KXS 3rd XV (41) v Dagenham II (27)

Match report

This was the KXS 3rds first game of the league season and the team was determined to get off to a winning start.

Dagenham, as we have come to expect, were not a small side but the game plan was to secure as much possession as possible and then get the ball wide quickly.

The forwards applied themselves brilliantly and although we never carried the ball much, possession was reliably secured from the scrum and at the ruck which gave the backs a platform to attack from.

Only three minutes after kick off, we won a penalty in Dagenham’s 22 and made sure of the 3 points to go up early in the game. This was good for overall confidence and the belief only grew from there.

Ten minutes later and some quick ruck ball resulted in the back line breaking up field and scoring a great try scored under the post. This was followed up 5 minutes later with another try scored from some beautiful forward and back interplay.

Dagenham came back strongly towards the end of the second half with two tries of their own and the game was in the balance but the Steelers managed to run in a try in the dying seconds of the half to go up by 12 points.

By the second half Dagenham were struggling with the pace of the game and with a few injuries. Good pre-season conditioning was paying off for the Steelers and we were injury free and not too tired at the restart.

Poor line-outs and several penalties meant that for a large portions of the second half we were defending on our line but the guys really knuckled down and withstood a long barrage from Dagenham. They scored twice but had tired themselves out in the process.

From then on we managed to secure more possession with the backs running through and around a tiring opposition. Three more excellent tries were scored and converted to make the final score 41-27 to the Steelers.

Most pleasing was how the team stuck to the game plan. A good defensive effort coupled with gutsy tackling and good pressure meant that we were able to hold off their big pack and when we had opportunities we were able to score. All six tries came from the back line!

A great start to the league season from a very determined and focused team.

Bryan Verster, 3rd XV Coach