ALTHOUGH the margin of our 40-16 defeat at Wimborne last weekend looks bad, for me, it was the most spirited performance I’ve seen from Trowbridge’s first team since I joined the club.

We did have a number of players missing but I don’t believe in making excuses because in any season, you will need between 26 and 30 players.

I learned a lot about some of the guys, especially some of those who stepped up to the team for the game.

I always felt we lacked a collective, but I saw more of that on Saturday than in my previous 12 or 13 weeks at the club.

With no match this weekend, there has been the opportunity for a lot of soul-searching and honesty and I’d like to think that session will pay off in our next match next week.

Bath were also licking their wounds after Sunday’s defeat at London Welsh – a result I didn’t see coming.

It’s going to be incredibly frustrating for them because the four points they gained from the win over Exeter the previous week have now been thrown away.

The good news is they are still in there, in terms of the Premiership and the LV= Cup, which starts this weekend, and which gives them an opportunity of a new challenge.

Meanwhile, the autumn Test series is upon us, which throws up some interesting questions.

The make-up of England’s squad held no surprises for me. I wanted to see something bold, but nothing really excited me about who they picked.

If you are picking on form I can’t see how Harlequins No 8 Nick Easter isn’t in there, while I would have liked Leicester’s young fly-half George Ford included because he has more potential than the other 10s out there. England really need three wins out of this series.

Let Steve know your thoughts via wiltshiretimes.co.uk or ohoulihan@newswilts.co.uk