Nic Corrigan is preparing for what he expects will be a ‘hugely important’ October for Chester RFC as they look to maintain their challenge at the top of the SSE National League Two North table.
Chester maintained their 100% start to the season with a hard-fought 31-21 victory over Sheffield on Saturday, September 28.
Two tries apiece from Rhys Hayes and Tom Foden did the damage, and the result leaves them hot on the heels of Stourbridge and Macclesfield, who are one point ahead.
Corrigan’s side face both of those sides in the next four weeks, as well as a tough trip to face Leicester Lions.
They entertain Sedgley Park at Hare Lane this Saturday, and Corrigan is anticipating a testing month for his men.
The director of rugby said: “It will be a hugely important month for us. We have a lot of big games in there, and if we are serious about earning respect at this level, then we have to target these games and look to get some big results.
“We’ve had a good start to the season, and we are happy with how results have gone, but that’s all it is – a start. We know we can still improve in just about every area of the field, and we will look to do that over the next few days ahead of a tough game against Sedgley Park.”
Corrigan added: “The result at Sheffield was very good, but our performance was not. That’s not me being too critical, just us knowing the high standards that we set ourselves.
“We are taking things one game at a time at the moment, and just trying to keep improving. We know we have to take the game to teams, and that’s what we will always look to do.
“It may be a bit of a clash of styles against Sedgley Park. They will be very physical up front. They’re a battle-hardened side who have been down in the third level. They’ll be direct, but we will enjoy defending against them, I am sure!
“We’ve a full squad to select from, and we have good training time before the weekend. We want to use that wisely and come up with an improved performance.”
Corrigan singled out flanker Mike Craven as his side’s outstanding performer against Sheffield.
“He was exceptional,” he added. “He’s a really industrious No7, and made a huge difference for us on Saturday.”
Helsby return to action in South Lancs/Cheshire Three on Saturday with a home derby against Ellesmere Port.
In the North West Leagues, Chester 2nds lost 40-29 to Preston Grasshoppers 2nds.