RUGBY: Southend Saxons will be looking to bounce back from their opening day disappointment when they host Holt at Warners Bridge tomorrow.

Southend lost 32-31 at Woodford in their first fixture of the Regional Two Anglia season.

And co-captain Ben Lloyd is seeking a strong reaction this weekend.

“It was extremely frustrating, especially watching the video back in review this week,” said Lloyd.

“We just weren’t at the races in the first quarter of the game and that ultimately left us far too much to do.

“After that we went on to do some great things and we looked far more like the team we’ve been throughout pre-season.

“It’s not something that has sat well with me since then and I know the rest of the group are the same.

“In the end it was a pretty sobering loss but I fully expect a reaction this weekend.

And Lloyd also believes Southend will have learnt lessons from the setback.

“If last weekend proved anything it’s that every week in this league is a challenge, nothing is given and we have to earn everything,” said Lloyd.

“Every team is going to be fired up to play us and we’re a big scalp if they manage it.

“For us the focus every week is that we have to nail down a good week of training and then deliver on Saturday, every single week.

“Our focus now is on Holt this Saturday and the 80 minutes we have coming up.”

But, longer term, Lloyd is setting high targets for the team.

“We want to be the best side in this league and that’s the ambition of the group,” said the fly-half.

“In order to do that we have to produce performances every weekend and that is the challenge.

“The talent within the squad isn’t up for debate, but we have to deliver every Saturday.

“We’ll do that this Saturday and once that’s done then we’ll move on to the next challenge.”