Double Bill At The MTG

MATCH PREVIEW

On review, I felt our attack against Havant was at the standard I knew we were capable of. Nine tries, combined with some accurate and exciting ball movement, is exactly how we want to play. Owain Collion finished with a personal tally of 19 points, thanks to an excellent day off the tee and a try of his own, while Garry Jones helped himself to a hat-trick.

The fly in the ointment was the 34 points we conceded. Havant are a good side with a strong attacking game of their own, but 34 points is also the average we have conceded across our three defeats so far this season. As I said to the team after the game, our attack has gone through the roof but we had not delivered the defensive improvement we were looking for. This will remain our main focus as we head into our final two games before the week off.

The Pilgrims also enjoyed a strong home win, running out 45–10 winners against Beccehamians. The team continues to go from strength to strength as we welcome more high-calibre, experienced players back into the side. This weekend brings another double home Saturday for the 1st XV and Pilgrims as we welcome Sevenoaks 2nd XV to the Marine Travel Ground. Sevenoaks are one of the strongest sides in the league and this is exactly the kind of challenge the Pilgrims are ready for.

On the main pitch, the 1st XV take on Leicester Lions, who return to the league following relegation from National 1 last season. They have had a challenging start to the campaign, with their only win in their first five games coming at home against Jersey.

For the 1st XV, Saturday is about continuing our trajectory of improvement and pushing ourselves to get better every week. I believe there is plenty more to come from this group as the season progresses, but our focus remains on one week at a time. We know where we want to get to, and the only way we will get there is by constantly improving and delivering on the pitch every Saturday.

MATT CORKER, HEAD COACH