COLCHESTER Rugby Club head coach Danny Johnston knows his players need to raise their game when they travel to North Walsham today.

The Norfolk side beat London League division one north leaders Eton Manor last weekend and will pose a tough test on their home turf.

Eton Manor dropped to second with the loss, while Colchester moved up to third with a 28-10 win against Letchworth Garden City, but Johnston felt his players slipped from the high standards they have set recently in that game.

And he is aware that they can’t afford for that to happen at North Walsham. He said: “We defended superbly (against Letchworth), but if I was honest, I’d say we have to look to raise our performance in coming weeks.

“We’ve got the trip to North Walsham and our away form hasn’t always been fantastic so we’ll be looking for improvements.

“It will be about how we approach the game as coaches and as players and we’ll look for a response.

“The league is very tight and we know we have a tough run of games coming up now. “We know we have to up our levels of performance to beat those teams.

“It starts with North Walsham today.

“We beat them at home but we know they are a very different team at their own ground to how they play away.

“However, we know we have the capabilities to beat them.

“Of that I have no doubt, but our mental approach has to be right.

“There can be no repeat of the games at Luton or Westcliff when we let ourselves down a bit. “We have to be on top form,” he added.