Goode knows Bulls must be at their best to face leaders

Matt Goode’s side travel to leaders Old Centralians who beat Bulls at the DCS Stadium earlier in the season.

Bulls have slipped down to third but only a point behind second-placed Royal Wootton Bassett who come to the DCS Stadium at the end of next month.

Head coach Goode knows his side will have to be at their best to redress the balance and having club skipper Ian Isham back will certainly make a difference. After a long lay-off Isham returned to the side for the victory over Marlborough last time out and Goode will be looking for a similar performance on Saturday.

He said: “It’s our toughest game of the season, it’s always been a difficult place to go and Saturday will be no different. We’ve only had mixed results there and we didn’t place well against them at our place even though we had a few injuries, so we’ll be looking to put that right on Saturday.

“The two sides are similar in the way they approach the game. We’ve got a game plan, mainly to have good ball retention and to stop them from having too much possession.

“We’ve slipped down to third but it’s only the start of the second round of matches, so I don’t want to put any extra pressure on the players. We want that second spot but all I’m looking for is a good performance and hopefully the result will come.

“It’s great having Ian Isham back, he brings some leadership to the side. I want to see the same sort of performance that we produced against Marlborough, not the one against Chippenham.”

Chris Davies, Jack Briggs, Dan Brady and Tom Burman are all unavailable but Goode has full confidence in those players coming in.

He added: “We’ve got an unbelievable squad this season so it will only change the way we play, not make us weaker, having to make the changes.”