The squad go south to Brackley

With a chill in the air the squad set out for the trip to the south of the county. Brackley fielded two teams against our 3 mixed teams. We were straight into warm up drills, some of the parents wishing the could join in, just to keep warm!

Overall the squad played well, getting valuable game time to practise the drills we have been learning in training. When the boys stayed calm and kept their shape they had success, at times when pressured or tired we resorted to the less effective "swarm of bees tactic"! Strange as this isn't one we teach ;-)

There were some good examples of support play, rucking and attacking the game. Two good examples were recognised as Players of the Week. We know with a large squad the players will be at different levels of knowledge, ability, understanding and enthusiasm in the cold. That's fine with the coaches as we are interested in the individual progression of each player.

A good example of that is Aiden Duffy. Last season Aiden wasn't as confident in the contact area, however his performance in ruck is great to see. Body position and control in contact is really working for him, well done.

On one team Coach Ricky said before their first match, "I'm not going to nominate a captain (they all want to shake hands and lead the cheers) you show me leadership and we will see who rises to the job". here we find our second nomination. Jack Bates gave good clear direction to the team, read the game well, stealing many a ball from a slow scrum half and even upwardly managed the ref!

As always we have identified things to work on, but we were really pleased and grateful for those braving the cold and making the trip.