Ben Lloyd helps Southend Saxons to get back on track with win against Sudbury

Southend went into the London One North clash on the back of two successive defeats.

And Lloyd was pleased to triumph in his first game as Saxons skipper.

“I talk a lot about performances and it was great to get the win but it was also really pleasing that we produced a performance like we did,” said Lloyd.

“There were a good amount of changes in personnel on Saturday, most of them forced, and the boys who came in really stepped up to the plate.

“After a tough couple of weeks, Saturday’s was a performance of a side who wanted to get back to enjoying their rugby again and I was really proud of the team.

“It made my first game captaining the side a real pleasure.

“When you’ve got everyone pulling in the same direction and you’ve got a platform to play from, it becomes an easy game.”

Lloyd scored one try, two conversions and three penalties to secure victory for Saxons.

And the fly-half was happy to see off a strong side.

“Sudbury are a good side,” said Lloyd.

“They’ve had some good results this season and they beat us earlier in the campaign at their place, so we knew it would be a battle.

“But the pleasing thing for us was that we did the right things in the right areas and it felt a lot more joined up.

“Sport is always tough when you go on a run of defeats but there’s a strong core to this group and training’s been upbeat and positive the whole way through.

“It was just a matter of time and hopefully Saturday was the start of a good run until the end of the season.”

Despite the victory, Southend slipped to seventh in the table.

But Lloyd is determined to help Saxons pick up more positive results.

“It’s huge to build on that win,” said Lloyd.

“Second place is now out of our control but everyone wants to finish as strongly as we can.

“We got back to enjoying the game out there on Saturday and it’s a much nicer place to be when that happens.

“Next week it’s a new challenge against another side (Harpenden) who have picked up some good results this year so we start again on Tuesday as we build towards Saturday afternoon.”

Fraser Banks and Matt Wagstaff also scored tries for Southend on Saturday.

And director of rugby Josh Ward was also full of smiles at the final whistle.

“I’m really proud of the boys today,” said Ward.

“As the game went on we played some excellent rugby. “

Southend Saxons: Banks, Bennett, Ashton, Vaughan, Richards, Lloyd, Branch, Bass, Grier, Smith, Newton, O’Kill, Buckley, Law, Wagstaff.

Replacements: Sheils, Forster-Knight & Day