So far this season though, Newbury are sitting in 5th place with four wins and two losses. The 2 losses coming from home games against Guildford and Farnham, both teams who gave us a tough game at Hazelwood.

This will be the first meeting between London Irish Amateur and Newbury 1st XVs. Over the last few years, the Blues have yo-yoed between Regional 1 (formerly National 3) and Regional 2 (formerly South West 1) and I'm sure they'll look to build on what was a respectable finish last year.

Newbury will be the third top five team we face this season and with their only home win of the season coming on opening day against bottom of the table Reading, they'll be sure to make a statement in front of home fans. There will be some Newbury locals shouting for the Geese though as Head Physiotherapist, Darcey Arnold's family will be in attendance. We can only hope she has a much quieter day compared to last Saturday and the toll that Winchester's defence took on us.

For any club members or fans wanting to travel on the team bus again this week, please let a member of the senior management know. The bus will be likely leaving Hazelwood between 11:00 and 11:45. This will be confirmed closer to the time.