A Second Half to Forget

This eagerly anticipated Remembrance Sunday clash against Bath was a very……..“educating” experience. I suppose it could be considered unlucky to draw one of the cup favourites in the first round but we’ve set out our stall this year to raise our game to be more competitive with the 5 or 6 “super” clubs at our age grade and this was the perfect opportunity to gauge our progress in that quest. The score line would suggest we failed miserably, but in actual fact, if we scratch below the surface and despite a second half to largely forget, there were plenty of plus points to be appreciated.

Despite conceding after only a couple of minutes it was a dubious touchdown (definitely looking like a knock on from 50 meters away…... ;) ) and came only after some excellent defence from the home side, Bath working the phases superbly and eventually finding the extra set of hands to cross the whitewash. Our intention to press and disrupt the slick Bath handling seemed to be working well allowing the visitors little time on the ball and forcing a number of errors. Despite this, Baths class rode the storm and found themselves another try on the 10-minute mark. More frantic play ensued with neither side really able to grasp the upper hand. At last Clevedon started to enjoy some possession and territory although sheer individual determination was often preferred to keeping the ball alive and due to Baths clear superiority at the breakdown opportunities were few and far between. On one promising looking break Clevedon hearts were shattered when Baths outside centre intercepted on his own 22 and ran the length of the pitch and in doing so leaving a large mountain to climb for the home team. So, you’d be forgiven for the lads assuming the rugby gods weren’t on their side and to all intense purposes giving up on the game. However pleasingly it was in fact the Blue & Gold that owned the last five minutes of the half and were eventually rewarded for their efforts with a try on the stroke of half time for Tyler Munn, who was excellent all day.

Half time, and although Bath had certainly been by far the better team, at 5 – 17 and having had more than our fair share of bad luck the Clevedon boys were still very much in this game.

Despite the positive halftime “gee-up”, unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and the next torturous 25 minutes were a lesson in rugby and an indication of the chasm of quality between the two sides on the day. Whilst we had our moments they were isolated individual forays more than team endeavour, and the defence became sporadic, weak and undisciplined allowing Bath free reign to exploit consistent high tackle attempts, gaps left by frustrating “dog legs” and our complete non-existence at the breakdown. And so the sizable and vocal travelling support were treated to 6 worthy second half unanswered tries and a very lop-sided score board.

I genuinely can’t fault the efforts of our boys, it’s very easy to criticise from the side-line but Bath are a very polished side with an excellent blend of brain and brawn. In comparison, we seemed to leave all our “brain” in the changing rooms along with its best mate technique! Only the fantastic David Hervey tackled low, absolutely everyone else opting to go high with predictably little success. Only the brave nuisance Luke seemed to consistently compete at the breakdown – when we needed EVERY single player contributing. If you are going to compete with the best, first and foremost you need to play as a team. Everyone tackles, everyone defends, everyone supports etc. etc. I totally “get” as individuals you may want to show the way, keep the ball, take responsibility, make the difference but I’m afraid rugby is about trusting those around you, without that I don’t think you can honestly say you’re actually playing rugby! It’s a big lesson boys, but it’s one that needs to be learnt.

Anyway, after all is said and done there were a few decent performances and a good show of guts from most, but sadly definitely not one for the archives. With no confirmed fixture next weekend, we have to put the work into training and wait a fortnight for a reaction. Fortunately we have some proper tough tests against some of Bristol’s finest in the lead up to Christmas, which will provide the perfect opportunity to see if we can turn Sundays cup exit into a positive and learn from it.