Yesterdays match was one of extreme excitement as well as frustration for myself and I’m sure for the players as well. It was fantastic to see such commitment and confidence coming from the players, and as I have said before that this team is on one helluva journey…
After such a long holiday many teams yesterday were far below their best as I’m guesssing very few players trained, preferring to spend their mornings in bed and their afternoons chilling or socializing, however the u15A team was not one of these teams. This team trained 3 times a week, every week on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Fridays doing boxing twice a week and rugby specific fitness for 1 session. Although not all the players came all the time, we did have a good turnout, averaging around 8 a session, which is a little more than half the team, now to some this may sound as if the team is not committed for whatever reason, but considering we have guys catching trains and buses from as far afield as Tableview and Ceres, to make the 8:30am Monday morning session, I would think that we do. Many were on holiday, and because the sessions were not during school time it was to be expected, but for those that made the effort, it definitely showed in their performance yesterday.
the emphasis during the holidays was physical conditioning as well as mental toughness, as I believe the boys at SACS take training a little too casually, which transfers into their on field performances, as well as their injury statuses. I had the boys doing some serious fitness on the field, while the boxing sessions with BALA BELEY, who has his own boxing studio at the scout hall next to Forries, were extremely tough. Mr Jones and I attempted to participate in them, and I must admit they were tough, but for Mr Jones he couldn’t handle it after the first basic introductory session, so you can imagine how hard they were. The boys really enjoyed them and I think it gave them an indication of the type of effort it takes to become physically stronger than your opposition.
Thus with the boys stronger, fitter and a bit tougher we embarked on the weeks preparation before Paarl Boys High. It started a little slowly on a very cold Monday, as us coaches attempted to explain the new attacking philosophy we want the team to play, so yes it may have been a bit more theory than practical, but considering the majority of the boys had 4 weeks of physical training behind them, it did not matter. Come wednesday and the intensity was back, with the boys playing a 30min game against the B team. The A team seriously looked good, playing as if they had not been out of the game at all, which is quite remarkable for youngsters. Thus confidence was high after that, and I really believed the team were ready to take the next step up and get over their lack of belief and confidence, which up till now has held them back hugely.
Friday afternoon was outstanding, once we had run shadow rugby against the u16A team, I decided to try something a little new that Tom Dawson-Squibb suggested. So we had a team meeting and i think it did the trick as the boys were more fired up and oozed confidence like I have seen before. It just does not make sense that the boys were so confident after not playing for 5 weeks or so! But when we think about it, this team has been on the up for a while now, since the help of Tim Goodenough and Tom, this team has started to become the team I always knew they could be, and after having some tough sessions during the holidays, I think the boys knew that now they had their destiny in their own hands.
Thus Saturday morning was building up into one interesting game, as I knew the boys were ready for the challenge, and I had a sneaky feeling this could be the game that changed everything.
And did they come close to proving that this team is not the pushovers everyone once thought they were! Going into the half at 5 all, the Boishaai coaches and players looked rattled, so much so that tensions were building to breaking point on the sidelines. Now, for someone as wet behind the ears as I am, it seemed to me that the boys were actually dominating an Afrikaner team, who are ‘supposed’ to come and beat us easily! Now I am no expert on rugby, as my age and having not played club rugby prevents me from acquiring this status… but what I saw was a team with some serious guts and a few wheelbarrows, that seemed to confound everyone watching, who were wondering, “Who is this team, masquerading as the SACS u15A team?” because this aint the same team that played as the u14A team last year. Well quite clearly we must have brought out the cheque book, because there is no way these boys are the same ones from last year!… well the answer is yes, yes they are.
Now they were not flawless yesterday, as I have just recently pulled a few clumps of hair from my head after doing the video analysis, but they did play extremely well in the first half, the second was a bit disappointing as we allowed them back in the game, as well as let them dive over every ruck we possessed and lost our captain for 10mins after he pretended to be a gummy bear and bounce into the air trying to tackle the players head, instead of his legs. That aside, which is not condoned at all, the boys tried hard, but just could not keep the intensity up, especially in the contact, we were seemed lethargic. Fatique could have played a part but whatever the case is, I think the team let themselves down in the second half.
The positives were the backline formation, after another change, but a change that has now confirmed who our best backline is, welcoming Horse and Ruairi back after a long layoff, as well as our defence, which was much improved, but requires a lot more work if this team is to actually win the close matches such as this one.
I thought that Jason had a much improved game on defence, after spending 45 mins this week studying our defensive shape and trying to figure out what went wrong or right after each clip, as well as his running with the ball, which seems to have found Jason again, after a little holiday. Nice to have his running skills back, as he did well with ball in hand, and scored his first try in a SACS jersey!
Buck played well in centre, a position which was a small gamble but payed off, as I believe this to be his best position as well as the best thing for the team. He did better on attack than defence, but that is something we will work on in the next few weeks, but in all I thought he enabled us to go forward in the backline, as well as set up Jasons try which was an impressive display of unselfish rugby. team work at it’s best.
The other gamble was Ben at 10, although not a resounding success yesterday, I think Ben has plenty to offer the team there, considering it was his first game at 10 this year, I think it went well. I know there were some reservations from coaches and players alike before yesterdays game, but afterwards I think everyone is now on the same page as I am, in believing Ben is our best bet. I will be working with him hard this term, getting him to understand our game plan better and to get him making better decisions, I know that in a few weeks he should really set the team alight. I’m excited to see him in action again!
In the forwards, Justin did much better in the tight, as requested, although there is much to work on, he did better looking for work than previously, which will make him a bigger asset to the team than just an excellent lineout jumper.
Again James was our hardest worker in terms of ruck work, he needs to enhance his breakdown skills, but once he does he is going to be one seriously effective workhorse for the team. His work rate is unrivaled in the team, which is such a luxury to have, without him this team is far weaker, that is a fact.
Joel did extremely well in the scrums, in the tight and his ball carrying was not bad either. I believe the Boishaai coaches exclaimed that their tighthead has basically never been scrummed that hard before, and I think our flank and centre from last year, really gave him a lesson in that department. Apart from his brain fart when he pretended to emulate the gummy bears, he played well, obviously there is far more for him to work on, but once he is conditioned properly, he will be one huge thorn in any oppositions side, and an massive asset in any team he plays in.
Thus it is dissaponting to have lost yesterday after coming so close, and it is not acceptable for an A team to lose physicality like they did in the second half, I think they acquitted themselves well, once again becoming the best A team on the day against Afrikaner opposition with a 12 point difference. Although I am not overly pleased we lost, because I think it’s now time for this team to raise their standards to one of extreme excellence, as they are no longer whipping boys, and they should be aiming to win these games from now on. Accepting this loss will be a failure as we should have won, that I believe completely, as we were the better side for the majority of the game. This team should no longer be pleased with just playing with guts any longer as they have now passed that hurdle, now it’s time for them to become the team they were always meant to become, one that will dominate any opposition and win the close games, because this team is now ready.
let’s see how willing they are to take this next step up and become the team to beat in the province, the prized scalp that ambitious teams aspire to topple. It can be done, it will be done, and it will be done this year.