THE overwhelming emotion I felt travelling back from Bristol last night was relief.

Not happiness, but simply relief that I can get back to rugby matters after Saturday.

It has been a difficult time for me since I was sent off at London Welsh but last night's decision by the RFU's disciplinary panel seemed a common sense one to me.

I have been suspended for two weeks following that red card for an off the ball incident with Florent Rossigneux and I am pleased that it wasn't any more time.

I still feel as if I didn't do anything wrong but it is all water under the bridge now. The good thing is that I will be ready for the trip to Plymouth next month after Saturday's clash with Moseley is out of the way.

I will also be available for the big match at Rotherham on November 23 so, obviously, I am delighted because it will be a massive game.

Some people were taking about a ban of 60 days but I never thought it would come to that.

A leopard doesn't change his spots and I certainly haven't become a dirty player overnight. I will always play the game hard but fair and I won't change from that.

The panel took that into consideration before reaching a verdict and I am pleased that they looked at all the evidence.

People will say that the red card is a mark against my record and that is true. The sad fact is I still believe I am innocent and should not have been sent from the field but that is just irrelevant now.

I have felt as if there was a dark cloud hanging over me since the incident at London Welsh and I'm delighted that's over with.

We all know where we are going now and when I can play next.

I came to Worcester to help them win promotion and it would have been a nightmare to have to sit out a large chunk of the season.

Now I am focusing on the Plymouth match, while the rest of the squad look forward to the Midlands derby clash with Moseley at Sixways.

The expectation levels at Worcester have been rising ever since Rotherham put 100 plus points on them earlier in the month.

However, I think it will be difficult to compare the two matches because for Worcester there are a number of differences.

Firstly, there is a history between the two clubs and a rivalry which would heat any match up.

It will be a typical derby game with an atmosphere which simply could not have appeared at Rotherham on that day.

Moseley also had a number of players out and they will be stronger at the weekend.

People will be looking at that result and some kind of response from us. Our response, though, will be built on performance rather than oriented around the scoreboard.

If we win by just 10 points but the performance is good then fine. At least we know we are moving forward.

We beat Bracknell convincingly at the weekend but the display could have been better, especially in the second half.

What we are interested in is performing for 80 minutes and I hope the home crowds appreciate that because they've been entertained so far this year.

The 73-5 win over Bracknell looked convincing but I think the coaches were disappointed with the second half display.

That criticism is all about being professional throughout a match and not getting carried away with a good-looking scoreboard at half time.

It's absolutely vital that when we are between the white lines, we do not become complacent and we concentrate on performance.

What I thought was impressive, though, was the amount of youngsters on show and squad players who stamped the Worcester ethos on the game.

It showed true continuity that a number of players, such as Hugo Southwell who hasn't been involved in first-team matches, could come in and not look out of place in the side.

The great thing for me is that soon, I'll be fighting for one of those places and I cannot wait to get back.