Coaches Corner - Preview of Marlow Double Header
What a Saturday this promises to be!
1st XV and 2nd XV both at home against friends and local rivals Marlow and I am hoping for a bumper crowd to create a truly memorable atmosphere.
The 1st XV come into the game after a competitive loss away at London Scottish picking up a losing bonus point for scoring four tries. Personally I was left frustrated with the game as I think when we got things right we were the better team but ultimately we didn’t control possession well enough and our mentality around how we approached certain aspects of the game led to ill discipline, penalties and three yellow cards. This played into Scottish’s strengths with their big and well drilled pack and they were able to capitalise on the numerical advantages and the territory to rack up some points. It is heartening however that we were threatening right up until the final whistle and some of our on the line defence was brutal and controlled. The boys certainly don’t lack character or quality, it’s our job as a coaching team to keep building our game to ensure competitive performances turn into wins.
So onto this week and as always there are some changes to the squad. A number of unavailabilities means boys who have been performing well in the 2’s get their chance to show what they can do and potentially make the shirt theirs. I am excited to see what they can offer and having strong squad depth will be a defining feature of any team looking to become a force at level 6. There were some tough selection calls this week and a few tough conversations were had (I hate calling players and disappointing them) but I am confident the team will show we got these selection decisions right and I am also looking forward to seeing boys who want to play in that 1st XV keep improving and competing for their spot.
Marlow I am sure will be a tough challenge. They have a new coaching set up under Kev and Kian who I hear great things about, they have got a lot of new players on board and they appear under Director of Rugby Nick Carvey to be really trying to push their club forward. This will hopefully be an exciting contest between two well run clubs who want to show that they have aspirations beyond a relegation battle.
Our 2nd XV are once again looking really strong with a full squad of 20 and they have begun their season with two incredible performances. A single point loss away at Tadley and a draw against a Maidenhead 2’s side whose 1st XV compete a level above. I have been inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of Alex Watson who has been leading the team in Max Wright’s absence and I am excited to see what the two of them can achieve working together for the rest of the season. A strong and competitive 2’s team can only make our 1’s better. A special thank you as well to Nick Martin who stepped up on Saturday to coach the 2’s (along with Dave Rendall) and I am delighted that Nick has agreed to support us as and when he can this season. We welcome Nick to our coaching team and it’s great to have another committed Beaconsfield man supporting our development.
Thank you all for your support of both teams this weekend. Continue to let your passion and love for the club show on the touchline. Continue to support our players who I promise you are working so hard in the week to perform on the weekend. We hope to entertain you for 80 minutes on Saturday and celebrate two victories in the clubhouse after.
Have a great day. See you Saturday.
Russ