team performance. The A XV are closing the gap on Hadleigh (now three points behind) and remain in third place but with superior points difference. The Cavaliers recorded another win, securing the top spot in Eastern Counties Division Two with a 43-5 home win over Sudbury Tigers. The Cavaliers welcomed Graham MacCallum back to the front row for the first time this season and he put in a strong performance both in the tight and loose. Unfortunately, commiserations must go out to both James Calnan and Mark Harman (Cavaliers Skipper) who picked up injuries that are going to rule them out for a significant number of games; get well soon from everyone at Colchester Rugby Club. Injuries are a part of the game and seem to be suffering more knocks than usual, but on the pitch these are incredible performances considering the number of players we had missing.

One thing everyone should be mindful of is the change to kick off times - the 1st XV home games will be under floodlights and will usually be 3.00pm, but due to the fading light our remaining games will be kicking off earlier this time of year; usually 2.00pm. If you are in any doubt please check out the club website and Raven Mad for clarification.