With 13 first team players on the Weybridge Vandals casualty list last week, this weekend’s break from league hostilities could not have come soon enough.

Head coach George Pickersgill’s men have played six Regional Two South Central fixtures back- to-back thanks to the delayed start to the campaign due to the summer heatwaves.

The run has stretched playing resources pretty thin at Brownacres, but hasn’t stopped the league newboys racking up impressive home wins over Guildford and Winchester already.

Confident: The Brownacres brains trust hope a period of rest and reflection can turn the team's fortunes around after three straight defeats

Vandals have played three of the division’s top four teams in recent weeks and players have seemingly dropped like flies in that time.

But the green shoots of recovery were visible in Saturday’s spirited performance in defeat to league leaders Wimborne.

The break will further assist that resurgence, and Pickersgill is out to make the most of time away from league action to ensure his men are mentally and physically prepared for an important run of games in the lead up to Christmas.

“Speaking to coaches and players from other teams, both in our league and elsewhere, this break has come at a really important time for everyone,” he said this week.

“We’ve had a pretty relentless block of fixtures, particularly with the later start to the season, and most squads will welcome the opportunity to recover.

“For us, it’s obviously a chance to get a few boys back from injury, which will be a massive boost. But we’re also looking at it as an opportunity to come together and strengthen ourselves as a group.

“We want to revisit our values, reflect on where we are and make sure we’re all aligned on what we want to achieve this season.

"So although this has been a rest week, we’re certainly not seeing it as a week off from progressing.

“It’s an opportunity to reset, sharpen up and make sure we’re in the best possible position to attack this next block of fixtures. We’ve shown what we’re capable of, and now it’s about building on that.”

On the back foot: Vandals have found tries hard to come by in recent weeks after high-scoring wins over Guildford and Winchester, above

If league points were given for attacking prowess, style and adventure, Vandals would have comfortably claimed the spoils against Wimborne who were scoring an average of 48 points per game prior to the weekend.

The hosts dominated the opening 20 minutes but could not find the points their efforts deserved as the visitors capitalised on Vandals errors to first claim a 14-0 advantage and then – after centre Sam Bullett crossed in the corner – flex their forward muscles to lead 19-5 at the break.

Wimborne stretched their lead to 26-5 before captain Cam Edgar – back after missing last week’s trip to Havant – pulled one back to give his side a sniff of an upset.

But the visitors passed their stiffest examination of the season thus far and extinguished hopes of a fightback with a penalty and a try in the last 10 minutes.

The sizeable crowd in attendance saw enough to think good times were on their way ahead of clashes with the likes of Twickenham, Camberley, Bognor and Petersfield.

“The biggest thing we take from Saturday is a real sense of confidence in our ability as a group,” he added.

“The last couple of weeks have been tough for the boys, so to put in a performance like that against the league leaders, in front of a fantastic home crowd who really got behind us, was a massive boost for everyone.

“There are obviously areas we need to sharpen up, particularly our execution in key areas of the pitch.

“You’re not always going to get multiple opportunities in the opposition’s 22, so when those chances come, we have to be clinical and make them count.

“We’ve shown what we’re capable of, but one good performance doesn’t mean a great deal unless we can back it up.

“The challenge for the boys is to replicate that level of performance two, three, four times between now and Christmas. If we can do that, I’m confident the results will follow.”