Matlock U14 5pts West Bridgford U14 34 pts

Matlock U14 5pts West Bridgford U14 34 pts

This weekend reminded me that playing rugby is more than winning and losing. The result though important is sooner forgotten than the comradery and respect built between a set of players who ran, tackled , drove for each other and never once gave up when it would have been easy to do so. This was a performance that made me proud of everyone playing and all have my full respect as they represented everyone superbly. You were a Band OF Brothers.

Yet again we arrived at Cromford with some “senior” players missing (I’m beginning to wonder if they exist) causing last minute reorganisation and depriving us of our power in the forwards and speed in the backs. The team began the game uncertainly but determined and committed against a Bridgford side that we knew would be strong even though they had their own absentee who destroyed us last year from fullback. The game settled into a pattern of both sides being combative upfront and strong tackles being made everywhere but with Bridgford perhaps just a little quicker/closer in support and their greater size seemed to be a factor in the mauls. Both teams were running the ball both in forwards and backs but Matlock found themselves in their own half and though valiantly ran the ball out were finding it difficult to escape and with the breeze against them the kicking option was probably wisely not explored. About 10 minutes into the game a sustained attack with several phases won saw Bridgford eventually out flank the defence as their speedy winger took the overlap to score in the corner. The half continued in much the same way with Matlock battling to the half way with excellent play by Doyle and Wragg in the centre Hunt was also making some ground entering the line from fullback but with the real speedsters else where and the loss of the one attending sprinter in the first 5 minutes it was difficult to get away. The forwards were all playing their part with excellent covering defence by Hamilton-Cody , Buswell and Hatton in the back row the brilliant effort of two brand new second rows Greenhough and Braund, about 6 foot between them, digging in for the team. Matlock were winning their own ball in the scrums, testimony to Garratt, Johnson and Hall who were scrimmaging power dampened rockets up their backsides this week, and a little more than their share in the line outs. Forward momentum was coming from Garratt in the pack Hartley at scrum half was doing his best under pressure( Mr Woods ( ref) please keep an eye out for the offside line) keeping the forward momentum and making his usual try saving covering tackles. Simpson on the wing was hoarse from trying to organise the back’s scrambling defence and also made some good tackles. Much better than when he goes for the interception. Hunt too was getting involved which has been noticeable in the last couple of weeks. He now seems to be willing to take part in defence as well as attack. Despite all this effort Matlock were on the back foot and conceded two more tries without ever threatening the Bridgford line. The half time score was 17-0.

At half time the chat was about winning the second half, having belief, not giving up, basically continue as they had done but in addition think about employing some territorial kicking with the breeze now coming down the valley on to their backs. So the second half started and unlike the first half Matlock found themselves able to pressure their opposition line with some well placed kicks from Doyle and Clarke. Somehow they were finding that they were able to get a bit further with their runs but still we are not supporting the runners closely enough and too often turn the ball over. Decisions need to be made by runners on whether to go to or stand their ground. Ball retention is paramount. This part of the game was the most frustrating as Matlock pushed Bridgford back for most of the half but were missing the quality of the absentees to turn pressure into points and furthermore unable to match the Bridgford strike runners who once away couldn’t be caught. Matlock did however score first in the second half through excellent tackling building up pressure near the Bridgford line resulting in a mistake leaving Buswell to pounce on the loose ball over the line. Despite continued pressure Matlock were unable to add to their score and had to watch and suffer 3 break away tries towards the end by Bridgford making the final score Matlock 5 pts Bridgford 34.

I would like to thank Bridgford for playing the game in the true spirit and for their deserved win though I do feel the final score once again didn’t reflect the whole game and performances and I reckon they will have easier games and win by less.

From my perspective I now have more confidence in the whole squad, newcomers are not looking that and are showing real talent and promise. The attitude of the team was unquestionable and hopefully if we can get the whole squad together with the same attitude we’ll get more victories than defeats even with some tough matches coming up.

Well done team and thanks for the effort. Now lets get everyone available and really kick start the season.