Braintree Rugby Club coach Brian Joslin is calling on their players to show the commitment needed to get them out of the rut of poor form they have found themselves in this season.

Despite an encouraging display against leaders Norwich the week before, an 81-0 hammering at Campion brought Braintree’s ninth straight London League division two north east defeat in a row.

And Joslin has called on the players to step up to the plate to turn a corner in the second half of the season.

He said: “It was a tough day.

“Fair play to Campion as they totally dominated us from start to finish and were worthy winners.

“But we seem to take one step forward and three steps back at the moment.

“After a promising performance against Norwich the week before, we hoped to improve this week – how wrong could we have been!

“Training was poorly attended last week, we had a few players drop and our fly-half Joss Adams picked up a back injury within ten minutes and had to come off.

“The reshuffle meant our skipper and number eight, Tom Carslake, had to play 70 minutes at full-back.

“To add to that, our centre, James Moore, pulled his hamstring and had to be replaced at half-time. Our playing resources are really stretched at the moment.

“The players had a huddle after the game and resolved that this is not going to happen again this season.

“So it’s down to them to show the commitment and give the level of performance we know they are capable of.”

Braintree didn't have a game last weekend, but are due to return to action with a league game against Saffron Walden at Robbs Wood on Saturday.