|
|
|
|
|
2006/07 Match Reports
14 April 2007
Metro Master Brew
A disappointing result for my final game as captain in a game played
in conditions more suited to Cricket or drinking and sunbathing (the
latter of which I did for most of the game). Cheers Steve
RBS RFC 24 Charlton Park 2nd XV 24 Firstly, it was good to see Ginger Stevens patrolling the touchline again (Welcome back
Ginger).
This was a game where for 40 minutes we were very good and for the other 40 we switched
off. Having arrived late due to bad traffic and the fact the skipper probably had the meet
time too late for a 2pm kick off - we did not have any time to warm up and started the
game cold. On the other hand Charlton Park started very strongly with their pack
dominating and only some excellent defence in our own 22 for s sustained period kept them
out.
We gradually got in to the game and a well worked move saw Chris Wichard go in under the posts
for the score. We then let oppo back into the game and following some missed tackles they
scored in the corner. For the latter part of the first half the teams cancelled each other out with
neither side getting any control on the game.
The second half was a see saw affair - Mahoney went over for us increasing the lead to 14 - 5
before 2 tries against saw us 17 - 14 down with only a few minutes to go.
A change in prop had seen their forwards regain control and we were unable to get out of our own
half. However a rare flurry in to the oppos 22 saw an infringement and Matt slotted the penalty
to level the scores with only minutes to go. At that point we would have settled for a draw – however
from the kick off a well worked move saw Matt run in from our own half and then added the
conversion to put us 24 - 17 up.
We managed to regain possession from the kick off put a knock on from led to their put in at the
scrum and with the ref saying next time the ball is dead the game is over we went to sleep a little
and with a well worked move from their backs down the blind side they managed to run in a try
which was duly converted to level the scores.
Thanks to David for bringing his brother in law Marc down to play scrum half - it was also good to
see Steve Tate and Ken back in action for us. Also welcome to the front row to Dan - who came on
as Les' replacement and despite asking the ref and the oppo to be careful as it was his first game at
prop (probably a mistake) he found himself 6 feet up in the air at the first scrum - don-t worry Dan
it can only get better.
Next week is a home game against Brocks 2's at the moment with a 3pm kick off - please confirm
your availability to me ASAP so we can card the side.
Please make the effort for training over the last couple of weeks of the season - the pitches I am
sure will be ok this week.
A game we should have won but we took our foot of the pedal having taken a 10 point lead early in the 2nd half. In the first half an excellently taken try by Phil and a Jerry penalty saw us take an 8-0 lead before we allowed Becks to have a 5minute spell of domination through their half backs mainly which resulted in them slotting a penalty. Good scrum ball and line out possession saw us provide plenty of first phase ball to the backs but again the forwards were not aggressive enough in the lose play and were cancelled out at many times throughout the game. In the second half the slope of the pitch finally took it's toll and they managed to score to tries one from a fumble over the try line which eventually fell to one of their players or more accurately one of their players fell on it. The second was a break away by their flying winger from his own 22 and whilst Les made a valiant effort to fall in his way this was a slight mis match. Our tackling then let us down and Becks ran in a couple of late tries. Thanks to everyone who played, especially Jerry, Paul, Phil, Rob and Mahoney for playing out of position although Scrum half does now appear to be Jerry's position.
Saturday 17 February
2007 Masterbrew
League Don't really know what went wrong with this one - we never really got in to the game in the first half and every time OD's got the ball they looked dangerous and ran in 30 unopposed points in the first half. In the 2nd half we did up our game a scored a good try through Sam following an excellent rolling maul from the forwards and then Phil went over for a good score following a well worked backs move. Our final score was again as a result of the forwards taking on a driving maul which was bought down by the oppo in front of the posts with a penalty try being the result - we won the second half 15 - 12 but the result was never in any doubt. Our main problem was our tackling - yes they had some strong runners but we consistently failed to bring them down with the first tackle meaning far too many of our side were committed early leaving many an overlap out wide for our wingers to cover. It was disappointing the oppo turned up without a front row which played to their strengths as they were able to play faster fitter forwards whilst we actually had spare front row and a strong 2nd row - this benefit being negated as we were unable to scrummage. However we did not play to our strengths and the ball did not go wide when it should have done early on to test their backs out (my fault for bringing in a guest scrum half) and also we did not use the rolling maul enough in the first half mainly because we did not have enough forwards up with play. Unfortunately throughout the first 60 mins we lost Andy and David with head injures and Sam with a leg injury and these 3 were probably the fittest amongst our forwards - no disrespect to the others!!!! Lets put this defeat behind us - we still get the points ( I am told) as they did not have a front row at the start, so effectively we are still unbeaten in the Met League since we joined. We all need to remain positive and look forward to then ext few games. I have e mailed the players separately for availabilities for next 2 weeks so please get back to me asap.
