I’LL start off this column by congratulating London Irish on picking up a third-straight Championship Cup win with a 21-13 home success against Bedford Blues.

Tries from Ollie Hoskins – who tops the charts with six this season already (not bad for a prop!) – Scott Steele and young Ben Loader helped them overcome falling behind in just the second minute to win.

They have the same opposition this Saturday as they bid to seal a quarter-final spot.

Down in National Two South, Rams defeated Worthing Raiders 41-12 for their eighth league win on the trot, which puts them nine points clear at the top of the table.

It’s not only a tribute to the players capabilities but also, of course, to those of the coaching staff.

In particular head coach Seb Reynolds, who has been with the club man and boy and done a fantastic job in helping turn a hitherto sleepy back-water club into a vibrant and successful front-line league outfit.

As for my boys Reading, after a week off, we’ll hope to bounce back from the recent 17-12 loss to Bicester which a victory at Buckingham.

We’re three off the bottom of the Southern Counties North table and the boys need to work even harder in the coming months to get some wins on the board so as to move us away from the relegation zone.

It’s a similar story for town neighbours Reading Abbey, who also lost last time out.

They visit eighth-placed Bicester this Saturday, who are just one point and one place ahead of them in the table, so a win would be richly welcomed.

Meanwhile, third-placed Berkshire Shire Hall host Abingdon in the BB&O Championship. The visitors sit second and have lost just once in eight games, so it would be a fine one for Hall to win.

Lastly, England rounded off the Autumn internationals with a superb 37-18 routing of Australia, with the second-half display particularly encouraging at the start of this World Cup year.

They've certainly taken a big step forward during the past month, although their next outing, a trip to arguably the best team in the world, Ireland, will be something of an acid test to start the Six Nations.