Gentlemen,
Well we came away with the win this weekend which was the primary objective. The score definitely doe not reflect the amount of possession we had. We probably had 75% of the possession but could not convert it into points. After 5 minutes we were down 5-0. We can't afford to do that. The long lead up to the game didn't help. We were very flat when we got out there and we absorbed pressure rather than create it for that initial spell. We finally woke up after they scored on us and started stringing some good phases together which we just couldn't seem to turn into points. That last pass just seemed to go to ground. We were awarded a scrum about 40 yards out and ran an excellent Silver down the blind side. It was perfectly executed by Mike May, Mulli and Tex. Tex took it all the way to the line and popped it up in the tackle to Rich Cobb in support to score for an excellently taken try. We pressured for the rest of the half but all we could come away with was a penalty to lead 8-5 at half time. 2nd half was more of the same. We pressured and pressured but could just not make that last pass or give away a stupid penalty to kill the momentum and relieve the pressure on the Renegades. Renegades had a lineout about 10 yards out from their line, we managed to poach the ball which was batted down to Matt Myers who charged down the sideline to score in the corner. 13-8. We maintained the pressure and were rewarded with another penalty 16-8. However, as soon as we heard there was about 10 minutes to go we went into "protect the lead" mode. That let Renegades climb back into the game and score a try to make it 16-13 with still a minute to play. As soon as we switched modes we took our foot off the gas and stopped playing our game. We came away with the win which was our primary objective. It could have and should have been much more and I know we all know that.

Some pointers:

LINEOUTS: These were an excellent area for us Saturday. We consistently took our ball creating a good ball for our backs and we also took a number of their balls which allowed us to put them on the back foot.

SCRUMS: They kept us under pressure in our scrums. We gave away 2 tightheads and 1 crooked feed penalty. We will be working more on these this week. It's definitely an area we need to solidify to create a good platform.

RUCKS: They were good and bad. We created some excellent quick ball at times and then gave away ball at other times. Remember we need to know where the ball is when we hit a ruck so we can get it back with our feet and not kick it through to the opposition. It's also important that we blow people off the ball who are going for the ball. We gave away a number of penalties for not releasing the ball because support wasn't there to blow the opposition off. This mainly happened when we would poach their ball in a lineout and take it up field and then go to ground. Let's have the urgency to get numbers there.

BACKLINE ATTACK: We ran some excellent phases and moves but the last pass killed us every time. There were plenty of opportunities that we should have taken but our handling let us down. A couple of times we cheated up and overran the pass so it would go to ground behind us and snuff out a scoring move. We have got to be ruthless in our execution so that we come away with tries when we are supposed to.

DEFENCE: Overall our defence was good. We were much better about getting up in their faces and stopping the ball getting out wide.

DISCIPLINE: It was good for 75% of the game. The last 20 minutes it started to get sloppy. Too many people started worrying about other people's games. We have got to remain focused for the full 80 minutes. And we can't start giving away stupid penalties. There were some bone head penalties given away in the last quarter by us just not thinking: hands in the ruck, losing our feet, offside at the ruck. Those are penalties that can cost points and games. Also, there is a captain and vice-captain on the field. Let them do the talking to the referee, to the players on areas that need to be corrected and also on our choices for penalties. Too many people gave their two cents to chip in that last quarter. If you have comments on something you have seen talk to either the captain or vice-captain and let them know. That way we have only 2 voices on the field.

We are now 1-0 in league play. We came away with the win and had a hell of a Bus trip on the way back. Most Excellent. I'd like to thank the guys who traveled down and didn't get to play. It really helped us having that support on the field.

We now look to this weekend and Charlotte B. It's another must win game for us. Let's have two good practices this week and work on the areas that need a bit of improvement.

Dan Roberts
Coach Greenville RFC



Greenville Grffins Rugby Club