Everyone Loves A Local Derby

Everyone loves a local derby and this high scoring “try-fest” proved to be no different. A very enjoyable spectacle with plenty of action and a good display of running rugby from both sides. Yatton have very much improved over the last 12 months with a well organised pack and notably a couple of quality centres who the Clevedon backline struggled to deal with all day.

Buoyant from last week’s performance and having won at a canter in the previous season it was important for Clevedon to focus on the job at hand, throw away any preconceptions of an easy day out and stick to the plans for the day. Despite all the chat I had a feeling the boys weren’t entirely switched on and for once my pessimistic clairvoyance proved to be right!!!

The “iron curtain” of tackling and aggressive press which has been slowly evolving over the weeks seemed to be cast aside in favour of “granny’s warm and fluffy fleece” and back to under 9’s tag rugby and “pretend” tackling. No press. No organisation amongst the backs. No low tackles. Therefore, is was absolutely no surprise when Yattons pacey 13 ran in a try within a few minutes. This seemed to wake the lads up and the next 10 minutes saw a bit of a backlash with Clevedon keeping the ball well and some strong determined opportunistic runs saw Dan, Rudy & McCauly score tries in quick succession. Particularly prevalent at this stage was our kick-off return, especially from Rudsta – who they continued to kick to for some reason! Yatton then struck back against the run of play with an almost carbon copy of their first try. Rudy replied once again with his second score of the day, spotting a gap at the breakdown and scorching through unopposed under the posts. Yatton weren’t finished yet and on the stroke of half-time scored once again – exactly the same player, exactly the same place, exactly the same move and unfortunately exactly the same poor awareness and commitment from Clevedon – taking nothing away from the Yatton lad who’s “halftime hatrick” was well deserved.

Half time score 26 – 17. 4 tries to 3 with only couple of additional conversions flattering the home side.

We are trying our level best at Clevedon to empower all the players to make their own decisions especially as things unfold during the game and you learn about your opposition style and particular players. It was very obvious from the side-line what had to be done to improve our balance (from minute 3) and to be fair it was actually painfully obvious to the players as well – it just required a bit of prompting at half time to get it out of them. Josh’s question ….” What? we can organise things our self?” will hopefully be the eureka moment. Yes, as long as it’s a positive move for the good of the team and there’s a sensible argument to back it up - the decisions are ALL yours. Take control, be brave and learn – it’s your team, your time, your enjoyment.

And so, reorganised, Clevedon looked to improve defensively and keep the ball alive a little more. Yatton’s resilience was excellent, they sensed how very much in the game they were, and took it to Clevedon. I would go as far as to suggest they had the better of the set piece and the upper hand in the rucks as well. However despite this Yatton struggled to convert their advantage in territory and possession in to points mainly due to excellent defence from McCauly, Tyler Scott and Dan. Ten minutes of second half play passed with no score before Tyler Scott gained possession in his own 22 and ran in a superb individual effort in only his second game at centre for the club. Not to be outdone McCauly replicated this up the other wing 4 mins later bursting through most of the opposition pack. Another long-distance effort was rounded off by the resurgent Spriggsy after some wonderful unselfish play by a number of players. Credit to Yatton who’s heads never went down and continued to plug away. On the 45mins mark they were justly rewarded for their hard work with another try from none other than the number 13 with his trademark ghost around the outside!!!!! The final play of the day saw Mac, who had been struggling with a groin injury all morning, limp over to for Clevedon’s try number 8 and the final whistle. All our second half tries came from opportunistic moves starting in our own half. A mix of good offloading, support and determined running along with some isolated poor Yatton tackling had been the theme of the second half.

Hopefully we can now look back and understand the importance of starting well. Not underestimating the opposition. Not being lazy in defence with a poor press and poor technique in the tackle. But biggest lesson of the day – always ask yourselves (as a team) WHY you’ve conceded …….the easy answer is “so and so missed a tackle” but quite often there’s a bigger picture. If this can be recognised and countered that would be an incredible step forward. Rugby needs brawn, but successful rugby also needs a sprinkling of brain.

Men of the day were awarded to Rudy – who seems to be improving rapidly week on week and grabbed a brace of tries, his first of the season, from prop! And Tyler Scott who was literally everywhere, making a nuisance of himself in defence and being lethal in attack. Two great debuts from Tom Lee, who was excellent throughout, and Tyler Leaman, who stepped up for kicking duties in Macs absence converting 3. Finally, massive thanks to Yatton and their support, as well as Alun who stepped up to referee in our time of need. We’ll certainly look forward to the re-match next year.