Saturday 27 January 2007
- Kent Metro Masterbrew This was a game we had won, then nearly lost and finally scored at the end to secure
victory.
A bright start saw us take control with some excellent handling along the back line with
Stu, Grant and Paul quickly getting a good understanding. This led to a well worked move
to the wing where Tim Kirby managed to cut inside their winger to go over to score his
first try for the club (so I am told) Tim be warned!!!!.
The game became a little ragged with ball being lost and us not matching their aggression
in the loose play and conceding turnover ball to often - we need to work on ball retention
and perhaps not going that step too far without sufficient support - we have trained for a
number of seasons now with a view to getting the ball to the back so lets continue to work
on this to make Saturday afternoon’s a little easier.
Phil then took over and had a field day breaking tackles on a regular basis and he scored 2
tries from wing in the first half and then clinched the decider with minutes to go to
complete his hat trick.
It was good to see the wingers getting the scores with some well worked backs moves and
when we had the ball we looked dangerous. Our strength is in the backs and we must
concentrate on maximising our use of these attacking options.
Training is on today and next week and we next play against Park House on 10 Feb so please
confirm your availability asap - please also state if you will still be ok if this is an early kick
off.
Sat 20 January 2007 - RBSRFC 5 HSBC BigBoys XV 38
Scorers Try O'Sullivan
Scorers Tries Phillips
2, Gellion, Black, Mahoney
Saturday 30 December
2006 Given the conditions this was a game the forwards enjoyed but not as much fun for the backs. We played against the elements in the first half and OD's were able to kick well for field position although the tries they scored were mainly from breakaways. When we had the ball in hand we looked good when conditions allowed, with Kevin, Alex and Phil combining well. Unfortunately we found ourselves 21 - 0 down after 30 minutes but pulled this back to 21 - 7 at half time after a good rolling maul saw skips fall over the line with the ball. He then tried to go off for a rest but firstly the ref said no as it was nearly half time and then coach over ruled. The second half saw the weather worsen and we were never fully able to take advantage of the conditions to gain field position. Everyone knuckled down and the defence (particularly in midfield) was very good as they had some strong runners in their back line. Whilst we managed to hold them out we could only respond with a well taken try from Richard with 10 minutes to go. I think the last 2 games we have played have shown how much more enjoyable the game is when competing at the right level - everyone enjoyed the reunion day win and despite the result and the conditions there were a lot of positives to take from Saturday. Lets all now make the effort to get to training to develop the new players that are coming along and who we can now give the opportunity to play at the right level so we can all improve. Our next game is away to Old Elthamians 3's on Saturday so please all make yourselves available and let me know as soon as possible. Do not forget training has restarted Tuesday's at 7.15. Cheers Steve
Saturday 16 December
2006 After a tricky week getting a side out we then lost our opposition at 2pm on Friday but managed to pick up one of the Beccehamians teams late on Friday night to avoid having to cancel the game on Reunion day - thanks to them for agreeing to come along and thanks to everyone who turned out. I think everybody enjoyed the game, supporters and players, which despite the scoreline was an evenly fought contest with it only being 7-0 at half time. Everyone contributed to the performance, I thought our defence was very good and once we got the ball out to the backs we always looked like scoring. Up front we won plenty of ball at the set piece ands apart from one spell where Beccs were driving at us through their forwards we were also winning good ball in the loose. At this level we can all enjoy our rugby after Xmas. Don't forget we have a club game away to Old Dunstonians on 30 December (for those of you who do not know where that is - it is only a 5 minute drive from the club - so please let me know your availability for that ASAP. Training restarts on Tuesday 2 January and I have asked the sports club if they can put the mobile lights in a corner of the ground which we can use even if the pitch is waterlogged so hopefully we will not have to cancel too many more sessions unless pitches are frozen of course. I would like to thank everyone who has helped out so far this season and lets now all work towards making the 2nd half of the season both successful and enjoyable for the club as players and as supporters. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and wish you all the best for 2007. Cheers Steve
Friendly
