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Penicuik P6 Match Report
Simon's Match Report from Penicuik
In only our second set of matches this season, the P6s demonstrated that they do listen during training and that they can play as a team.
After the wet weather forced the cancellation of the Penicuik tournament and our trip to Kelso, the P6s were looking forward to a visit to Penicuik to play both the hosts and local rivals Dalkeith. What followed was some great team play and some very competitive rugby.
With Lasswade taking on Dalkeith in their opening match, the boys soon started to show off some good rugby skills. Perhaps what was most evident was the improvement seen at rucks. This is an area we’ve spent a lot of time on over recent weeks, encouraging the team to both protect the ball when a teammate is tackled and to challenge for the ball when they tackle an opponent. Ciaran and Robert among others are quick to think about protecting the ball first, rather than trying to pick the ball up. This allowed us to recycle the ball well during the match and by passing the ball, the team created some openings that allowed tries to be scored, Craig being one beneficiary of this.
Also encouraging during the match was the improvement in support running. Cameron and Liam have demonstrated this very well through much of the last year, but their great example is starting to rub off on their team-mates. It’s good to see others keeping up with the game, particularly when one player makes a break, and having a player on hand to take a pass led to a couple of other tries during the game.
A couple of areas however that we need to work on came through in this match. Although scrums are new this year, we struggled to win any during the game, even on our own put in. This is something to be worked on in training. We also still have a tendency to put in tackles above the waist. This is letting our opponents keep running with the ball and meaning it can take a couple of our team to bring down and opponent. Against Dalkeith, this cost us a couple of tries.
One final area that we’re working on is positioning on the field. With 8 players in the team this year, trying to avoid having all 8 players crowded around the ball and leaving gaps for the opposition to run through is critical. Abandoning the original idea of having positions for each player, we went with a far more simple approach of having 2 left-side, 4 middle and 2 right-side players. This still allows all the team to get involved in all aspects of the game, but helps them to think about where they should be if the ball in on the other side of the pitch. This approach seemed to work well during both the games we played and will be something we will continue working on during our forthcoming run of matches.
The second game against Penicuik was a far more competitive affair and one in which defence prevailed over attack, as the final scoreline demonstrated. Tackling in this game improved, and a word must go for “tackle of the day” (or really, double tackle of the day) which came from Jamie. Coming back onto the pitch midway through the second half, he made two copybook tackles in short succession, taking down two much bigger opponents with arms wrapped around their ankles. This great piece of individual rugby clearly gave the team a lift as they were starting to tire.
Our sole try of this second game came through the use of space. With a diagonal run from one side of the pitch to the opposite corner, Michael managed to touch down for the score. However, what was even more encouraging was that had he been tackled, he had two team-mates ready to either take a pass or recover the ball and make use of the space that he had found.
So, excellent play from everyone on the team today and a noticeable improvement from some of our more recent recruits, with Daniel, Leo, Marc and Craig all putting in great performances.
Results:
Dalkeith 2 Lasswade 7
Penicuik 1 Lasswade 1
Squad: Michael, Ciaran, Robert, Jamie, Cameron, Liam, Daniel, Leo, Marc, Patrick, Craig, Jonny
After the wet weather forced the cancellation of the Penicuik tournament and our trip to Kelso, the P6s were looking forward to a visit to Penicuik to play both the hosts and local rivals Dalkeith. What followed was some great team play and some very competitive rugby.
With Lasswade taking on Dalkeith in their opening match, the boys soon started to show off some good rugby skills. Perhaps what was most evident was the improvement seen at rucks. This is an area we’ve spent a lot of time on over recent weeks, encouraging the team to both protect the ball when a teammate is tackled and to challenge for the ball when they tackle an opponent. Ciaran and Robert among others are quick to think about protecting the ball first, rather than trying to pick the ball up. This allowed us to recycle the ball well during the match and by passing the ball, the team created some openings that allowed tries to be scored, Craig being one beneficiary of this.
Also encouraging during the match was the improvement in support running. Cameron and Liam have demonstrated this very well through much of the last year, but their great example is starting to rub off on their team-mates. It’s good to see others keeping up with the game, particularly when one player makes a break, and having a player on hand to take a pass led to a couple of other tries during the game.
A couple of areas however that we need to work on came through in this match. Although scrums are new this year, we struggled to win any during the game, even on our own put in. This is something to be worked on in training. We also still have a tendency to put in tackles above the waist. This is letting our opponents keep running with the ball and meaning it can take a couple of our team to bring down and opponent. Against Dalkeith, this cost us a couple of tries.
One final area that we’re working on is positioning on the field. With 8 players in the team this year, trying to avoid having all 8 players crowded around the ball and leaving gaps for the opposition to run through is critical. Abandoning the original idea of having positions for each player, we went with a far more simple approach of having 2 left-side, 4 middle and 2 right-side players. This still allows all the team to get involved in all aspects of the game, but helps them to think about where they should be if the ball in on the other side of the pitch. This approach seemed to work well during both the games we played and will be something we will continue working on during our forthcoming run of matches.
The second game against Penicuik was a far more competitive affair and one in which defence prevailed over attack, as the final scoreline demonstrated. Tackling in this game improved, and a word must go for “tackle of the day” (or really, double tackle of the day) which came from Jamie. Coming back onto the pitch midway through the second half, he made two copybook tackles in short succession, taking down two much bigger opponents with arms wrapped around their ankles. This great piece of individual rugby clearly gave the team a lift as they were starting to tire.
Our sole try of this second game came through the use of space. With a diagonal run from one side of the pitch to the opposite corner, Michael managed to touch down for the score. However, what was even more encouraging was that had he been tackled, he had two team-mates ready to either take a pass or recover the ball and make use of the space that he had found.
So, excellent play from everyone on the team today and a noticeable improvement from some of our more recent recruits, with Daniel, Leo, Marc and Craig all putting in great performances.
Results:
Dalkeith 2 Lasswade 7
Penicuik 1 Lasswade 1
Squad: Michael, Ciaran, Robert, Jamie, Cameron, Liam, Daniel, Leo, Marc, Patrick, Craig, Jonny
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