IT'S been a frustrating season for me so far.

I missed out on the team that played Leicester because they decided to stick mainly with the same guys that had played in the Guinness Premiership final, so I knew it wasn't that I didn't have a chance.

But then I was picked in the team to play Worcester and I was ready for it.

I was really looking forward to getting out there again and then I picked up this niggling groin injury at just the wrong time.

I thought I would have shaken it off by the time we played Saracens but it started bothering me again and that was another game I ended up missing out on.

This week I've been picked in the team for Newcastle though and I'm fully fit and raring to go.

It's not been the easiest time for the team recently either. Against Saracens we missed out on a chance for a bonus point which was really disappointing, especially as we had dominated the game throughout the first half.

We've missed out on three bonus points now and although we're picking up wins, it's still the kind of thing that could cost us come May.

If you build up bonus points they can often become like an extra win and make all the difference in the battle for position.

Our performances haven't exactly been helped by the England training sessions though. We lost five players to England in the week before Saracens, leaving us with the time to fit in just one proper team session before the game.

We will be much better prepared for the Newcastle game though because most of the England boys will not be involved in the game and we have had the time to do some good team work.

I think it's been a tough start to the season generally though and a lot of teams are playing not to lose rather than going out to win because of the fear of relegation.

We haven't seen much good rugby but credit to Bristol and Richard Hill, they have done extremely well.

He has signed players to keep that team up, a bit like Sale four or five years ago, he has a squad he knows will do the business in that battle.

As a football fan as well as a rugby fan I've been keeping my eye on the whole bung' saga as well.

I just cringed when I watched the Panorama investigation. I couldn't believe some of the things these guys were saying.

It obviously goes on and now it's up to the FA to step in and do something about it in order to save football's integrity.

Thankfully, it's something I've never seen going on in rugby. With there being no transfer fees it becomes a whole different ball game and there is less chance for people to cheat the system.

Steve Hanley