Dudley: We need to pick up our game

He felt his side came up 20 to 30-per-cent short in their 28-12 home defeat at the hands of London Cornish last weekend.

‘At the start of the game we won a decent amount of possession and looked like we could go on and put ourselves into a good position,’ said coach Dudley.

‘We made a number of line breaks but were not ruthless enough to press them home.

‘Once London Cornish scored against the run of play it changed the whole momentum of the game.

‘We must look to get back to winning ways before having a week off at Easter.’

United Services Portsmouth are intent on picking up a five-point haul against Purley John Fisher one way or another in London south west three.

The hosts are going through a torrid time this season and have already cried off a number of games because of their inability to raise a team.

When they visited United Services earlier in the season they turned up short of players and lost 87-0 in a game cut short at the hour mark.

There is already confusion over the current state of affairs for this weekend.

‘We had a message from their captain that the game was off, only to be get another message from their coach saying it was on,’ said director of rugby Matt Davis.

‘All we can do is prepare for the game to go ahead.

‘If our opponents pull out we get awarded five points and a 50-0 win.

‘On the other hand, if the game is played we will go there with a positive attitude to collect all the points.’

Services will field a strong pack of forwards but have to make a number of changes in the three-quarters.

Tom Blewitt and Chris Marriott are away but captain Nathan Bond and player-coach Jimmy Taylor return to action.

The visitors are also boosted by the return of Luke Peters.

In Hampshire two, Southsea Nomads are targeting a win over Southampton at Furze Lane that would see them leapfrog their visitors.