Well, that was a weekend to forget, wasn't it? Another ten hour trip down the M5 to watch a hapless Sharks team humbled on a miserable night in Bristol, followed by England's humiliation on Saturday at the hands of Argentina, basically a scratch team who played with only four days preparation - boy, it doesn't get much worse.

If you also factor into that having your star play-maker, Charlie Hodgson, booed off the pitch by the hoorays' at Headquarters simply for not being the anointed one', then you'll understand why I might want to erase this weekend from the memory bank.

Still, let's look on the bright side, Christmas can't be far away - the pantomime season has apparently started.

In the space of ten minutes, Jason Robinson transformed from World Cup winning Snow White into the Wicked Witch in the eyes of Bristol supporters at least, after his block on David Lemi.

Was it a foul and deliberate block? Yes it was, but that's all part of professional rugby.

He should probably have been sin-binned by the referee but got away with it, much to the annoyance of the home crowd who booed for the rest of the match every time he touched the ball. Several Bristol supporters said to me after the game that rugby was losing all its traditional values and Corinthian spirit.

I felt obliged to point out that those values had gone the same way as the Corinthians. Rugby Union changed irrevocably when the game became professional.

It's all about winning now and winning at all costs. But what about fair play and gentlemanly behaviour, they asked?

Well, if you grew up watching club and International rugby in the seventies and eighties, you would seriously question whether these mythical qualities ever existed in the first place.

It always has been about winning. Nevertheless, Bristol rightly won the game in appalling conditions - we were poor, they were less so.

The only positive slant that could be put on the evening was that our defence stood up well once again under intense pressure and we denied any try-scoring opportunity to the opposition. Apart from that, little more can be said, though the Memorial Ground does offer a mean Cornish pasty.

I dislike international periods intensely; my team is shorn of some of its best players, and for what? Charlie Hodgson is a gifted and talented footballer who thrives on confidence and excels when playing behind a strong, aggressive and dominant pack.

He never gets this in England matches but is invariably singled out for blame by the baying masses.

As a rugby fan, I was appalled by the booing when he was substituted. No player deserves that. He played no worse than anyone else, in fact, a lot better than some.

Yet, he was the one who was vilified yet again. None of that team looked fired up or inspired and that, I feel, must be down to the coaches.

My biggest fear is that he will eventually return to the club shorn of confidence and that his form will subsequently dip.

The very same thing happened to Mark Cueto last year, a great player returning from duty' with little or no confidence in his own ability. Thankfully, he's now back to his best, bar injury.

Hopefully, when Charlie returns he will not be similarly afflicted. It's up to us, the fans, to get behind him, cheer him on and welcome him back to the fold. Come on you Sharks!