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Rugby Colts B Team 'Blog' |
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RECORD : PLAYED 7 WON 4 LOST 3 FOR 175 AGAINST 59 Saturday 10th November v Moulsford (Home) Lost 5 -14 We lost 5 - 14 but we controlled most of the game, had the greater percentage of possession and terratory and did most things right apart from get the win our effort deserved. Credit to Moulsford who defended doggardly at times and took their 2 opportunities but it was Eagle House who played with greater ambition, skill and organisation. We started slowly especially in the scrums where we allowed them to push us around and disrupt the play but as the game went on the forwards started to control the loose play setting and driving over the ball to provide good quality possession for the backs to use. For most of the match we pushed up quickly in defence stopping the Moulsford backs from gaining ground but a missed tackle and weak cover let Moulsford in for the first try which was converted for a 7 - 0 lead. Heads high we battled back and scored one of our best tries of the season. The ball beutifully set back by the forwards was moved wide at pace along the line, running quickly and timing the pass well the ball reached Zeus in space who raced in to score in the corner - text book stuff. If we had done more of this we would have won! The next highlight of the game for me was some superb defensive play. From a lineout on our own 5m line we secured the ball, protected it, got on a drive before laying the ball back to Adam at scrum-half. The ball was quickly passed back to Elliott in the pocket who put a long clearing kick down field to relieve the pressure. Brilliant. We dominated much of the second half and if we had kept the game simple, driving the ball forwards in the pack before releasing the backs into space we could have won. Too often we rushed the play or looked for individual brilliance to win us the game but as I said Moulsford tackled with great determination and held us out. It was they who took advantage of some sloppy tackling to score again and win the game 14 - 5 There was much talk about how this was only Moulsfords second game of the season but they play many more matches in a season than we do, so in previous years some of their players have already played more matches than we do in an Eagle House lifetime. In fact it was our lack of experiance that really prevented us from winning. As usual at Eagle House just as we start to play with organisation, determination, teamwork and skill we give up and start football. No doubt by the time we are good at football it will be time for the hockey season!! As a group of players we have worked really hard with a great team spirit. We won well 4 times try to play exciting open and dynamic rugby and battled hard in our 3 defeats only losing against schools who have many more boys to choose from and play a lot more rugby than we do. I certainly enjoyed coaching you, I hope the parents who came to watch were impressed and entertained by your efforts and that you are alredy looking forward to next year. P.S. NO MORE RUGBY AT EAGLE HOUSE SO JOIN A CLUB AND PLAY ON SUNDAYS! Wednesday 17th October v Caldicott (Away) Won 26 - 14 At last we got back to winning ways but this was not our best performance of the season. We started as if the forwards were still in the changing room, being driven back in the scrum and loose and not competing in the lineout. The backs however have clearly improved over the last 2 games pushing up quickly in defence and moving the ball wider at speed and before contact. We took the lead when Elliott broke free inside his own 22m and raced the length of the pitch to score. A good lesson had been learned as he used his pace to go around the defence and avoiding the tacklers. It was not long before we found ourselves on the back foot again and weak tackling and no support from the forwards led to a Caldicott converted try to give them a 7 - 5 lead. Another converted try by Caldicott and we losing 14 -5 and in danger of letting the game slip away from us. Eventually we started to win loose ball and took a little control of the game. From a well executed penalty move we got the ball into open field and good support play saw Elliott run in for his second try which he converted . At half-time we were losing 14 - 12. Some praise and advice for the backs and kick up the backside for the forwards saw a much improved second half. Although still struggling against a bigger front row in the scrum the forwards started to dominate the loose play and we were able to attack around the the rucks and mauls. The half saw two breaks from Adam Bailey at scrum half end in tries, and with 2 more conversions by Elliott the game was won 26 - 14. We show at times that we can play good rugby but as yet we have not all played well at the same time. When we try to do the things we work on in practice we do well but too often players loose concentration or just do their own thing. This does not work. After half-term we will see a couple of players return from injury which will strengthen the squad and we have one last chance to show what we can do against Moulsford. Saturday 13th October v Papplewick (Home) Lost 0 -19 A tough and bruising game in which we may have lost the war but we won several exciting battles on the way. We lost mainly due to the determination, effort and some skill of a larger Papplewick set of forwards. They bullied and pushed us around providing a steady supply of good ball for their backs. We worked hard to compete and pressed and tackled much better in the backs on the whole limiting them to break from scrum half and fly-half. In the end it was the determined running and driving of the Papplewick forwards that we could not match. When we did get the chance to move the ball wide we did provide a threat and Elliott and Reece both made breaks before being forced into touch near their line. 7- 0 down at half-time and we were still very much in the game especially as we started the second half well and had our best period of the game but eventually fatigue set in and Papplewick scored 2 tries quickly to make the game safe and the scoreline a flattering 19 - 0. If we are to get back to winning ways against Caldicott then we need to see the same defensive performance from the backs and they must look to get the ball wider quicker and attack on the outside. The forwards need to keep working hard but it is time to see Nathan and Ruari and the rest of the pack driving through rucks and mauls and running with the ball.
