| First of all its necessary to thank Michel as he indicated that that was his last league match with the BRFC, having only known him for a season I should like to take this opportunity to say it was a pleasure to be on the same team as him and we are all grateful for the effort he has put into the team on and off the pitch.
And now to business. There is an awful lot of our previous match that many of us would like to forget, however, as is customary, a match report of sorts is required. This won�t be a very long one (hohoho) as I cant actually remember much of the match and in the words of one spectator ( the one with a gamy leg who collapsed like a girl before he got the chance to score a few weeks back) � �lads, that was painful to watch�. Indeed it was Barks, Indeed it was.
It was even more painful to play, with an injury list that that Sweeney Todd would have been proud of and some catastrophic first half performances by ALL of us the pain was indeed, unpleasant. Notable injuries came in the form of Two Names very early on when he decided to tackle someone with his eyebrow, although in fairness, he manned up and came back on later as an emergency replacement which showed good commitment. Unlike some of the tackling but I�ll get to that later.
The other blow to the team was the loss of Eudes after he decided to tackle someone with his thumb, not sure how long he�ll be out for but he will be sorely missed, for his inspirational chat and game making play, everyone hopes he�s back soon. There may have been other injuries, and if I�ve forgotten them I apologise as I wasn�t taking notes during the match, mind you, I could have given the pace of some of our lamentable attacking phases in the first half.
As we all remember the first half was nearly entirely spent in our own half, well, in our own 22 to be exact. Defensively we failed to drift in any sort of order and it�s a miracle that they didn�t put more points on us than they actually did. However, at the end of the second half, as is customary in the BRFC players woke up and started to actually raise the quality.
The second half was like playing with a different team and for that everyone should have some sense of pride. There started to be some sense of cohesion within the team and a real sense of wanting to actually win. The forwards started rucking well, led by the number 8 newbie Dylan, who put in some solid tackles and turned over quite a lot of ball- receiving a broken nose in the process, but proving that you can actually continue to play inspite of it happening. Good lad. He also made us ground by using his weight on a few number 8 pick ups.
There needs to be more attendance at training because we worked on really good practices on the previous Tuesday night then proceeded to perform none of it during the match.
For those reading this, learn it. When the ball leaves the scrum, the back row follow it in to first contact and secure it.
That�s BOTH flankers and the number 8 arriving at the same time.
This allows the second �pod� of props, hooker and second rows to form up and take a cheeky crash ball. Then it needs to be shipped to the backs. It�s not complicated, we just need to remember to actually do it. So forwards, remember which �pod� you are in and stick to it. If we do that, then we don�t end up with a collection of exhausted forwards who couldn�t push over a geriatric hamster.
However, as mentioned before, come the second half and the forwards started actually getting stuck in. Both props played very well and were a real asset, Steve played particularly well and was instrumental in our solid rucking, as was Damiano. Rick put in some important tackles and was as usual the steady voice of treason when it came to penalty decision making.
Line outs still need work, both on clarity and understanding of calls and on learning exactly who does what when the ball comes down. That said, there were some very good moments, again; with Rick jumping well and securing the ball. We are actually quite good at mauling, as proved when we stormed down the pitch at least twice, ball in hand- from the 9 spot it was quite clear that the opposition hated it so perhaps we should consider the rolling maul in our tactics for the next match.
However, mid way through the second half and things really started to lift for the BRFC, inspite of losing an important player like Eudes to a nasty injury, we pulled together and showed them we were actually on the pitch. Jasper stepped up and took the 15 position, playing well the entire match and taking over kicking duties when required- he put in some important tackles and covered the ball well when it was kicked into our half. It�d be nice to see him on the wing as he�s got some pace in a straight line, if our regular 15 comes back in from injury. That�s another thing, wingers have GOT to shift, both forwards and backwards. Neither winger played badly, with important tackles eventually being made, however, who ever is on the wing HAS to be hungry for the ball which means chasing kicks down the field to pressure the opposition full back and wingers and also, shifting back to help the 15 the moment the ball is punted our way. This is crucial.
Bez stepped up and played in the centres, made some important tackles and showed he is a solid all rounder and a key player, of course, he does need to go into contact with a lower body angle because one of these days someone will dump tackle him- nevertheless, it was good of him to step into a central role and while he didn�t appear overly comfortable, didn�t do anything wrong. Apart from run in to Eudes.
So what worked for us? Well, rucking was good- in the face of a very harsh ref we turned over a good % of ball and secured loose ball nicely. Mauling was excellent and in one case resulted in superb forwards try scored by Nico, who was a real presence in the rucks, mauls and scrum. There were some good moments from the backs, and occasionally some nice running- flankers need to shift from the scrum faster and hound the opposition 10 till he blubs but in fairness the backrow did show some good opportunistic play especially on the fringes.
Other tries came from the 9 shirt aka �Dwayne Philips� with one cheeky scoot over the line and another under the forwards, which was disallowed due the ref having a terminal optical failure. The 9 shirt also made a decent amount of ground on a few tap penalties and pick ups from mauls, he also made an awful lot of noise.
However, man of the match should really be Dylan who showed good presence on the pitch and played solidly throughout.
We WON the second half.
That�s what people should take from this. And if we can win a second half why on earth can�t we get fired up in the first 10 mins? Everyone needs to think really carefully about the next match and about what they are going to contribute to it, not in the last 20 mins, not just before the whistle goes, but for the entire duration of the match. We�ve all got to be actively going after the ball, and really WANTING to smash the opposition runner when he�s coming at you. No more shirt grabbing. No more half hearted running into contact. Its all or nothing now and for our pride if anything this next match better be a display of controlled aggression, running in straight lines, chasing the ball because you actually WANT it and forwards acting as they should, and can, in a pack.
We know we can do all the above because we did it in the end of the second half (nearly scoring another try from a rolling maul) so we just need to start the next game as we finished the last one- Fired up and ready to show them what we can do.
Ned |
