It was actually quite parky, so that is no excuse, and in the last twenty minutes, they looked fast and incisive, and we were struggling.

The try before half-time was another problem.

What I noticed was that a lot of the players were barking at the tough judge (with some justification, to be fair), but it suggested some frustration on the players' part. We looked a bit beaten by the end, and had it gone on for another ten minutes, the gap in the scores would have got bigger, not narrower.

To be honest we once again run out of steam towards the end of the game. Considering some of the crap the players were eating on the plane going to France and at the airport, I'm not surprised.

On the plus side, all the team were really friendly and chatted with the fans on the flight. Special mentions to Smurf, Fergy & Luke who were great with the kids...but apparently not very good on the DS!! You wouldn't get it from those overpaid prima donnas in South Africa!!

Confidence is key in all things. Human Beings operate best when they do things unconsciously. Its what is commonly referred to as 'being in the zone'. When you don't have to think about what you are doing. It just comes naturally. That's why confidence is worth it's weight in gold.

As for how it affects experienced players, just look at the shower who are representing the national side in South Africa. Some of them look like they've never seen a ball before. Rooney, for one so usually sure of himself, looks like a pub team player rather than the player destroying all before him for Man Utd.

The very best players will dig deep and focus to get themselves out of a rut. Poorer players will find this difficult.

I thought the Quins result and the decent performance at Leeds would have given them the necessary belief to make a go of the rest of the season, perhaps the uncertainty over Kears future may have hindered that.

After 30 mins we're blowing - see it most games. As far as I see it this is part of preseason preparation and conditioning. We ought to be looking at what programs the backroom staff come up with for getting the team fit for a year in SL. Remember the fitness bloke we had in 2004 - we got stronger as games went on, often being down at half time and coming back to win.

Thats the type of fitness we need back

Sack the Conditioner

That guy is now at Bradford. Geoff Evans. He did a great job of getting a team fit, but that doesn’t seem to be helping the Bulls right now (although they have injuries and McNamara to consider which would hinder any team).