Howard hoping to keep the ball rolling

Warriors back Ben Howard is hoping his team can keep the ball rolling as they look for a 22nd straight win of the season when they travel to Bedford Blues this Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The full-back has been in scintillating form in tandem with his team this season – who sit top of the Greene King IPA Championship.

And he admits Warriors are looking to hold their place at the top of the pile as they approach the run-in to the play-offs – of which they are now guaranteed a spot after last weekend’s win over Rotherham Titans.

Howard said: “Now we’re top we want to stay there and now it’s down to us winning our games.

“There’s a lot of talk about the table but not about our winning run. We just take each game as it comes and with the run-in, we’re looking to win every game and keeping our processes in place.

“We want to continue as we are because if we’re bringing good outcomes and developing, we’ll have options come the play-offs.”

Howard came into the side for England international Chris Pennell at the start of the season and has since grasped opportunities with both hands, scoring five tries in 14 appearances this term.

And despite featuring at both wing and full-back, he admits he doesn’t mind where he is playing as long as he’s on the field.

He explained: “It’s been nice to get more game-time this year. To play more gives you opportunities to work on things and if you make mistakes you’re getting a chance to put them right the following week.

“I see myself as a full-back but it’s just nice to be on the pitch regardless of position. There is slightly less responsibility on the wing and you go looking for the ball a bit more and have a bit more freedom whereas at full-back you have to make a few calls.”

After big wins over Nottingham and Rotherham, Howard knows this weekend’s opponents won’t be a pushover.

He added: “We thought we were the best we’d been all season against Nottingham and we were eager to carry that into the Rotherham game.

“As a backs unit we were very clinical but we did make some little mistakes.

“We’ll be looking to put right this weekend as Bedford have a decent number ten in Jake Sharp. Everything they do runs off of him.

“Ultimately for us it’s just about continuing the momentum that we’ve got and maintaining that high standard of performance.”


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