Missing Tacklers and Missing Tackles

Clevedon U11’s currently seem to be suffering from a severe case of the Benjamin Buttons! We are regressing at such an incredible rate I think I will have to get the tag belts out this weekend and plan for nappies the weekend after!!!!!

Of course I jest, but it’s very evident that the lesson Wellington dealt out to us on Sunday morning was very telling of the troops that were not there as much as those that were. We had four seasoned tacklers absent from the line up and unfortunately their contribution on this front was very obviously missed. It was strongly pointed out from the outset that our defence would have to be at its best if we were to nullify the might and guile of Welly, and although I genuinely believe there was a small improvement and better intentions all round, it showed how much we do rely on certain players to do most of the work.

At times we moved the ball really, really well. The lineout was pretty good and the scrum was nothing short of outstanding. So why did we suffer such a heavy defeat? Basically we let 3 players do the majority of the tackling to the point where many of us held off in the hope one of our muddy heroes would arrive again in the nick of time and save the day! This in turn led to an enormous lack of intensity in defence. When the other team have the ball you need to move FORWARD, TOGETHER and PRESSURISE. The less time they have on the ball the less composure they have, the less time they have to think, and the greater the likelihood of a mistake. Recently Chelski (in that other sport) gave a master class in how to put pressure on your opponents in a game against Manchester City (previously known as champions elect) and took away a victory for their efforts.

Man of the match had to go to Ricardo for his brace of strikes and constant cover tackles – at one point he made 3 tackles in a row! The accolade of Hero of the day went to Captain Mac who in the face of adversity kept his temperament well along with a stellar performance in the set and defence alike. I’d like to also mention Finn who despite having only played the game on a handful of occasions followed instruction and stuck his head (and shoulders) in the right places at the right time, well done fella, real courage. In fact I have to heap praise on all the boys regarding the way they handled the conditions. The icy rain was in their faces for much of the first half and aside from the odd grimace, involuntary shiver and drowned Chihuahua impressions, they shrugged it off and got on with the task in hand - letting Wellington walk through them!!! To be honest there was far more weather related complaining from the multi layer clad support than those in shorts, the making of men perhaps?

We now have a long overdue training session scheduled for Sunday where, depending on the weather, we will be addressing “intensity in defence” or “Individual Medley”!!!!!