We have come a long way...

STOP PRESS - worth reading the Sandbach report

http://www.sandbachrufc.co.uk/sandbachrufc/website.nsf/0/2496D819AD967590802578FE004F7C4F?opendocument

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With the pitches like concrete last week, we were pleased to be able to confirm to Sandbach that we were good to go at just gone 08.00hrs this morning. Thanks to team Hopwood for the early inspection.

From the kick off it was obvious that playing on the 1st XV pitch was going to stretch the lads fitness. Playing down the slope in the first half Saints knew they had to get up to speed quickly. Both packs were massive. Sandbach edged it in the tight and if Saints didn’t move it quickly when on the floor the green and red would pinch it back. It was going to be a good days rugby.

The match swung to and from each team. Im not going to do a blow by blow, but for long period only 2pts separated the teams. In order to do the effort and skills each player displayed I’ll break it down by units.

Firstly to the subs who didn’t get on the pitch, and the guys who didn’t make the 22. Its a soul destroying job keeping the bench warm and even worse if you don’t get on or even make the cut. However this was a squad win for the entire Saints U13’s team that we should be proud of. We only do this “A” team gig 4 or so times a year cos we know that at this age the current less able player often becomes the standout person in a few seasons time – please read the end of report outline for next weeks game.
Upfront, Matt, Andy and Daniel had a hard day at the coalface. They won some ball and often managed to grab it when we really needed it. Gilroy came on at the break and was up against a tidy Sandbach tight head who had given Daniel some fun in the first half. Well after a couple of scrums Mr Gilroy got the measure of his oppo and gave the Saints scrum a real edge when it needed it most. Matt and Andy punched holes and Daniel took one ball on the break that would have any Premiership winger getting his agent to put on U tube! Good effort from the A, B,C club – Standout to Mr Gilroy.
In the engine room, Floyd and Gio were up against a big set of lads, who hit the rucks and mauls in units rather than 1’s. This showed, and was where our front 5 came off second today. Often we won ball on the first hit and then got driven off. They stuck to the task throughout the game and kept going on a huge and muddy pitch that sapped the energy. We knew we would win the game when straight from the kickoff Floyd caught the ball and went straight fwd – about time as well!. Take a bow to the unsung heroes at 4 and 5 and respect the Sandbach tight 5.
Just to confuse the ref we played both Ethan and Dylan in the back row. The opposition coaches and ref thought they were everywhere, and they were! Matty took on the Nick Easter role at No8 and it was our backrow that gave us the possession we needed. Where we had missed dominance in the front 5 we got fast, clean ball from our backrow – it was priceless and allowed us to turn defence into counter attack throughout the game. Standout – Mr ODowd.... sorry Matt difficult to compete against 2 players!
At halfback Sam got the ball distributed effectively. With a big green and red front 5 we didn’t want to play in the narrow channels! Digging for a ball going backwards takes a special type of skill, good job Sean has great hands cos Scholes was just chucking it at him! At 10 – Sean must have discovered some type of grease/ invisibility cloak that he puts on. The number of defenders he beat today was amazing. Having played with his dad I never knew which way he was going so I kinda felt sorry for the opposition cos they had no chance. The side step genius is obviously coachable and has pass down through Tone to Sean.
We took the two Alex option at centre today. The idea was Alex would biff the ball up and then other Alex would glide into space – which is what roughly happened.?!? They dominated the scoring for Saints but the real work was done in cover tackling against a very handy Sandbach backline. It was great to see the two No12’s knocking lumps off each other – they will be at the Cheshire dev day tmrw where Im sure they will continue to “get to know” each other better. Standout – Alex
The back three of Nathan, Adam and Mike were busy today. With Sandbach taking the kicking option – I suspect they would have beaten us if they had trusted their hands more? – the back 3 had to work hard tracking back then setting the ball up. Nathan and Mike did this very well and were solid in defence. Adam was the standout in this dept. He watched the game, was never out of position and knocked over everything that ran at him. When caught deep in his own 22 with a three vs one, he didn’t panic, he looked at the option, picked a gap and went for it – class – well done fella, prob saved us the game in that one bit of clear thinking under pressure.
Well Ive said it b4 and this will not be the last time – it takes two good teams to make a great game.
The green and red front 5 should all be proud of what they did, their No12 was their standout player and it was nice to see their No15 not getting totally wipe out for once (pound for pound he must be the bravest man in Cheshire rugby!). To a player they were great lads, hard and uncompromising but respectful and courteous at the same time. Andy and the Sandbach coaches are always a pleasure come win or lose - great behaviour both on and off the pitch made the whole day a pleasure.
To Terry for his great officiating, he tells me the 40+ years practice has helped him get most of the basics right! He certainly added greatly to the event today with his calm manner and close control of the game.
To sign off, no more Greek philosophers, in fact I cant remember who said it but I just like it.
“I love to see a team who no one ever expected to win, win. I love to see a person who no one believes in, achieve what they set out to do. I love to see a coach really care for their team and push them to the limit. I love to see a team who works really hard all year and at the end, win exactly what they deserve. I love to see a team who can build up on defeats and learn from their mistakes. I love to see a player getting put to the ground and get up and fight even harder the next time. I love to see a player when another player is giving them bother, to be the bigger person and ignore it. I love to see a team when someone has lots of expectation on how they are going to play; they ignore what is expected off them and go out to play their best. I love to see a team who work together and play as a team. I love to see a weaker player getting credit for how they improve. I love to see the person who sets up the score getting credit, not just the scorer. I love to see a team who do all in their power to win, and never, ever give up.”
Tues night training on 18.00 till 19.15 at the club – just check the website if the weather turns again. Next Sunday AWAY at Wilmslow. ALL players who either didn’t play or were not in the 22 today will get FULL match time. Wilmslow are a bit light of numbers owing to half term so it will be joint training so you might even get some game time as a Wolf!
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