Plymouth captain Grieve stays positive despite poor start

Plymouth Albion captain Iain Grieve remains positive despite the fact that his side currently sit bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship and are yet to register a victory this season.

The 27-year-old made the move to Plymouth after being released by Bristol in the summer, and was immediately installed as captain by James Shanahan.

He was one of 18 players brought in to the side and although the team is taking their time to gel on the field, Grieve believes that improvement will come.

"So far it’s been enjoyable, obviously not winning our first five games has been the un-enjoyable bit, but that’s rugby and we just have to get on with it," he said.

"As a team we are still learning and are starting to find out what we need to do to close out games.

"We have experienced players at nine and ten who run the show for us and some experienced forwards who have played in the Premiership and in France.

"It’s just a matter of trying to get everyone to stick to the same game plan, stick to the same style of play and start to win matches.

"As a team we are learning and we are starting to find what we need to do to close out games but at the moment we just don't have that, but it’s not far off hopefully.”

One of the reasons Grieve was happy to sign with Plymouth was the offer of playing first-team rugby, and the back-row forward has no regrets about moving on.

"I had a good time at Bristol, I enjoyed it and they treated me really nicely up there and I’ve got a lot of fond memories from there," he added.

"But I had a good chat with [James] Shanahan and when Plymouth offered me a contract. I saw it as a new challenge, a new chapter and an opportunity to play more rugby than in my last season at Bristol."

Formed in 2009, the Greene King IPA Championship is the second tier of professional rugby union in England. To keep up-to-date with all the latest news follow @ChampRugby on Twitter, or visit www.rfu.com/championship