IT was such a frustrating start to the season for us on Saturday and it really did feel as though we lost the game twice against Redruth.

We were 15-6 down at half-time which wasn’t particularly comfortable but then we recovered well to lead 28-22.

After that we allowed to the game to slip through our fingers in the closing stages and it was disappointing.

But there were still plenty of positives for us to take from the game.

I thought we pretty much dominated all areas of the match, including the scrum and the line-out and our backs were able to cut through theirs quite easily when we managed to keep hold of the ball.

Our defence was also good which probably sounds strange as we’ve conceded 36 points but they never actually got through us.

We gifted them the points and we need to learn to stick to our game plan.

We need to respect the ball and do what’s coached to us because we did that in the second half against Redruth and it certainly worked.

The performance we produced ticked a lot of boxes and we know if we play like we did just after half-time then more points will start to come our way and more victories too.

Hopefully that can start at Shelford this weekend because we certainly need to make sure we react in the right way now.

CAPTAIN'S HONOUR

IT’S a huge, huge honour for me to be captaining Southend this season.

It’s a massive club and one that has been around for an awful long time.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved with the club for many years now and I always wanted to end my career here.

However, I never expected to be captain and it really does mean a lot to me because I have so many good friends at the club.

PREMIERSHIP TOP THREE ARE SET IN STONE FOR ME

THE PREMIERSHIP also got underway at the weekend but the top three places are already sewn up for me.

Saracens, Leicester and Northampton will be there but it will be much closer between fourth and six but I’m sure Harlequins will make another strong challenge.