Coaches Corner - Preview of Belsize Park & Slough
Hello and welcome back to another weekend of thrilling rugby as we host Belsize Park on Saturday for a 2.30pm KO.
Before we take a look at this weekend’s game, a few thoughts on our previous fixture against Aylesbury. For us it was another important victory extending our winning run to 7 and seeing us go ahead of London Irish on points scored into 4th place with 34 points. In the first half we played some of our most impressive rugby of the season. We were solid in defence and we played some fluent attacking rugby carving through the defence at will. Our attacking dominance was through some impressive performances from Gucklhorn and Broughan along with the new centre combination of Hooper and Brindley.
In the second half it was a different story. Aylesbury came out with renewed vigour, determined not to be embarrassed on the scoreboard and they completely changed the game. They dominated in both the scrum and the lineout and therefore controlled most of the possession. Despite some good defence from us our efforts were rarely rewarded and conceding some penalties meant we were then defending our line for periods of the game. Credit must go to Aylesbury for their fight back and it must be frustrating for their coaches that they couldn’t put in an 80 minute performance.
For us there are learnings in that we must be more effective in our set piece and keep developing. Sometimes in the scrum you just have to take the lesson and then learn from it going forward. In the lineout there are some basic things we need to do to a higher standard to ensure we remain competitive in this area. If we are serious about competing at the top of this league, which we should be (HAC in 1st place are only 6 points ahead), then we need to ensure we have a solid platform at set piece to build our attacking rugby from. It has been pleasing to see our outstanding forwards coach Lee Goodall analysing our performance and introducing some new things this week which we believe will see us take steps forward. Of course the expectation is now that our forwards go and deliver on the pitch this weekend.
One thing that was excellent for the Aylesbury game was the clubhouse. Before the game there was a real buzz for the pre-match lunch. Mutual friendships across both clubs coming together and catching up and sharing memories. Then after the game a busy bar to watch the Internationals and our returning 2’s team fresh from their annihilation of A&C. A full clubhouse and 2 wins for our senior squads made for a great atmosphere. Long may that continue.
So to this Saturday. Belsize Park are one place ahead of us in 3rd position with the same numbers of wins and losses but a couple more bonus points to their name. I am excited for the fixture as it’s my first time facing them and I'm intrigued to see what they have to offer. Another London club that trains once a week and like most of the city sides have a huge player pool to pull from. They possibly struggle for consistency at times but they clearly have a lot of talent in their team. For us it’s another opportunity to test the limits of our potential against a good level 6 team. We will focus on how we want to play and hopefully provide them with some problems.
With regards to selection as always there are a few issues we have to find solutions to. Henry Revill needs another week to recover from a shoulder issue so that will see Freddie Hooper continue in the 12 shirt. Freddie had an excellent game at 12 last time out and his physical presence combined with good distribution skills and awareness is a weapon that our electric backs can feed off. We welcome back both the Howells boys at 9 and 13 respectively and as two of our standout performers this season we look forward to them taking us to another level.
In the pack we are without Berryman and Saganowski which means last match’s Man of the Match Barney Gucklhorn moves into the row with James Findlay. In the back row Amos and Rendall continue but we wanted to balance that out with a big ball carrying threat. Normal loosehead Braiden Broughan is going to get a shot in the 8 shirt. Braiden has outstanding footwork and acceleration and I know he is going to provide us with some serious forward momentum off the base of the scrum and around the park. Developing players positional flexibility is something we as a coaching team are working hard on as it allows us to adapt tactically for different games and changing availability.
Finally it’s been a busy week at the club. For those who have been down this week you will know that Apple TV has taken over clubhouse usage as well as our back fields and car park (don’t worry all will be back to normal for this weekend!). From a senior team point of view it has restricted us a little, limiting us to use of a single changing room. The players have embraced the change as they seem to do in all challenges they face and Ange has done an excellent job at keeping us fed and watered. Parking has been another interesting challenge!
The reason I mention this is not to whinge but to highlight what an incredible opportunity it has been for the club. Community sports clubs across the country face incredible challenges to just keep operating and the days of a club being used solely for that particular sport are long gone. The challenge is to find ways to have the club generate income on a daily basis and this venture with Apple does exactly that. If we could do similar things with production companies in the future then it may mean the kind of money that not only allows the club to continue operating but to upgrade facilities and experiences for all our club members, young and old, male and female. Credit to those running the club for securing this opportunity.
Anyway that’s it from me. I hope to see plenty of you on the sidelines on Saturday. Wrap up warm and bring every ounce of energy and enthusiasm you have got.
Russ.