2nd v Trent College Lost 46-0

Men of the Match – Tom D and Nick T and George S

Trent were big and bulky – this was tough after we had faced a big Westbourne side in our last match.  As usual we started off showing some skill and organisation only for some of their big boys to bust through our back-line to score.  It is worth noting that, like the majority of preparatory schools, S. Anselm’s fields two sides at Yr7 and 8 but Trent field six.  This was always going to be tough.

The lads gritted their teeth and toughed it out.  Some good strategic kicking from Paddy C helped move us into the opposition half and our forwards began to compete increasingly well in the rucks and scrummages (though our line-outs were weak).  Tackling, although still a weakness, did improve and a greater emphasis on this ensured we slowed the score rate down.  Nick T, George S and Tom D all desrve great praise in this area.

The backs stood off the opposition for the early part of the game and did not push up as a flat line in defence thus allowing the bigger Trent boys to get up speed before they attempted their tackles.  However, this certainly improved and we frequently ushered their attacks into the side-line.  In attack the backs became increasingly confident and ran hard at times (particularly the B-Butter brothers).  Jonah G’s play at scrum half was sound considering he was often behind a pack under pressure.  However, we rarely ran onto flat passes at pace and chose to receive the ball and then decide what to do with it.  We also failed to stay on our feet and wait for the forward support when we were half held in the tackle.

This was a valiant performance in many ways but it was a tough afternoon.