NOTHING is sweeter than victory against one of your main rivals. However, after Saturday's 40-14 win over Orrell, our feet are back on the ground.

We travel to Bedford for an extremely difficult test of our resolve and character and, following our previous away match at Otley, nobody will be complacent. I can guarantee that!

Bedford is a classic example of why you should treat teams with the utmost respect because if we went there with an arrogant attitude, they would turn us over.

They will have a big crowd, a sloping pitch and some good players on the park against us. Remember, it's not so long ago that they were a Premiership team so we will be treating them as if we were going to Rotherham or Orrell.

Our match against the Edge Hall Road club was great to be involved in. There was a real buzz around the ground and I thought the boys played well for 80 minutes. A lot was made about our second half display but the players stuck to their guns for the whole match and eventually we ground them down and broke through.

Sometimes matches against quality opposition take time before you see any scoring. It's always the case with well-matched teams. Orrell certainly looked a dangerous side, particularly in that first half, but we kept pace with them and when we won penalties, Tommy Hayes was on hand to slot over the points.

We cut loose in the second half and scored the tries that we needed to get the bonus point which was, indeed, a real bonus.

The coaches made the point at half time that if we believed in ourselves then we could go out there and take those points. We did that and it was a great feeling because to beat a side like Orrell so convincingly does wonders for the faith. We know now that whatever the situation, whatever the score, we can come back because if we can do it against Orrell, we can do it against anybody.

Tommy's second half 60-metre kick was just out of this world. I've seen some big kicks in my time but that has to rank as one of the best in any team I've played in. He said he'd kicked something similar to that for Glasgow and the guy has an incredible boot. It is a wonderful weapon to have but we also have James Brown who starts at Goldington Road at the weekend.

James is a wonderful player and he is desperate to show everyone just how good he can be. He was unlucky last season because he missed a large chunk through injury and then because of Tim Walsh's form.

I think supporters can expect something special from James on Saturday because he's very keen to win back his place. Competition for places this season is extremely tough and I know, from experience, that I will have to put in a great display to keep my place!

You can see that competition for places throughout the squad with the back row in particular looking very tough to get into.

Dean Thomas came into the side against Orrell and really took his chance. He's got the nod to continue while Drew Hickey is in the squad for the first time this season. It's really hotting up!

Ben Hinshelwood will not be able to make the game because of international commitments. We won't see him now until after the World Cup but I think everyone is pleased for him that he's getting such an opportunity. Now all we need is a Springbok win and everyone's happy!