Leaders are next up for Goode's boys

Looking ahead to Saturday’s fixture against the pacesetters at the DCS Stadium, Goode said: “Newbury look like favourites, they should never have come down really but there are a lot of good teams at the top. It will be a good challenge for the boys.”

So can his side put the brakes on the early leaders?

He said: “For sure, we’ll be back at home and we have great support at our place. It will be tough but we’ll play our patterns and there is no reason we can’t get back to winning ways.”

After winning their last 21 games in the league the Bulls slipped to a 21-12 defeat at Marlborough.

Despite being new to the league, Marlborough showed they meant business. Winning their first three games of the season against Swindon, Trowbridge and Wimborne. Marlborough have recruited several Pacific Islanders which has added a real flair to their play and they now have the ability to score from almost anywhere.

It was a disappointing loss in toughs conditions that will sting for a while but the application was there for the full 80 minutes. Marlborough were clinical when they had the ball and without it they were uncompromising as Kallum Dixey and Jack Briggs both picked up injuries.

Goode said: “We didn’t really get the rub of the green.

“They were clinical with some of there chances, one try looked like a forward pass, the second was a bit of a fluke but that’s how it goes. I’m proud of the boys though, we won 57-13 last week but I was a bit disappointed with some of the performances.

“The performances were there at Marlborough, the heart and desire were there but it wasn’t our day. Sometimes you can learn more from a loss than a win.”