Brad’s Bulletin Board
24th January – away at Richmond RFC ( Lost 33 – 12 )
The scoreline is a little misleading as we matched them throughout the game with one exception; a fast, large inside centre that everyone in our team refused to tackle! The adage goes that forwards decide who wins the match but the backs decide by how much. Unfortunately too many of our forwards were absent and not involved enough at the breakdown or in tackling in open play but we played cohesively and started to move the ball about well. Great, solid performances from Jamie, Sam, Liam and Dominic and Tyler was man-of-the match. Our tries were scored by Matthew and Hitman – that would have made a decent win-double at Ladbrokes! We missed the aggression of Dillon and the virtuoso skill of “Big” Bradley Stevenson but it’s definitely getting better. Bring on Watford next week!!
17th January – Triangular with Hertford B and Saracens B ( Lost 29 – 0 & 22 – 0 respectively)
This was our first match back after an extended Christmas break and sadly it showed! Some of the boys were rusty and most punched below their weight as, despite the scorelines, we could have held our own against Sarries. The first game was one to forget – great performances from Dillon, Adam, Jonathan and Dominic weren’t enough but we really fought back in the 2nd match.
Despite going 2 early tries down, we camped out on their 5 metre line for 15 minutes before a costly error allowed their flanker to run the length of the pitch and score. We were held up 3 times and this wa slooking more like a team performance.
Unfortunately our persistantly-poor tackling and the forwards lack of presence at the rucks is costing us dearly – at least we know where to concentrate in the training sessions! Richmond next week – bring it on!
( Would type this in blue but Spud has changed something and I can’t find the button!!! ) CHEEKY – simple stuff, here we go, done for you:)
29th November – Maidenhead (A) 14 – 36
This match was soooooooooooooooooooo frustrating! Two months ago, when we welcomed Maidenhead to us for our opening match, we were trounced and well out-classed. Today we were so close to a shock win, despite the scoreline. This was a massive team performance where everyone contributed.
We camped out on their 5 metre for the opening 10 mins but failed to score – they then got 2 quick tries against the run of play and this was how it continued. We had far more possession but a couple of foolish errors gave them another 2 tries and then, when we were pushing forward at the end, they fired home their last two, again in quick sussession.
Our tries were scored in typical forward fashion by Ryna Beaumont and Bradley Stevenson, both of whom could have had a brace with ease. Harrison Davies converted both with ease and it is a real shame that we didn’t go home with more to show for it.
As mentioned, massive team performance but Tyler Hone, Dominic Seiler and Dylan Mahoney all deserve special mention for their tenacity and grit.
We can go into the Christmas break with our heads held high and the whiff of vicotry just around the corner!
22nd November – Slough (A) 26 – 38:
A late change of fixture saw us travel to Slough on this dismal, stormy day. Relentless, driving rain and a raw wind did little to help the spirits, nor did 2 early conceded tries. Regardless, the boys dug deep and turned it into a thrilling victory. Everybody played their parts but particular mentions must go to Bradley Stephenson for tireless running with the ball, Dominic & Bradley Smith for huge defensive performances, great tries from Piers, Harrison and a brace for Tyler, a magical Captain’s performance from Callum capped off with a fine try and a Man of the Match performance from Dillon, our new winger, who scored a magnificent try on his debut. Bring it on Maidenhead – we’re ready!!
10th November:
Awesome work rate and effort on Sunday saw the best performance as a team by far, regardless of the result. Doj, John, Lee & I all blown away by some individual performances, especially the 2 Bradleys, Adam, Jonathan, Callum and Harrison. Well done – you should all be very proud of yourselves.
One or two of you really need to get more stuck in, make some tackles and have fun out there! Training is now more important than ever, especially for the pack, as our scrummaging wasn’t great, our line outs needed some work and our defending at the breakdown / overall rucking was very weak. Please make the effort to be there on a Thursday – we do know it’s difficult – but those of you who are absent are the ones that really need to be there!!
Well done to you all once again.
