Gentlemen,
Well a very disappointing loss on Saturday. It was definitely a game of 2 halves. The first half we played the way we had practiced. We ran the ball hard in the pack creating good 2nd and 3rd phase ball for Stick to distribute to the backs. The backs ran hard and did a great job of keeping the ball alive to support players. We scored 3 good tries and should have scored a couple of more. A couple of dropped passes out wide should have been scores. The 3 tries were through good phase ball, setting it back cleanly and having the support to continue the play. We had the momentum going into the half up 20-0. We were playing the game plan. We kept chipping away and the gaps were opening up. However the 2nd half was a total change. Having a player sent off in the first 5 minutes seemed to take the wind out of everybody's sails and give them a boost. We suddenly shifted focus to protect the lead rather than continue playing the attacking rugby we did so well in the 1st half. Even with 14 men we should have won this game. They scored 4 tries in the 2nd half.

There were some key areas that we failed in the 2nd half:

DISCIPLINE: Our discipline in the 2nd half disappeared. We gave away far too many penalties at the breakdown. Forwards have got to keep their feet at the rucks. We also have got to make sure we are behind the last foot at rucks and mauls. The breakdown is an area we need to focus some attention on to make sure everybody knows the rules. In two games now we have given up a ton of penalties in that area.

BALL HANDLING: We dropped far too much ball in the backline. Out wide people were creeping up and overrunning the pass. There were a couple of opportunities when we had them beat only for the ball to go to ground. Communication is key to letting the ball carrier know where you are. Time your run to burst onto the pass. Creeping up during drills transferred to creeping up during the game.

URGENCY: We seemed to lose urgency in the 2nd half. As a pack we started to hope someone else would get to the breakdown, that someone else would run the hammer up the middle to take possession forward. As a team we didn't get back quickly on penalties to be ready for the quick tap. We got marched a couple of times for not being back 10. They scored one of their tries from a penalty close to the line that we were slow getting back on and let the player go over untouched.

In the first half as a team we played excellently. Our setpieces at scrums and lineouts was excellent. Our defence in the midfield was outstanding. We sent them back many a time with our solid tackling. We had excellent support play with good ball handling. Unfortunately when we tried to get our momentum going in the 2nd half we would ruin a good play with a dropped ball or a penalty.

We will take it as lessons learned and how important it is to play 80 minute rugby. We have the GRU tournament this weekend which will be some excellent rugby. Let's move on to Tuesday nights practice and work on correcting the mistakes from this past weekend.

See you all ready to go at 7:00pm tomorrow night.
Dan Roberts
Coach Greenville RFC


Greenville Grffins Rugby Club