ADAM Ferrier believes Southend Saxons will be facing their toughest test of the season so far when they host National Two South leaders Henley at Warners Bridge tomorrow.

Henley have won 15 of their 17 games this term and are currently four points clear at the top of the table.

But Ferrier insists 12th placed Southend have what it takes to cause a shock win.

“This weekend is going to be the toughest battle so far but we have game plan and if we stick to it we all believe we can win the game,” said the 26-year-old.

“We’re going in to it on the back of an important win at Dings Crusaders too.

“Winning there was life or death really and we trained hard during the Christmas break and that hard work was mirrored in the game.

“Coming away with a well deserved win was a big relief and now we want to try and get another good result against Henley.”

Southend triumphed 13-6 against Dings Crusaders to move out of the relegation zone.

But Saxons were made to work hard for the win in difficult conditions.

And the forwards were particularly influential in the victory.

“The game against Dings was probably the most forward orientated game I've ever played in,” said Ferrier.

“The weather conditions were atrocious resulting in a fair few scrums which were relentless for the forward pack.

“Hats off to them though because they put in an outstanding effort, dominating every aspect of the game to help us win it.”

The game also saw Ferrier line-up at hooker.

Ferrier had previously been used at flanker.

But a shoulder injury to Marcus Bloomberg led to Ferrier switching roles.

And he relished being back in the front row.

“Saturday was my first game of the season at hooker and I couldn’t have chosen a better one to be honest,” said Ferrier.

“There’s no better feeling than being so dominant in the scrums and around the field.

“I obviously wish Marcus a speedy recovery but in the mean time I'm enjoying playing at hooker again.”

Ferrier is expected to line up in that role against Henley as Southend look to secure another success in their bid to work their way up the table.

“Our main hope for the rest of the season is to start playing some rugby and winning games, it’s as simple as that,” said Ferrier.

“We owe it to ourselves and to our supporters to do that too.”