Coaches Comment April 20

Coaches Comments
Saturday 19th April McLean’s College Bethlehem college 11.00am
Result loss 41-17 Rikki, Nathan & Merryck 1 try each & Peter 1 con

After last weeks game it took me quite a bit of time to sit back and reflect on where we went wrong and we won that game. Yesterday, we lost by quite a bit & yet it could have been by an even higher score and I wasn’t unhappy with our performance. However, when you are beaten by a better side you know you still have a lot of growing to do as a team. I do not have a problem about losing a game as long as we each gave our best and that is all I ask.
In terms of achieving some of the gaols set out for the game we fell short of quite a few –
Possession of the ball for at least 10+ phases when we have the ball. The most we held was 4 phases. (4 pick & go by the forwards). Need to work on maintaining the ball when we go wide. We looked dangerous at times when the ball was moved wide & I was extremely pleased with the tries scored by Nathan & Merryck. Nathan’s was a copy book draw & pass, putting a player through a gap at pace. Merrycks try came from a good passage of play where the ball was moved from one side of the field to the other – with simple draw & pass, finished off with speed & determination by Merryck. Rikki’s try was a good forward effort.
Goals for the backs- You ran much better lines as a result able to draw & pass. However, we are still guilty of not keeping possession of the ball & holding on too long. We need to learn to make decisions quickly & communicate to others so that they are able to support what ever is happening. KICKING – cost us at least 2 if not 3 tries.(Possible 21 points). There is a time & a place for kicking!!!!!!. Learn it.
Offensive & defensive positioning – Did we make the opposition think? I don’t think so & we will spend more time working on developing this side of our game. Defensively a number of missed tackles as opposition players stepped inside you. If he ran around you he has more speed than you, if he cut inside you – you were beaten. We need to learn to help each other out so if the above happens he is taken by inside player who is backing you up.
Forwards we were out muscled & will need to show more urgency when hunting for the ball– apart from Hannibal (size helps) a number of forwards were driven off the ball & as a result we gave away turn over ball – far too many turn over’s at ruck ball, due to poor body position. I will take some blame for this mistake. We will look again at bridging & protecting the ball at ruck & maul situations. Lineout jumping was reasonable & we won most of our own ball. Scrums, tough day at the office for a few players & more work on body position & technique will be required.
Choosing a player of the day – there were a few in fact 18 players tried their best. I saw effort & commitment from everyone. Solid performances from Merryck, William, Waldo, Gareth & Andrew. However, on the day a better team won
Remember to give me feedback on what your goals were for this game & how you felt we went. Plus pass on my thanks to families that had billets.