EVERY match is like a cup final for Harwich and Dovercourt Rugby Club.

That’s the view of skipper Sam Male, buoyed by last weekend’s impressive 28-7 victory at Ely.

It leaves his side handily placed in Eastern Counties League division one, with four wins from their nine games and 23 points.

Tomorrow they take a break from league action when they visit the Honourable Artillery Company, in the third round of the Junior Vase.

And there is a mounting confidence in the Harwich camp, thanks to the more professional way they are approaching matches.

“We’re treating every match as a big, must-win game – as a cup final,” Male told the Standard.

“That’s been our approach from the start of the season and I’m sure it will stay that way to the end.

“I genuinely believe we can fight and challenge in the top half of the table.

“I always thought that but you don’t like to say too much at the start of the season because you don’t know enough about the opposition.

“Having been promoted last season, we were stepping into the unknown, to some extent, and had only played some of the other teams in cup games.

“Now we’ve got a feel for the league and we know what we’re capable of.”

Male says the mindset within the club has changed – enhancing their progress after coming up as division two champions last season.

“Once the players were involved more for social reasons but now there’s a much more professional feel in the dressing room,” he said.

“The players play to win and because of that they’ve pushed that extra bit harder.

“The first team is full of driven players who want to go forward, individually and collectively.”

Male, nursing a groin injury that could rule him out of tomorrow’s trip to London, was delighted by last week’s clinical win in Cambridgeshire.

“I was over the moon,” he said.

“It was a really good performance, oozing confidence and commitment.

“There was a relief belief in the changing room before the game.

“I could sense it and everyone felt we could win.

“That shows how much confidence has grown and thankfully we went out there and did the business.”