Old Habits Die Hard

A fresh new season dawned as we made our way to the welcoming sunny pastures of Weston Super Mare.

To all intense purposes pre season had been highly successful and a new intelligent understanding of the game was highly anticipated and dare I say even expected! However unfortunately it probably took less than a few minutes to realise all that had been practised and promised was simply exercise at best as Clevedon managed to replicate a side that is still playing with the mentality and purpose of an under 8’s tag team. Quite simply 50% of the team are not buying into the “teamwork” philosophy; sadly they are individuals that have no intention of passing whatsoever. The fact we out gunned our seaside neighbours 4 trys to 1 very much camouflages the problems within our game. We scored because we out muscled our opponents with rampaging individual aggression and not because we looked for and exploited space. Of course this doesn’t make us a bad team, it is wonderful and admirable we have such passion and self belief; it’s just not translating into a very attractive ‘team’ ethic. There are 13 players on the pitch and they all deserve a piece of the action. That doesn’t necessarily mean our talented runners should stop what they’re doing and suddenly start passing for passing’s sake, the rampaging runs are exciting and very helpful but the end product is then to die with the ball and more often than not play is overturned or stops altogether. This leaves other players frustrated, disillusioned and assessing their own self worth to the team – it’s simply not fair. We have an excellent back three but how will they realise this and improve if they never get the ball. We have started to put in place moves in the backs but how will our backs learn to manipulate space and opposition if they don’t get the ball at the right points in the game.

Wow.......... that’s all a bit heavy for the first report of the year!!!! Sorry. I saw great things in training but this just never replicated itself on the park. Ball retention is the key, and our boys dithered like a waddle of penguins (yes that’s right…… ‘a waddle’ – look it up, very appropriate I think), waiting for someone else to do the work or occasionally affording an occasional half hearted open palmed push!!!!! Honestly, have the coaching team spent the last 5 weeks speaking Chinese. It’s probably my fault for expecting too much too soon but if I ask players to try something I do expect at the very least to see an attempt to do so.
Enough of the ‘Doom & Gloom’. At least I now very much know where we are and where we need to focus. It should be noted there were also some more positive facets to yesterday’s games. The tackling across the board was excellent – from all. Derek (our late transfer from Broad Plain) was fantastic, really showing us the way and capping his Blue and Gold debut with a well deserved try. Thank you to him for stepping in, in our hour of need. An early breakthrough score from Charles Charlie Charles showed promise in his favoured position of lonely centre, which was expertly converted by Mr Mac. This was followed with a nicely taken opportunity by Rudsta, again the extras added by Mac. Our big cuddly bear then managed to get across the line himself with an outstretched arm, with the old saying – “if at first you don’t succeed……” never more appropriate! And the final strike of the game was a reward to the aforementioned hard working resident ‘Plainhead’ Derek.

And so - a good result (Weston are no mugs), but a slightly disappointing one dimensional performance. We have to realise that sheer brute force may well seem successful, but in the long run we will get a real lesson from a team like Weston sometime in the near future, and with Old Bristolians and Keynsham due before the end of the month I do fear that ‘lesson’ will come sooner rather than later if we don’t evolve.