1st XV vs Westbourne
The rainy weather that had hung over Bakewell all morning had cleared, the pitch looked superb and the 1st XV were close to full strength (Jordan W being the only regular player to be on the 'off games; list). The scene was set for a festival of rugby and if one looks at the result; a win to the tune of 48 - 0, one might think that all had gone according to plan.
In reality this was far from the truth as we flattered to deceive on many accounts. An Exeat induced lethargy, lack of practice or merely a lowering of one's standards; whatever the reasons, we simply did not function as a team and produced what can only be described as a far from satisfying performance.
The XV took the field against Westbourne with a game plan based upon doing the simple things well; to ruck with determination and sound technique, to ensure that we were well organised and efficient at the scrum and lineout, to run with purpose, to pass with accuracy and sympathy and to defend doggedly and intelligently.
We held our own in the scrum and certainly had the better of our opponents when we managed to offload the ball before contact. We even defended well against a speedy back division but, I am sorry to say, we failed miserably in many other areas. The XV were far from the closely knit team that had enjoyed success against Ranby, Abbotsholme and Wellow House and, on this occasion, performed as a number of individuals who were definitely less than the sum of their parts.
There are many lessons to be leant, none more so than playing for each other and trusting each other. Taking pride in performing the basics well (body position, driving in the ruck, timing the offload and hitting the ball at pace) are also high on the list of priorities and we will address these on Friday.
There are, however some positives to be taken from today's performance; Tom B (including a hat-trick of tries) and Rob H produced sterling performances in the back row and the running lines of James C (four tries) at outside centre were a pleasure to watch. Perhaps the biggest plus is that the XV were incredibly disappointed with their efforts and knew themselves that they had underperformed considerably. To be this critical when you have won by 48 points to 0 is testament to the high standards this team has set for itself. To win when playing badly is a sign of a good team but we cannot afford to play at this level when we take on Trent College immediately after half term.
As always there is a considerable amount of work to be done on the training pitch this week and I know that the team are ready to put in some serious work on Friday (they said as much at the final whistle today). They have developed enormously during the first half of the season and I know that they all wish to ensure that they continue in the same vein after the break.
Opponents Result Score Tries Conversions
Westbourne Won 48 - 0 James C 4 Ollie N 4
Tom B 3
Robert H
Next match - Wednesday 5th November vs Trent College (away)
RJM Oct08
Posted on
Thu, October 15, 2009
by admin