Exeter Chiefs scrum-half and BBC Devon columnist

With the game away at Bedford earlier in the season being such a tight affair, we braced ourselves for a really tough encounter. Any opportunity we had for points we gladly took and this allowed us to build a score leaving Bedford chasing the game.

The discussions opened up as to what we could potentially do to help the cause.

Sam Blythe felt the best form was to pray to his inverted Sun God. He would simply extend his prayer duration for some beloved rays of warmth to thaw out the ground.

Brett Sturgess decided a more direct route was needed. He would gladly stay up overnight walking around the pitch with his Turbo 1500W custom made hair dryer attacking any form of bitter frost. Sam won the vote but largely due to most being disgusted that Brett actually owned a hairdryer.

It was disappointing that the Moseley game was called off but it allowed guys who have been playing regularly to let the niggles heal, put some quality training in and have a week away from waking up on a Sunday morning with the feeling of your head being used as a basketball the day before.

With the game away at Bedford earlier in the season being such a tight affair, we braced ourselves for a really tough encounter. Any opportunity we had for points we gladly took and this allowed us to build a score leaving Bedford chasing the game.

One of the most pleasing tries we scored was after we turned them over close to our try line.

It is sometimes the best time to attack when the opposition have been putting you under pressure for a number of phases. This is because they expect you to just relieve the pressure at the earliest chance available, which is normally kicking the ball off the pitch.

Blythe (left) and Sturgess both had their ways of trying to thaw the pitch

However, we kept the ball alive and went the length of the pitch to score, which shows the confidence in the side at the moment.

We pushed on after half-time and scored some clinical tries. However, our foot slipped off the gas as we let Bedford score some cheap tries near to the end of the game.

This weekend we face Preston Grasshoppers in the EDF Energy National Trophy. They are a club with a fantastic history and we shall look forward to playing against them.

Hopefully, the weather will continue to get warmer and Sam won't need to put an hour of prayers in and just keep to the mandatory half an hour a day that a sun worshipper must complete to bring warmth to the country and as an additional bonus receive an all-year round tan.

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