Despite losing we were happy with some aspects of our performance but at the same time we were disappointed having played so well for large parts of the game and lapsing at crucial times. Exeter were very clinical with the chances they had so credit to them

The game itself was very hotly contested with both sides putting in some huge hits and strong carries.

Going in at half-time we certainly felt we had the upper hand at the time and if we could continue executing our game plan we stood a good chance of turning them over.

We managed to keep this going for the first 10 minutes of the second half but a couple of errors let them in and we were punished for it.

Despite losing we were happy with some aspects of our performance but at the same time we were disappointed having played so well for large parts of the game and lapsing at crucial times. Exeter were very clinical with the chances they had so credit to them.

In better news, a number of big players are well on the road to recovery after suffering nasty injuries.

Martin Rice, Gaz Evans and Box-head Marriott are all close to returning to training after knee injuries have kept them out of recent games.

Ricey and Gaz both have MCL damage and Kyle had an operation to clean out his knee. We have been quite unlucky this year with injuries (myself included!) so it will be good to have them back with us.

Our cup exit up at Doncaster means that we have no game this coming weekend. This presents an excellent opportunity for us players to give our bodies a rest and recover from the niggles and knocks that we inevitably pick up over the course of the season.

Many of the boys, including yours truly, are taking the opportunity to get back to our homes to see family and friends and make the most of a very rare free weekend.

However, Graham Dawe would never let this happen without some kind of compromise, so we got a customary vomit-inducing 'beasting' on Wednesday morning to make sure we earned the rest!

It is safe to say some of the guys enjoyed it more than others as Wayne "Steve Redgrave" Sprangle and Liam "Mr Anaerobic" Gibson can testify with both of them, to many of the boys' delight, examining their breakfast for the second time that day. The joys of being a rugby player!

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