THERE are some fearsome battles ahead in the next couple of months and we've got to be really positive.

You could almost say there are some seedings in the league because our tough games really start in the next few months including London Welsh, Orell, Bristol and Rotherham.

Our run starts away at London Welsh on Saturday, a team which has wiped the floor with Coventry this season and it will be a taste of what's to come.

When we played them this time last year it turned out to be a turning point in our entire season.

We were not quite playing to our full potential and the defeat at Sixways made us improve our ball retention, continuity and ball in contact.

We're now faced with a mirror image and it's time to stop talking about these things and to start doing them.

Saturday's game means we face a former Worcester player in stand-off Matt Pearce who we know can kick goals from everywhere.

He didn't get into our first team last season because Richard Le Bas was playing well but Matt's a prodigious goal kicker and we'll look forward to seeing how he plays.

Overall they're a very talented side and have strengthened their pack since we last met.

One notable additional is former Wasps open side Buster White who alongside Rowlands Phillips helps make up a formidable back row.

It was a big game for us at Old Deer Park last year and was in the balance for the first hour and I expect nothing different this time.

One change we would like to see is for the U11s who will play a curtain raiser as they did last season.

They lost last season but we hope they can be victorious this time and set the club up for a winning afternoon.

Unfortunately we'll be without Richard Tomlinson for this and a host of other games because of his broken leg from last week but he remains in good spirits and we wish him well.

He was last year's player of the season and, while he may not grab the headlines every week, he always does the basics well and is a reliable player.

Thursday, October 29, 1998.