Down in the “Mouth”

Avonmouth’s pitches were unplayable due to the ongoing torrential rain, and so this fixture switched to a home game late on Saturday afternoon courtesy of the remarkable pitches at Clevedon School. Whilst many of our neighbours have been under water for weeks we continue to be able to play every week – we are incredibly fortunate to have these facilities at our disposal and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The last couple of months have shown a considerable improvement from the lads in Blue and Gold with an enjoyable and very promising string of results against varied opposition. However Sunday showed a definite step backwards by comparison. You know what you are going to get with Avonmouth, they are a hardy lot, well organised, strong in the tight and have plenty of flare around the fringes. We always have a good game against them and this encounter was no different. Unlike England’s unfortunate demise against a maverick France the day before, there can be no long drawn out analysis of how it all came about and how we can tinker to ensure success in the future. On this occasion it is upsettingly simple. Half the team tackle, the other half don’t (or won’t)!!!! What you need to ask yourself is what side of the fence are you on?

Against less established opposition the lazy gang can afford the luxury of letting their teammates do all the dirty work, but when you come up against better teams that can keep the ball alive you are going to be found out eventually. At times we were made to look a bit silly on Sunday. We allowed them to pretty much walk through us whilst doing impressions of people who are desperately trying to tackle but don’t quite make it! Next week I may have to introduce a new trophy, we have Man of The Match, we have Hero Of The Day......now all we need is an Oscar for the most convincing performance of trying to make a tackle!!!!!! Of course I am joking. And yes I am being really hard, after all the rest of the play was pretty commendable. But it is tackling that gets results, it is tackling that is half the game, and it is tackling that we have to start taking seriously if we are to progress, and I don’t mean with limp wrists and closed eyes (we are world beaters at that), I mean LOW with SHOULDERS. It is safe, effective and in time (I promise) good fun.

Ok, now for the positives, of which there were actually plenty. Well done “The Ox” who caught a loose kick and sprinted over from half a yard to claim his first score of the campaign (not really buddy it was at least 2 metres)! Major graffting honours to the Tornado and Big Mac who really put themselves about and each was rewarded with a try for their efforts. An excellent all round game from Ricardo who has definitely got his confidence back and tackled anything and everything that moved. Also really pleased to see such a fantastic turnout, it’s great to see a few of the fair weather faces venturing out in the dead of winter!!! The scrummage was very, very powerful at times ensuring good clean ball. Avonmouth were pretty adept at using the boot at the right times and I thought we dealt with it through good counters from deep especially from Mini Mac and Mr Munn. So there we are, plenty of good stuff, but some of us just let ourselves down in defence. The good thing is I know this is going to change at some point as it’s really not that difficult once you trust yourself and just “GO FOR IT"!!!!!