Bury St Edmunds head coach Ollie Smith believes he will learn a lot about his side as they kick off a difficult run against the leading lights of National League Two South tomorrow afternoon.

The Wolfpack travel to Berkshire to face a Redingensians side sitting immediately above them in the table, doing so in confident mood after they beat London Irish Wild Geese 35-24 last weekend.

That win took Bury up to fifth in the table, ahead of a run where they now play three of the top four in succession prior to Christmas.

After the clash with Redingensians, Smith’s men take on leaders Chinnor at home before heading to Gloucestershire to play Cinderford, with the head coach expecting to find out exactly where his side are in terms of their progression.

“We said as a group just how important these three games are, considering where we are, and in three weeks time we will either be in a very good place or a not quite so good place,” he said. “So we will learn a lot about ourselves from these games.

“The challenge is to go out there and give it our all and see where we end up. Hopefully we can go into the second half of the season in a really good position to push on, but if not it will show us what we need to work on going forward.

“They are just ahead of us in the table so it’s the perfect challenge. If we beat them then we go above them or could drop down with a loss, so it’s an interesting one. “They are a good side, do a lot of things really well without being overly flash, so it’s a real challenge for us to show what we are all about and work on the things that could really make a difference.”

Cold weather and heavy pitches present their own challenges on the rugby field, with Smith confident his side will be able to cope as conditions change.

“We went down to Redruth in boggy, wet conditions and it’s never an easy game there,” he said.

“We coped with the conditions well and lost 12-9, but had we won I don’t think they would have had any complaints.

“We have proven against a good pack that we can get into an arm wrestle and come out as equals to anyone so there’s no fear there. You just need to play smart in the conditions you are presented with.”