Wednesday 10th October v The Beacon (Home) Lost 0 - 12 First congratulations to Adam Dewes, Zeus Sekwalor and Mohammed Rubbani who have moved up to join George Wilks and George Arnold Wallinger in Colts 'A' This was by far our toughest challenge of the season so far against a big, determined and well organised team from the Beacon. It was clearly going to be a hard afternoon for the forwards but they stuck at it and battled well to win some possession. I was impressed by the way that they did not give an inch and kept coming back for more. Well done the Pack. Half-backs Adam and Toby competed well and after missing a tackle to let The Beacon in for their first try Toby pushed up quickly stopping many Beacon attacks with brave and determined tackling. We had hoped to be able to turn defence into attack as Adam Dewes and Zeus had done on many occasions in the past but Elliott and Isaac were too far off the pace and need to learn how to score. Continuous pressure on our try line eventually led to a second and well deserved Beacon try to make the score 0 -12. We did have a few chances to score but a mis-timed pass or no pass gave the defence time to recover. We can learn a lot from the way the Beacon supported each other looking and passing the ball early. We have got the passion and determination, now we need to show some intelligence and concentration especially in attack. Saturday 22nd September v Oratory ( Home) Won 49 - 0 Another convincing win but the score in truth does not do justice to the hard work of the Oratory forwards who worked hard and competed well especially in the lineout. We struggled at first against some big lads to win any ball but as soon as we did we moved the ball wide and easily ran through weak tackling to score. This was the pattern for most of the match whenever we got our hands on the ball our backs were too quick and the points total increased. Zeus Sekwalor ran in three first half tries plus one from Adam Dewes, all converted by Adam, and Eagle House led 28-0 at half -time. In the second half Toby Barnard added two mor tries and another from Zeus to gave a final score of 49 - 0. It is hard to criticise the backs who attacked with confidence and pace when they got the ball and pushed up quickly in defence to stop Oratory making any real ground. Against better teams we will need to concentrate harder and all come up together (Zeus!!) and after the initial breakdown reorganise ourselves much quicker picking out the player we are marking. The forwards had a good battle. We srummaged well against a much heavier pack but did not compete at the lineout. We need to be cleverer and not throw the ball to their big players and look to be more competitive getting in front of the opposition not just waiting for the ball to reach you. We worked hard in the loose to provide some good quality ball for Adam at scrum- half but westill need to talk to each other more and make sure we know where the ball is before driving into rucks and mauls. Don't fight with your own team mate for the ball work together to get it out quickly.
Wednesday 19 September v Cranleigh (Away) Won 42-0 The good start to the season continued at Cranleigh with a convincing 42-0 win. We started slowly but soon our size advantage began to tell and after a period of sustained pressure Thomas Cracknell forced his away over for a try which was converted by Adam Dewes. We gained in confidence and the forwards provided a good supply of ball, srummaging well and looking to drive forwards at the breakdown. Cranleigh gave away many penalties for handling and offside at the ruck which allowed us to try out some penalty options. George Arnold-Wallinger eventually scoring from a set move. Adam again slotted the ball over for the extra points. The backs tried to move the ball wide and eventually were rewarded when Adam found a gap and showing good pace and strength scored a third try. He added the conversion and we led 21-0 at half-time. The second half was more competitive but again our greater size, pace and power allowed us to dominate the game. Adam Dewes again found gaps in the Cranleigh defence and sped away for 2 tries which he converted and at the end Zeus Sekwalor added a further try which was converted by George Wilks to make the final score Eagle House 42 - Cranleigh 0
The win will be good for our confidence and it was encouraging to see some strong determined running especially from Thomas Cracknell, George Arnold-Wallinger and Adam Dewes. Defensively we did everything that was needed, James Fowlie making 2 excellent crunching tackles. One disappointing aspect was that we did not show the same continuity of passing and support play that we did at Aldro. We need to look for support earlier and the tackled player must work harder to help recycle the ball. The backs need to run from deeper and look to time the pass to keep the attack moving, too often we just ran into defenders and held on to the ball. Lets look to improve again for saturdays tough match against The Oratory
Wednesday 12 September Practice Match v Aldro ( Away) Won 53-0 An excellent start to the season in a coaching game played in 3 sessions. We started positively, essential in any match, with the forwards recycling the ball quickly and the backs moving the ball into space. We dominated the first session with Zeus Sekwalor cutting through the defence to score twice and three well crafted tries finished off by Luke Orechoff and Oliver Cook and Toby Barnard. We made several substitutions in the second session and although continuing to do well in set scrums and lineouts the forwards found it more difficult to win loose ball with too many players standing watching and not driving forwards over the ball. The backs however continued to improve and we scored 3 more tries, two by James Fowlie and another by George Wilks, one a superb move with all the three-quarters carrying the ball , committing the defence before giving a perfectly timed pass to keep the move flowing.The combination of Adam Bailey (scrum-half) George Wilks (fly-half) and Toby Barnard (inside centre) looks full of potential. The third session was a scrappy affair, perhaps we were starting to get a bit tired, we tackled with great enthusiasm and determination stopping Aldro from making ground but again we found it difficult to turn over the ball in the loose. When we did get our hands on the ball it was moved wide quickly allowing Zeus again to break through for his third try. The match was a big success and will be good for our confidence but we must get our feet back on the ground quickly. There is still much we can and must improve on if we are to have continued success in the challenges ahead.
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