Following a superb second half performance away to London Scottish last Saturday, narrowly missing out on victory, Bedford Blues Backs Coach Paul Larkin is in positive spirits ahead of the big clash with Plymouth Albion this weekend at Brickfields (KO 3pm).

Gaining their first two points of the new Championship season and scoring four tries in the capital against the league’s leading form side may be considered a good result, but having been denied a controversial try by Paul Tupai in the closing moments the Blues are rather reflecting on what should have been.

On reflection of how the team played, Larkin said: “When you play a game like that away from home and especially after the interval play so well, there is a slight frustration in not getting all five points. When you add to that the try that should have been, we were rather unlucky to not have come away with the spoils.

“To put ourselves in that position in the last ten minutes of the game we felt we deserved the win especially when we crossed the line in two of the final plays, but that is rugby and either way it has given us a boost ahead of this coming weekend.”

Despite the loss, the team has shown a tremendous amount of improvement since their opening match and confidence is high going into another tough away fixture. Larkin is positive they can take the level of energy and performance they showed in the London Scottish game into Saturday’s match.

The former Northampton Saints and Exeter Chiefs coach added: “There have been improvements throughout every game we have played which is very encouraging from a coach’s point of view. The forwards’ work on Saturday was particularly pleasing and impressive which gave the backs a platform to play from and express the free flowing rugby we know they are capable of.

“Overall confidence in the camp is continuing to grow. The boys have remained confident throughout pre-season and over the last few games, we are certainly not in panic stations because of a couple of losses, in fact following Saturday the performance is already coming.

“I have no doubt we can continue the momentum we had in the second half of the London Scottish encounter and carry this into the Plymouth game, but there are obviously still many areas to work on.

“Plymouth are a different side to Scottish so we need to work on different things. They will be very well organised and use a different defence system, but if we play like we did in the latter stages of Saturday’s game we’re confident we can break them down.

“A win this weekend would be everything. I understand how the supporters must be feeling and there’s no doubting Plymouth are a strong team offering no guarantees, but we are buoyed by Saturday as they will be after matching Rotherham away which makes this weekend a crunch match.

“But come Saturday we will be in Plymouth attempting to leave with victory and in my mind this team can produce the performance to win away anywhere in this league.”