Braintree Rugby Club coach Brian Joslin saw the positives in the Black and Ambers’ performance as they opened their London League division two north east season with a defeat by Holt.

The Norfolk side won 30-0, but Joslin hopes to have a stronger side available when they travel to Enfield Ignatians on Saturday.

He said: “It was a disappointing result (against Holt) but we were a lot better than the scoreline suggests and there were many positives to take from the game.

“We looked to play expansive rugby with ball in hand and we certainly deserved a score, if not two, but we just couldn’t execute the killer move when it came to the crunch.

“Our tackling was good and a definite improvement on the second half of last season.

“We pressed very well when the opposition were in possession.

“But Holt were by far the bigger side and their physical advantage eventually began to show in the second half.

“We had to play people out of position last week due to the unavailability of a number of players but hopefully we’ll have some of them back next week and we can move forward.

“I can’t fault the lads for the commitment they showed though.

“They gave their all – particularly the front row trio – and it was only late in the game that Holt manage to make their physical advantage count.”