2 December 2006 The spirit in the squad was good and from the kick off we took the game to them with the forwards driving the maul up field and the backs running good lines. Stuart, Alex and Paul being particularly strong. However Greenwich finally got back in to the game and took the lead with an early penalty. Following this they pressured our line for a while but good defence saw us hold out. We eventually got out of our own 22 and started to use the wind to get the ball up field and we were presented with a number of kickable penalties which I declined (probably wrongly) as I thought it better to use the scrum and line out to try to get the try (after all it was now a friendly). Unfortunately we could not convert this pressure as the Greenwich defence held strong. Eventually we did take the kick and went in to half time at 3 - 3. Sadly we had lost Stu Barry on his comeback to a nasty eye injury and thanks to Paul Harper for stepping up in to the fly half role where I thought he excelled. This meant Karl making a first start for us and his first effort was to catch the high ball only to be absolutely flattened by their man mountain flanker. Unfortunately in the 2nd half we were not able to win enough ball up front for our backs who were clearly stronger to use and we need to work on line out as a must as we need this ball. Both teams cancelled each other out in the 2nd half and apart fro a break by Grant (helping us out at Scrum half) neither line was threatened until with 8 minutes to go their winger latched on to a loose ball and managed to evade the tackles to run the length of the field to score in the corner. We could not come back from this and the eventual final score was 10 - 3. Thanks to everyone who played on Saturday and the spirit was good. You will all know by now that we have been thrown out of Kent 3 and our decision is now to decide whether 1) we can carry on 2) We fulfil the Kent 3 fixtures as friendlies or 3) we join n the with met league teams playing at a lower level to build confidence. This is a decision for the players but if we are to continue to play as a club the commitment shown by the players on Saturday has to be reflected through the club with everyone making themselves available as much as possible - we cannot commit to another set of fixtures and then find us pulling out regularly again and lose any credibility we may still have. Please let me know ASAP of your playing intentions for the new year so we can see if any option is viable. In the meantime we have the following
fixtures left this year: Saturday 30 December - Friendly away to Old Dunstonians 4's always a good day Please confirm your availability for all ASAP. Thanks Steve
Saturday 21
October 2006 – League
Match Kent Three
Another fixture where we cam up against a very good side
who outfought us in key areas on the park. Again there were good signs and the priority must be
to stay positive as we gel together as a team - the plus point to me was that
we managed to fulfil this fixture despite our ever growing injury list -
thanks to all those that turned out and also to Jerry, John English and
Youngie for helping get players together. I think special mention must go to Merv who had an
outstanding game and also scored his first try for the club and also to Moses
who played extremely well at full back in out hour of need.
Saturday 14
October 2006 – League
Match Kent Three Not much to say about the game the game OW's are likely to win the league this season they were a very strong outfit and deserved their win. However having said that there were a couple of plus points with our scrum pushing them backwards at will despite them claiming not to have gone backwards all season and despite the result our tackling was very good at times - it is difficult to cope with a 4 man overlap every time especially when you are playing with only one winger and 3 forwards at fly half, centre and the other wing. The game would have been a lot closer had we not lost Matt Phillips in the first 5 minutes, then Nick Allsion after about 20 minutes and then fly half replacement Delano at half time. Thanks to every one who played out of position but especially Joe Jordan for covering full back and centre, Andy for playing in the wing and Richard for donning his kit despite being unable to walk to come on at fly half - he will never forget his dummy on their fly half and sadly probably neither will we but we will try to forget his kick offs and there were plenty of them. Seriously we now have a number of players (particularly backs) out with long term injuries and I am sure you all join me in wishing them a speedy recovery. We have a league fixture this weekend at home to Bexley and we need all the help we can get to field a side. We all now have to think about the club and helping out where possible as if we are unable to fulfil this fixture and other forthcoming league fixtures the future of the club will again be in jeopardy. We all know the rugby season runs from September to April and there are games every Saturday - however there are only 12 league weekends left and you all know when they are - please help us out by ensuring you are available on these weekends - we need the established players to help the new players. I know everybody has commitments and some things are unavoidable but when we only have a small playing base we need to make every effort to be available. See you at training (if you can walk - or even if you cannot). Steve
Saturday 7 October 2006 - Powergen London Kent Three
Scorers Tries - James Beavis 3, Matt Phillips 2, Paul
Harper, Delano, Phil Black A good run out which enabled us to give all the new players a run out prior to our next league game. All equipped themselves well with Paul scoring under the posts probably with his first touch of the ball for the club. The backs looked strong throughout with some good running lines and some solid tackling - the forwards gradually came in to the game winning some good ball in the tight and on occasions also winning in the loose. The main thing is to work on out overall fitness as we allowed Park House back into the game as the match wore on as they were the fitter side (up front) come the end. Lets hope we can build on this performance in the league games over the next couple of weeks so please all make yourselves available for selection. See you at training Steve
Coutts Rugby
|
|
|
